Disruption to NSL train services caused by faulty engineering vehicle

The engineer said he found out about the train service disruption only when he reached Bukit Gombak station at 7.25am and heard an announcement. He said trains arrived at 15-minute intervals, but all of them were packed, so he could board one only at about 8.35am.

“The platform was very crowded and some resorted to squeezing themselves onto the trains,” he said, adding that SMRT should have put up notices to let commuters know about the longer intervals, especially since it knew there was an issue as early as 4.30am.

He also noted that there are no direct buses from Bukit Gombak heading to Jurong East, and suggested that at least one bus service should be introduced to ply this route. “The previous delays I remember weren’t as bad as this. I was supposed to reach work early, but ended up being late.”

Mr Gabriel Lim, 24, was heading to Yishun from Paya Lebar, but had to alight at Yio Chu Kang station to take a bus to continue his journey north. The fast-food worker said the bus stop near the station was very crowded, with everyone squeezing to get onto buses.

Ms Low Siew Peng, 28, who takes the bus from Yishun to Woodlands to get to work, said she was 15 minutes late as she had to wait for four buses to pass before she could get on one at her stop opposite Darul Makmur Mosque.

The accountant said she saw passengers standing on the upper deck of some double-decker buses that were packed with people.

“It was a bad experience, plus it was raining this morning. They should provide more buses and announce (the disruption) early so we can plan ahead,” she added.

Wednesday’s disruption was the first major one under new SMRT group chief executive Ngien Hoon Ping, who took over on Aug 1.

There have been at least two other train disruptions on the NSL this year. In July, a train fault caused delays of up to 25 minutes between Kranji and Jurong East. In September, a track fault led to delays of up to 15 minutes between Yishun and Toa Payoh.