Wed Sep 25 02:26:00 UTC 2024: ## MRT Disruption on East-West Line Leaves Commuters Stranded, Services Down for the Day
**SINGAPORE** – Commuters on the East-West Line faced major disruptions on Wednesday (Sep 25) after train services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations were halted from around 9.30am due to a power trip caused by a train fault.
Nine stations were affected, including Boon Lay, Lakeside, Chinese Garden, Jurong East, Clementi, Dover, Buona Vista, Commonwealth and Queenstown. Long queues formed at various stations as commuters waited for bridging buses.
An eyewitness reported seeing smoke coming from a train arriving at Clementi station. About 850 commuters on a stalled train were safely detrained onto the tracks and guided back to the station platform by SMRT staff.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) confirmed that train services between Boon Lay and Queenstown would remain unavailable for the rest of the day. From 5pm, SMRT will run separate shuttle train services between Buona Vista and Queenstown, as well as between Jurong East and Boon Lay stations, operating at 10-minute intervals.
Free regular and bridging bus services were made available between Boon Lay and Queenstown, but long queues were observed at the bus stop near Queenstown station. Frustration was evident as commuters grappled with confusing bus routes and conflicting information.
One passenger complained about the looping bus service, while another expressed his concern for safety due to the heavy rain and packed buses.
This marks the third train service disruption in just over a week. The Circle Line was affected by a power fault on Sep 17, followed by a fire at a train depot the next day, leading to an outage of about 15 minutes.
CNA has contacted the Ministry of Transport for more information.
First Piper 