500,000 out of 2.8 million MRT journeys affected daily during EWL disruption

About 500,000 out of 2.8 million train journeys were affected each day during the severe East-West Line (EWL) disruption that crippled services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations from Sept 25 to Sept 30.

- Kok Yufeng

This means the disruption - one of the worst to hit Singapore's MRT system in its 37-year history - affected more than one out of every six MRT trips taken by commuters each day.

Addressing 31 questions filed by 21 MPs on the incident in a ministerial statement on Oct 15, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat apologised again for the significant inconvenience caused by the disruption.

He told Parliament that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will mete out penalties should investigations reveal any lapses, and rail operator SMRT will bear the costs of the disruption regardless of the outcome of the probe.

Some details of the incident can be determined only after investigations have been completed, he noted.

"As to the root cause, including why the axle box dropped, as well as learning points to improve our responses and prevent future incidents, these are issues which the investigations will cover," he added.

Describing the Sept 25 disruption as "a setback", Mr Chee said Singaporeans are understandably concerned about what it means for the safety, reliability and resilience of the MRT system.

"These are also our priorities," he said, adding that the incident will not shake the public transport sector's determination to do better.

The disruption on Sept 25 began with a first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries train that developed a fault at about 9am while travelling eastward near Clementi station.

There was smoke detected from the train, Mr Chee said, adding that SMRT stopped the faulty train at Clementi station so passengers could alight, before it was withdrawn to Ulu Pandan Depot.

After the train had turned around at Queenstown station and was travelling westward between Dover and Clementi, an axle box came off the bogie of one of the train cars, causing the wheels of the bogie to derail.