East-West Line MRT services to resume fully today

Train services along the East-West Line are set to resume fully from the start of passenger service hours on Oct 1, six days after rail services between Jurong East and Buona Vista MRT stations were crippled because of severe track damage.

- Esther Loi and Fatmah Khan

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operator SMRT said on the evening of Sept 30 that for safety reasons, a temporary speed limit of 40kmh will be imposed on westbound trains travelling on the repaired sections of the tracks. Trains typically travel at speeds of between 60kmh and 80kmh.

The speed restriction will be in place until Oct 3, and is part of the standard process after rail replacements, they added.

“We advise commuters who are travelling to the west on the East-West Line to plan for an additional five minutes of travel time,” said LTA and SMRT.

This is not the first time trains have had to reduce their speed. In January 2020, trains to and from Changi Airport had to slow down for several days, after a crack was found on the track near the station.

LTA and SMRT said their engineers and technicians had late on Sept 29 replaced 10 rail segments, after stress tests uncovered new cracks along an affected stretch of rail damaged by a faulty train on Sept 25.

All affected rail segments, where 46 fractures such as cracks or chips were found, have been replaced. These span 2.55km of tracks near Dover and Clementi stations.

Comprehensive testing of the track and trackside equipment was done for passenger safety. These tests included functional and safety tests on the tracks, power supply and train signalling systems. The tracks were also subjected to load tests and ultrasound checks, followed by endurance checks using passenger trains loaded with sandbags to simulate a packed train.