NE & EW Train Service Disruptions on 7 July 2015

Train disruptions have truly become a regular feature in one of the finest transport system in the world. We are not talking about anywhere else but our own MRT system.

The NE and EW lines were disrupted this evening at about 9.15 pm due to "traction power fault". The incident brought back memories of the two major train disruptions in December 2011 which led to the formation of a Committee of Inquiry. Thousands of commuters, including myself, were caught in the melee tonight. 

I was already in a train and had just reached Eunos station when I heard an announcement from outside the train.The announcement was in Mandarin and was repeated in the same language. It was not clear to me if I should leave the train. Finally, I heard the English announcement from the train PA system about the major disruption and that free bus rides are available for train commuters. Everyone then disembarked and left the station.

The bus stop outside the station was crowded with train commuters. I saw Bus Service Number 30 and queued to board, not knowing if this was one of the free buses. The bus driver spoke only in Mandarin and many non-Mandarin speaking commuters had a hard time getting clarifications from him. It took some 5 minutes for the bus to move out of the bus bay because of the communication issue. The bus arrived a the depot in Bedok and was emptied quickly. I was heading further east and wanted to take a taxi home but there was a long, snaking queue at the taxi stand and only two taxis were in sight. 

I decided I had to trouble my wife to pick me up. By the time I reached home, one hour had passed after I alighted from the train. Sadly, this is not the first or second time that major train disruptions have happened. Train disruptions have become too common and we were told to accept breakdowns as a regular feature. This cannot be. Our trains have become the main transport carrier in our transport system. Any disruption will cause grave inconvenience to hundreds and even thousands of commuters who commute by train daily. Are the people who oversee and operate our train system not capable of solving the problems that are recurring all too often? What has gone wrong?