East-West Line disruption: A timeline of what happened

SINGAPORE: The train disruption on the East-West Line that began on Wednesday morning (Sep 25) has continued for more than 24 hours, affecting peak-hour commutes on Thursday.
It all began when a faulty train returning to Ulu Pandan depot caused a power trip.
This resulted in a service outage between Boon Lay and Queenstown MRT stations – a major disruption on Singapore’s second-oldest train line.
Here’s a timeline of events:
About 9am on Wednesday: Train fault
An eastbound train on the East-West Line (EWL) developed a fault near Clementi station. 
Passengers got off at Clementi station and the train, which has been in use for 35 years, was withdrawn from service.
9.25am: Faulty train causes power trip
As the faulty train was returning to Ulu Pandan depot, it emitted smoke and resulted in a power trip.
This caused a train near Clementi station to stall. About 850 commuters on this train were “safely detrained” onto the tracks, said transport operator SMRT.
9.52am: SMRT alerts the public to the disruption
SMRT posted on Facebook, informing the public that there were no train services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations due to a “traction power fault”.
That’s nine stations, including two interchange stations at Jurong East and Buona Vista.
“Free regular bus services are available from Boon Lay and Queenstown,” SMRT added. Bridging bus services were also made available.
2.43pm: Shuttle train services to operate 
SMRT announced that from 5pm, shuttle train services will operate between Boon Lay and Jurong East stations, as well as between Buona Vista and Queenstown stations. 
These will run at intervals of 10 minutes.
2.45pm: LTA says train services disrupted for at least the rest of the day
In a Facebook post, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that due to the extent of the damage, train services between Boon Lay and Queenstown MRT stations will not be available for at least the rest of the day.
It provided further details of what happened to the faulty train that was being pulled from service.
“Our preliminary assessment is that when the damaged train was being withdrawn, it caused damage to the tracks, including the running rails and the third rail supplying power to the train,” it said.
LTA added that it has activated additional support from bus operators to improve bridging bus services ahead of the evening peak.
Given that Thursday was the first day of written papers for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), LTA said it has informed the Singapore Examination and Assessment Board (SEAB) to work out arrangements.
4.28pm: SMRT apologises
SMRT’s chairman Seah Moon Ming and group CEO Ngien Hoon Ping issued an apology, saying the transport operator is “working relentlessly” to restore service.
“The incident was the result of an unforeseen issue during the withdrawal of an old train, where a defective train axle box on one of our first-generation trains dropped and caused the wheels of a bogie to come off the running rail and hit track equipment, including the third rail and point machines, leading to the power fault,” they said.
“We would like to express our deepest apologies to all our commuters for the significant disruption caused by the power trip.” 
5pm: Shuttle train services begin 
CNA reporters at several MRT stations observed how crowds ballooned and were managed at platforms and bus areas during peak-hour traffic.
Despite the queues and crowds, things were mostly orderly.
Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said LTA will do a thorough investigation to determine what happened and identify areas for improvement.
He also said that normal train services may not resume on Thursday.
“The team from SMRT and LTA will assess and confirm during engineering hours tonight,” he wrote on Facebook.
6.15pm: SEAB’s announcement on PSLE
SEAB said exam candidates would not be penalised for being late due to train service disruptions. 
“Candidates will be given the full duration of the paper if they reach the examination centre before the end of the paper,” a spokesperson added.
It noted that students had been briefed on existing arrangements.
9.20pm: No train services between Buona Vista and Jurong East on Thursday
SMRT announced that there will be no train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations in both directions on Thursday.
It added that engineers would be working through the night and throughout Thursday to fix the issues.
9.51pm: LTA says more time required for repairs
In a media release, LTA said that as the damage to the tracks is “extensive”, more time is required to conduct the necessary repairs and replacements.
“The LTA and SMRT will do a thorough check of all the first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries trains overnight, before they are put into service,” it added.
LTA said authorities will continue to deploy more bridging buses and staff members to manage crowds at locations where these buses are available.
About 6.30am on Thursday: Longer journeys for commuters
Train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations remain unavailable.
CNA’s reporters were at Buona Vista and Jurong East stations where lines started to form for bridging bus services.
Staff were seen ushering commuters onto the buses.
It started raining at around 8am, making the journey more challenging for commuters.
4.30pm: Prolonged disruption
LTA and SMRT announced that there will be no train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista for the rest of Thursday.
Authorities hope to partially restore services on Friday, with a single-line train shuttle service that will operate between the two stations every 20 minutes.
SMRT will continue to operate shuttle train services between Buona Vista and Queenstown stations, as well as between Jurong East and Boon Lay stations.
Bus bridging services will also be available between Buona Vista and Jurong East.
It is estimated that about 516,000 commuters would be affected by the continued disruption on Thursday.
Mr Chee apologised to commuters for the prolonged disruption, saying: “On behalf of the One Transport Family, I would like to offer my sincere apologies to all our commuters for the disruption.
“Our workers are doing their best to safely restore train services as soon as possible.”
9.52pm: LTA and SMRT shelve plans for Jurong East-Buona Vista shuttle train service on Friday
In a joint release on Thursday, the authorities said train services between the two MRT stations will remain closed on Friday, extending the disruption for a third day running.
While LTA and SMRT had hoped to partially restore services on Friday by operating a shuttle train service between the stations, they decided not to, as it could “risk delaying full restoration by at least a few days”.
Instead, the authorities opted to “prioritise repair and expedite restoring full service earlier”.
Free regular and bridging bus services will continue to be available for commuters affected by the disruption.