Commuters on the North East Line (NEL) faced significant delays on the morning of Monday (10 February), due to a signalling fault at Buangkok station.
The disruption lasted approximately two hours, leading to extended travel times and crowded stations.
SBS Transit, the operator of the NEL, first alerted commuters about the delay in a Facebook post at 6.56 am.
It initially advised that additional travel time of about 15 minutes should be expected.
However,at 7.43am, the operator revised its estimate, stating that delays could extend up to 30 minutes.
At 7.05 am, SBS Transit announced that free regular bus rides were available at Serangoon, Hougang, and Sengkang bus interchanges.
Additionally, both free regular and bridging bus services were deployed at designated bus stops near affected stations between Dhoby Ghaut and Punggol Coast.
In a subsequent update at 7.30 am, the operator advised commuters to consider alternative MRT lines if they were at HarbourFront, Outram Park, Chinatown, Dhoby Ghaut, Little India, or Serangoon stations.
It recommended that passengers at Serangoon station take the Circle Line to reach HarbourFront.
For those travelling from Kovan to Punggol and heading towards Dhoby Ghaut, it suggested using the Circle Line from Serangoon to Bishan before transferring to the North-South Line.
Commuters going to Little India were advised to take the Circle Line from Serangoon to Botanic Gardens and transfer to the Downtown Line.
At 8.23 am, SBS Transit announced that NEL services had resumed normal operations, but free regular and bridging bus services remained available. The operator also apologised for the inconvenience caused.
Despite these arrangements, many commuters expressed frustration on SBS Transit’s Facebook post.
Some commuters mentioned being stuck for over 20 minutes, while another reported that delays at Sengkang station had already stretched to nearly 30 minutes.
Others shared images of large crowds at Hougang MRT station and criticised the lack of clear directions from staff.
One commuter commented, “At Hougang MRT and couldn’t even find any staff directing passengers to the bridging bus. Was only told that the bridging bus wasn’t activated yet at the passenger counter.”
Another complaint highlighted difficulties in boarding the bridging buses, as well as issues with train doors closing too quickly.
“This fault was handled so badly. Can’t even get on bridging buses. Trains don’t even allow commuters enough time to alight or board. With so many people squeezing, the doors close so fast—this can cause injury, right?”
Some also voiced broader dissatisfaction with public transport service levels, with one commuter sarcastically remarking, “The ‘reliability’ of our public transport system—the only ‘reliability’ is our fare increment every single year without fail.”
This disruption comes just days after a separate incident on the North-South and East-West MRT lines.
Last Friday, train services were delayed when an engineering vehicle derailed in the morning, preventing some trains from leaving Bishan Depot.
The affected tracks were eventually cleared by the evening.
