Train operator SMRT suspended services on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) on the morning of 17 September 2025 following a signal fault that disrupted the 27-station stretch from Woodlands North to Bayshore.
The operator first issued an alert at 7.29am via X and Facebook, advising commuters to expect an additional 15 minutes of travel time. At that stage, regular train services were still operating.
By 7.55am, SMRT announced that free regular bus services were running between Woodlands North and Bayshore, indicating a broader disruption.
At 8.29am, the operator confirmed that all train services on the line were suspended to facilitate recovery efforts.
According to SMRT, bridging buses were deployed to connect affected stations.
The operator also encouraged commuters to consider alternative rail lines for their journeys.
Train services began progressively resuming at 8.38am. By 8.54am, SMRT announced that services between Woodlands North and Bayshore had fully resumed, marking the end of a disruption that lasted more than two hours.
The operator apologised for the inconvenience caused to commuters.
However, passengers reported that the disruption began earlier than officially announced.
Several commuters said issues were noticeable from 6.30am, with some stuck in trains or stations for extended periods.
One commuter reported being in a train since 6.50am, starting at Woodlands South and only reaching Lentor nearly an hour later.
Another noted being at Woodlands station at 6.30am for a journey to Mayflower, which had still not been completed after an hour.
Many expressed frustration that SMRT’s early updates understated the severity of the disruption.
“Rather than 15 minutes, commuters said they were stuck in stations for about that period instead,” one comment highlighted.
Others urged SMRT to provide more accurate live updates, saying honesty would allow commuters to plan alternative routes more effectively.
The incident marks the second disruption within 12 hours.
On the night of 16 September 2025, a fault in the power supply system had affected services across six stations on the East-West Line.
Earlier, services on the Punggol LRT were disrupted for about three hours on Saturday morning (13 Sep) after a system fault prevented trains from being launched from the depot.
The Thomson-East Coast Line, which is still undergoing phased openings, is one of Singapore’s newest MRT lines. It links residential estates in the north to the central business district and is expected to eventually extend to the east coast.
Recent Spate of Disruptions
On 12 August, a power fault caused a five-hour disruption to the Sengkang–Punggol LRT, while another on 15 August disrupted services for more than three hours across all 29 stations on the network.
The problems were not limited to the Punggol line.
On 2 September, a train fault on the North–South Line caused a 25-minute delay between Woodlands and Yishun stations.
Earlier, on 6 August, the East–West Line suffered a five-hour breakdown.
In July, the Thomson–East Coast Line experienced an hour-long disruption due to a signalling fault, and the Bukit Panjang LRT saw two suspensions in the same month caused by power problems.
Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow has acknowledged growing public concern, describing the series of incidents as disappointing.
Writing on Facebook on 6 August, he said that Singapore’s transport operators “can and will do better”.
He also stressed that the “One Transport family” would continue working to strengthen the reliability of the rail system.
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