SINGAPORE: For thousands of Punggol residents, Saturday morning (Sept 13) began not with breakfast, but with long waits, crowded buses, and a mad scramble to get somewhere after the entire Punggol LRT shut down at the start of service.
From the get-go, no trains could roll out of the station. According to SBS Transit Group CEO Jeffrey Sim, the culprit was a “premature failure” in the new signalling control system, the very technology meant to make train movements smoother. In simple terms, the system crashed, and when that happens, trains just don’t move. Engineers scrambled behind the scenes, and service finally limped back to life at 8:10 a.m.
In the meantime, commuters were shepherded towards free bridging and regular buses, with SBS Transit’s Passenger Service Teams on the ground to guide them. It was damage control, but not enough to prevent a ripple of late log-ins, missed breakfasts, and kids grumbling about being late to weekend enrichment classes. Sim apologised for the mess and said the operator is working with the system manufacturer to prevent it from happening again.
Read related: Punggol LRT down due to system fault, free bus services activated
“Just give us more buses”
On Facebook, the frustration was loud and clear. One netizen cut straight to the point: “Since the LRT is always breaking down, can you guys just provide us with more full-time bus services to town from Punggol and Sengkang?” The comment hints at something many commuters have been feeling for years: if reliability can’t be guaranteed, maybe buses, less glamorous as they are, are the safer bet.
Another commuter drilled into the technical explanation, asking: “Premature failure in the new signalling control system means hardware or software failure?” This isn’t just idle curiosity. It reflects a growing scepticism: when breakdowns keep happening, commuters start doubting whether “new” really means “improved.”
And in true Singapore fashion, some chose humour to cope. One cheeky remark read: “It’s another Jeffrey.” On the surface, it’s a joke, but it also captures a sentiment many feel: when disruptions become too common, leadership inevitably comes under the spotlight.
Read related: ‘The worst I have ever seen’—Netizens react to early morning Punggol LRT system fault and frequent line breakdowns
Bigger questions linger
Saturday’s glitch may have lasted just two hours, but its impact on trust is harder to fix. The LRT, built to serve as a reliable system, has instead become infamous for frequent hiccups. When commuters start building “breakdown bingo cards” online or resigning themselves to “just take the bus,” it signals more than inconvenience; it suggests faith in the system is eroding.
As engineers dig into the root cause, commuters are hoping this latest failure doesn’t become yet another square on that dreaded bingo card. Because for residents of Punggol, mornings are stressful enough without an LRT breakdown to kick things off.
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