SINGAPORE: Several stranded commuters, including those with young children, had to walk on the train tracks on Saturday (May 19) after a train fault on the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (BPLRT) brought services to a halt.
Train service was disrupted for nearly two hours.
In a tweet at around 2.20pm, SMRT said there was no train service on the BPLRT due to a “train fault” between Phoenix and Bukit Panjang station.
In a subsequent tweet at around 2.50pm, SMRT said that Train Service A had resumed and that its engineers were working to recover Train Service B.
At around 3.50pm, SMRT said the train fault was cleared and that Train Service B was “gradually being restored”.
In photos submitted by a Channel NewsAsia reader, passengers can be seen walking on the train tracks. A woman can also be seen carrying her young child as she made her way to the nearest station.
A passenger who was on the affected train told Channel NewsAsia that the LRT was “stuck” between Phoenix and Bukit Panjang station for about 20 minutes before an engineer came to their rescue.
A photo submitted by a Channel NewsAsia reader shows passengers waiting inside the train cabin on the BPLRT.
After 10 minutes of “troubleshooting”, the passenger said the engineer allowed them to walk along the track to Bukit Panjang station. The passenger also noted that the train cabin was “very hot” as there was no air conditioning during that period.
In March, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the upcoming replacement of LRT vehicles and renewal of signalling systems on the BLPRT will improve passenger service.
