SINGAPORE: Commuters travelling on the North-South Line were hit with delays on Thursday evening (May 17) during rush hour due to a platform screen door fault.
SMRT said on Twitter at 6pm that those travelling from Ang Mo Kio to Dhoby Ghaut towards Marina South Pier should add an extra 15 minutes to their journey.
Shortly after, the delay was increased to 25 minutes. At 6.45pm, this was increased again to 35 minutes.
Free bus services between Novena and Marina South Pier were available, SMRT added in a separate tweet.
A commuter named Mr Kannan told Channel NewsAsia that passengers were not able to enter the trains at Newton station as they were packed.
Mr Kannan added that it was so crowded he had to miss five trains.
While SMRT’s announcement said that the delay was for travel towards Marina South-Pier, the journey in the opposite direction towards Woodlands was also affected, said Mr Kannan.
Commuters at Newton MRT station on May 17, 2018. (Photo: Kannan)
Commuter Harvinder Singh, an education officer, told Channel NewsAsia that when he arrived at the platform at Dhoby Ghaut station at about 6.20pm, he noticed that the platform doors had “malfunctioned”.
“SMRT are handling it well though … trains slowing down to ensure passenger safety, and SMRT staff ensuring that passengers keep clear of the openings,” the 30-year-old said.
He said the platform was “not that crowded yet”, and that there was the “normal rush hour crowd”, but that this was “building up”.
