SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Thursday (Nov 16) that the Tuas West Extension would be isolated from the rest of the East-West Line (EWL) in order to carry out further assurance checks.
This comes after thirty-six people were injured when an SMRT train collided with a stationary train at Joo Koon station on Wednesday morning.
Here’s what commuters need to know:
TUAS WEST EXTENSION TO BE SUSPENDED TILL SUNDAY
The Tuas West Extension, consisting of Gul Circle, Tuas Crescent, Tuas West Road and Tuas Link stations, will continue to be suspended until Sunday.
Train service between Gul Circle and Tuas Link will resume operations on Monday using the new signalling system, but it will not be linked to the rest of the EWL.
NO TRAIN SERVICE BETWEEN TUAS WEST EXTENSION AND EAST-WEST LINE
Tuas West Extension, which runs on the new signalling system, will be isolated from the rest of the EWL, which runs on the old signalling system, for up to one month.
By isolating the two sections of the railway, engineers will be able to carry out further assurance checks together with signaling contractor Thales.
Bridging bus services will be available between the affected MRT stations. (Photo: Land Transport Authority)
TRAVELING FROM JOO KOON TO TUAS
On Monday, bridging bus services will be available between Joo Koon and Gul Circle MRT stations.
LTA said 33 buses were deployed on Thursday – the first day of suspended services – between the two station at intervals of three to five minutes. Several bus trips were also added to key trunk services in Tuas, said the transport authority.
Bridging bus services between Joo Koon station and Tuas Link station will also be provided until Sunday evening.
WHY IS THIS NECESSARY?
Investigations found that Wednesday’s collision happened due to the “inadvertent” disabling of a software protection feature.
The software glitch arose when a faulty train was transiting between the old and new signalling systems, said LTA.
The Tuas West Extension runs on the new signalling system while the rest of the EWL runs on the old signalling system.
Authorities have therefore decided to isolate the Tuas West Extension until checks are completed. LTA and SMRT have also said they will continue to investigate the incident together with Thales.
