SINGAPORE – Trains heading towards Marina South Pier on the North-South MRT Line were delayed by a screen door fault during peak hours on Friday morning (March 19).
At 8.28am, operator SMRT told commuters on Twitter to add 10 minutes of travel time from Ang Mo Kio to Braddell due to a platform screen door fault.
Mr Arjun Nair was on his way to work from Khatib MRT station to Tanjong Pagar MRT station when an automated announcement informed him around 8.20am that his train would be delayed because of the fault at Bishan.
“The train slowed down at Yio Chu Kang station, where it started to jerk as it moved,” said the 26-year-old health and safety officer.
He alighted at Ang Mo Kio MRT station and waited for close to 20 minutes. He watched two “packed” trains go by before boarding one.
“A lot of people were looking at the time,” he added. “Some tried to jump the queue and board the train.”
Other commuters said on Twitter that the delays were longer than 10 minutes, with several lamenting that they were late for work.
Twitter user yzfanggg said at 8.44am: “It took me 30 minutes travel time from AMK to Bishan and I’m late for work, it would be great if y’all don’t lie about the travel time??”
At 9.01 am, another user vaayadii said that the train was moving slowly and it took nearly 30 minutes to board the train.
Another user travellingjes said at 9.21am that the train “took a good 30 min”.
In a tweet at 9.53 am, SMRT reduced the additional travel time from Ang Mo Kio to Braddell to 5 minutes.