East-West Line MRT services to fully resume on Oct 1

SINGAPORE: Train services on the East-West Line will fully resume from the start of passenger hours on Tuesday (Oct 1), nearly a week after a faulty train caused a power trip and damage to the track and other equipment.
This comes after the successful replacement of rail segments that had developed new cracks, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operator SMRT said on Monday.
“LTA and SMRT engineers and technicians have successfully replaced the 10 rail segments that had developed new cracks, as of late last night. They then worked through the night to conduct comprehensive testing of the track and trackside equipment,” LTA and SMRT said in a joint media release.
“These tests comprise a system of functional and safety tests on the track, power supply and train signalling systems. The tracks were also subjected to a sequence of load tests, ultrasound checks, followed by endurance runs using passenger trains packed with sandbags.
“We  conduct these safety checks thoroughly to ensure commuter safety, before we fully resume passenger service.”
LTA and SMRT added that, for safety reasons, there will be temporary speed restrictions (TSR) imposed on westbound trains travelling on the repaired sections of the track.
“This is part of the standard process following rail replacements, where trains will travel more slowly at 40kmh,” LTA and SMRT said.
“The TSR will be imposed for three days, until Thursday, Oct 3. We advise commuters who are travelling to the west on the East-West Line to plan for an additional five minutes of travel time.”
LTA and SMRT expressed their appreciation to their workers “who have been working day and night to complete the repairs and testing works to fully restore train services”.
They also thanked the bus operators’ ground staff, the police and volunteers for their work, and commuters for their patience.
The MRT service disruption began last Wednesday after a faulty train caused a power trip and damage to the track and other equipment.
Authorities had initially said they were working towards full restoration of services on Monday. However, the target date was later moved to Tuesday after LTA and SMRT said new cracks appeared on rail segments during stress tests over the weekend.
The 12 new cracks were found on unreplaced rail segments that had been weakened by the faulty train on Wednesday.
LTA and SMRT engineers therefore needed additional time to replace the 10 rail segments on Sunday before conducting further stress tests.
The new cracks were found along an 800m stretch after Clementi station towards Ulu Pandan Depot. In total, the 46 cracks found to date span a distance of 2.55km between Dover station and stretching beyond Clementi station.
Disruptions began last Wednesday when a defective component known as an axle box dropped onto the tracks, causing a bogie – or an undercarriage with wheels – to come off the running rail between Dover and Clementi stations.
This resulted in extensive damage to the tracks and other equipment.
In the aftermath, engineers found 34 rail breaks across 1.6km of tracks, damage to power cables, the third rail that supplies power and three machines used to divert trains to different tracks.
The damage disrupted train services between nine stations from Boon Lay to Queenstown.
Shuttle trains operating at 10-minute intervals were later put in place between Boon Lay and Jurong East, and between Buona Vista and Queenstown.
However, no trains were running between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations.
Authorities had initially hoped to restore partial service on the Jurong East-Buona Vista stretch with a single-line shuttle service. But the plan was shelved to prioritise the resumption of full services earlier.