SINGAPORE - Commuters can breathe a sigh of relief as SMRT engineers have swiftly resolved a signaling fault that caused significant delays on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) during the busy morning peak hour on December 19.

The chaos began when SMRT alerted the public via social media at 9:38 AM, cautioning passengers to anticipate an additional 10-minute travel time between Woodlands North and Bayshore stations due to a signaling system issue that was first detected around 9:10 AM.

Reports from passengers revealed that at approximately 9:25 AM, a TEL train came to an unexpected halt at Shenton Way station, where it remained for around 15 minutes. The disruption was initially displayed as an "incident" on digital screens but was later updated to reflect a "train fault," raising concerns among commuters.

In a timely update posted on Facebook at 10:33 AM, SMRT confirmed that their engineers had diagnosed the signaling fault and that trains were operating at reduced speeds for safety. Fortunately, with the issue now rectified, services returned to normal, and SMRT expressed their sincere apologies for the disruption to the morning commute.

This incident isn't isolated; just two months prior, on October 1, a similar train fault caused delays during the evening peak hours along the same line, highlighting ongoing challenges within the TEL network.

As Singapore's transport system strives to maintain efficiency, the timely resolution of such faults remains crucial for the millions of daily commuters who rely on these services. Stay tuned for further updates, as SMRT continually works to enhance the reliability of Singapore's public transportation system!