Singapore’s rail network hit another rough patch. Two major lines broke down within 23 hours, leaving thousands of commuters stranded during peak travel times.
East-West Line Shuts Down for Five Hours
The East-West Line completely stopped running between Aljunied and Tanah Merah stations on 16 Sep 2025. An uninterruptible power supply system failed around 11:00PM, knocking out the signalling system.
Six stations went dark: Aljunied, Paya Lebar, Eunos, Kembangan, Bedok, and Tanah Merah. SMRT first announced 20-minute delays. Then they pulled the plug on all train services between these stations.
Free buses stepped in to bridge the gap. Station staff scrambled to help stranded passengers get home. The trains started rolling again at 4:30AM on 17 Sep 2025.
Thomson-East Coast Line Breaks Down During Rush Hour
Before commuters could catch their breath, the Thomson-East Coast Line crashed. A signal fault hit services between Woodlands North and Bayshore stations less than 12 hours after the East-West Line resumed.
The morning of 17 Sep 2025 turned into a nightmare. SMRT announced at 8:30AM that trains would not run in either direction between the affected stations. The disruption lasted about two hours.
One commuter got stuck on a train from 6:35AM. The train crawled just one station in 45 minutes. At Outram Park MRT station’s TEL platform, staff gave passengers mixed messages about boarding trains. Crowds packed the platform during morning rush hour.
Thomson-East Coast Line’s Troubling Track Record
The Thomson-East Coast Line has become a repeat offender. Three separate breakdowns hit within one week between December 2024 and January 2025.
July 2025 brought another headache. A signalling fault caused delays between Napier and Great World stations for over an hour.
SMRT Pays Heavy Price for Past Failures
The Land Transport Authority slapped SMRT with a S$2.4 million fine for safety lapses that caused a six-day East-West Line shutdown in September 2024. Investigations found multiple safety failures.
That September 2024 incident was a disaster. It affected an estimated 500,000 out of 2.8 million daily train journeys. An axle box fell from a train onto the tracks, causing massive damage between Dover and Clementi stations.
September 2025: Month of MRT Misery
These back-to-back breakdowns marked the third and fourth MRT incidents in September 2025. On 14 Sep 2025, a train malfunction on the North-South Line caused 40-minute delays between Newton and Ang Mo Kio stations.
Earlier that month, passengers faced delays between Woodlands and Yishun stations due to another North-South Line train problem on 2 Sep 2025. The Circle Line also broke down between Marina Bay and Promenade stations on 1 Sep 2025.
MRT reliability dropped to its lowest point since 2020, according to reports from earlier this month.
