SINGAPORE – On the night of Dec 2, some passengers travelling on the East-West Line (EWL) between Bugis and Bedok stations experienced a delay of at least 20 minutes.

From around 8pm, posters and digital screen displays were put up at various stations indicating that a track fault had occurred, resulting in extra travelling time of 20 minutes between Bugis and Bedok stations – a stretch of eight stations.

At Paya Lebar station, one of the affected stops, trains called at platforms opposite to their designated ones and station staff were also said to have been unclear about the trains’ direction of travel.

SMRT, which operates the EWL, did not announce the delay on its social media pages, upsetting some passengers.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times on Dec 3, SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai said a track point failure took place near Aljunied station on the EWL at around 7.50pm on Dec 2.

A track point failure refers to a malfunctioning railway switch that allows trains to change tracks.

A shuttle train service plied the stretch covering Lavender, Kallang, Aljunied and Paya Lebar stations, resulting in an additional 20 minutes of travel time across the affected stretch, he added.