SINGAPORE – The disruption on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) on the morning of May 3 was due to a signalling fault, SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai said.

In a Facebook post at 9.14am, Mr Lam said the fault occurred at about 6.55am, after signalling tests were carried out the night before by SMRT’s original equipment manufacturer, ALSTOM.

“While we reset the system, some trains were held at affected platforms. As a result, there were no train services between Caldecott and Orchard stations. Our engineers are working with ALSTOM engineers to restore service as quickly as possible,” he said.

Commuters travelling towards the city are advised to use the North-South Line, Downtown Line, or Circle Line, he added.

In its latest update at 8.48am, the Land Transport Authority’s MyTransport site showed that train services were resuming progressively from Woodlands North to Caldecott and from Orchard to Bayshore, following an earlier disruption on the entire 27-station stretch.

But services along a three-station stretch between Stevens and Orchard Boulevard stations remain unavailable in both directions, train operator SMRT said in an update on Facebook at 8.56am. It added that free bus services were available between Woodlands North and Marina Bay stations.

The major delay which affected the TEL saw train services halted on the entire line between Woodlands North and Bayshore stations.

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The first alert came at about 5.53am when it showed a minor delay affecting services between two stations, Stevens and Caldecott. At 7.35am, SMRT announced that the minor delay extended to the entire TEL in both directions.

At 7.47am, SMRT said there was a major delay on the TEL, with no services along a five-station stretch between Caldecott and Orchard stations. It advised commuters to take alternative MRT lines, or switch to free bus services between the affected stations.

At 8.14am, the Land Transport Authority’s MyTransport site showed a major delay stretching the entire TEL in both directions. It added that free bus services were available between Caldecott and Marina Bay stations.