SINGAPORE – Train service on the Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) line resumed at about 11.40am on July 3 about three hours after a power fault led to disruption at all stations.

In a Facebook update at 9.13am, transport operator SMRT notified commuters about the fault spanning all 13 stations that happened at around 8.50am. It said that free regular or bridging buses were available outside the stations.

In an update about five minutes later, SMRT said that its staff were on site working to resolve the issue and were a ssisting affected commuters.

“Train services are currently unavailable across the entire BPLRT system. In-train and station announcements have been made to keep commuters informed,” SMRT said.

“We apologise for the disruption to your journey and appreciate your patience”, it added.

In an update at 11.37am, about three hours after the fault surfaced, SMRT said traction power on the BPLRT was restored and regular train service was progressively resuming. It added that free bus services were still available.

A few minutes later, SMRT said that train service has fully resumed. Free bus services have also ended.

This was the second train disruption to occur this week, after a signalling fault at Orchard station on the Thomson-East Coast Line on July 1 led to delays between Napier and Great World stations. Train service resumed after two hours.

The 8km long BPLRT network has had a long history of reliability issues, with the most recent disruption taking place on Oct 22, 2024, during the evening rush hour.

Train service stalled between the Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang LRT stations and only resumed the next morning.

Initial findings showed that the breakdown was in one of the wheel assemblies on a faulty train.

Following this, the Land Transport Authority and SMRT said that it would end train services an hour earlier from Thursdays to Sundays between Nov 14, 2024, and Oct 31, 2025 to facilitate renewal works.

These include the upgrading of the BPLRT’s signalling system, and the testing of new and retrofitted light-rail vehicles.

Works to upgrade the existing signalling system on the BPLRT to a new communications-based train control system that better controls train speeds – similar to that used on MRT lines – have been carried out progressively since 2022.

LTA said it is targeting to complete the full renewal programme by the end of 2026. This was delayed by two years from 2024 due to a manpower shortage and supply chain disruptions arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2024, the average daily ridership on the LRT network, which includes the Sengkang-Punggol LRT, stood at 210,000. This was an increase of 4 per cent over the 2023 figure.

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