Commuter causes delay on East-West Line after pressing emergency button because she missed her stop
A train on the East-West Line was delayed at Chinese Garden MRT station on Feb 12 after a commuter activated the emergency communication button.
The incident, which occurred at about 10am, caused the train to come to a halt.
In a post on @sgfollowsall's Instagram page, another commuter shared that there was a group of 15 to 20 people -- comprising parents, children and staff of a school -- on the train.
"All of them decided to exit by the same train door slowly, taking their time," said the contributor, adding that the group had 'no sense of urgency'.
Because of this, about six people in the group were unable to alight at their stop.
"The train was taking off and the staff (carrying the Bacha Coffee bag) of the infant school decided to press the emergency button," the commuter said.
"The train then came to a complete stop, delaying all commuters that were on board and affecting the schedule of trains following behind."
The contributor added that several other commuters admonished the woman who allegedly pressed the button several times because she wanted the doors to open immediately.
She reportedly argued that one of the children left inside the train had been separated from their father and stated it was an 'emergency'.
However, other commuters told her she was being inconsiderate and pointed out the child was with his teachers.
In response to a Stomp query, SMRT Trains president Mr Lam Sheau Kai said the emergency communication button was activated at Chinese Garden MRT station at about 10am, causing the train to stop.
"It was later found that a commuter had activated the button after missing the stop," Mr Lam said.
"After carefully assessing the situation, our staff reset the button, allowing the train to proceed to the next station.
"We take a serious view of this irresponsible act that causes delays to train services, affecting many other commuters.
"We would like to remind all commuters that the emergency communication button should be activated only in an emergency."
Mr Lam clarified that emergency situations include assaults, molestations, medical emergencies, spotting suspicious items or people, accidents, and train cabin faults.
If a commuter misses their stop, they can simply exit at the next station and board the train back, which will take about 6 to 7 minutes.
"We strongly urge all commuters to use the emergency communication button responsibly and reserve it for real emergencies," he said.
