MOE assures pupils taking PSLE they will not be penalised for being late due to train disruption
Train services will continue to be unavailable between Boon Lay and Queenstown MRT stations on the East-West Line for at least the rest of the day in both directions, said SMRT and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Sept 25 at 2.45pm.
The service disruption was caused by a power trip at around 9.25am.
LTA said: "More time may be required for repair works. During engineering hours tonight, SMRT and LTA will make further assessment whether passenger service can resume on Sept 26."
Sept 26 is when Primary 6 pupils will sit their English papers in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).
LTA added it has informed the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) to work out arrangements.
Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said on Facebook on Sept 25: "As PSLE written examinations will start tomorrow, we are in touch with Ministry of Education, Singapore and Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board to prepare contingencies to minimise the impact on our students."
The Ministry of Education posted on social media later the same day to assure pupils not to worry.
Pupils sitting for their PSLE would be given the full duration of the paper if they reach the examination centre before the end of the paper.
They would not be penalised for being late to their examination due to train service disruptions, such as the ongoing one caused by a decades-old Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train.
SMRT said: "A KHI train that has been in service for over 35 years encountered a fault, emitting smoke while returning to Ulu Pandan Depot. This caused damage to the power cable and resulted in a power trip, disrupting train service between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations...
"About 850 commuters onboard the stalled KHI train near Clementi station were safely detrained onto the tracks, with our staff on-site to guide and assist them back to the Clementi station platform."
Videos of commuters alighting on the tracks were posted online.
Check out this tweet! link
Check out this tweet! link
At 4.28pm, SMRT Corporation chairman Seah Moon Ming and group CEO Ngien Hoon Ping said in a statement: "We would like to express our deepest apologies to all our commuters for the significant disruption caused by the power trip.
"The incident was the result of an unforeseen issue during the withdrawal of an old train, where a defective train axle box on one of our first-generation trains dropped and caused the wheels of a bogie to come off the running rail and hit track equipment, including the third rail and point machines, leading to the power fault."
A Facebook page called MRT Singapore Service Information posted photos of the stationary "old train" near Ulu Pandan Depot.
