MRT delay on Circle Line between Bishan and Buona Vista stations during evening peak hour
Ann Chen
The Straits Times
Jan 13, 2026
Passengers on the Circle Line faced a delay along a seven-station stretch between Bishan and Buona Vista during the evening peak hour on Jan 13.
In an announcement on the mytransport.sg website at 7.13pm, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that the "minor delay" affected MRT services in both directions.
"Commuters can continue to use the train service or consider free bus services at affected stations," it said.
A few Reddit users said they were caught in the delay.
One user said: "The train had a loud bang after Farrer Road to Botanic Gardens, then the train stopped for 10 mins before Caldecott.
"Afterwards we were all told to get off at Caldecott, and the train didn't move off after."
Another user said that commuters were told to alight at Tai Seng MRT station.
"Now trains towards Harbourfront are all crowded. No announcement from any station staff until I did some digging online," the user added.
A commuter who declined to be named told The Straits Times that she was heading from Kent Ridge to Lorong Chuan when the train stopped before Caldecott station.
She said there was a burning smell, though this dissipated in less than a minute.
There was then an announcement that passengers had to get off at Caldecott station, she added.
The train remained stationary for a few minutes before continuing on its journey at the normal speed.
After passengers disembarked at Caldecott, the affected train left in the direction it came in, she said, adding that it took about eight minutes before the first replacement train appeared.
However, four more trains passed before she could continue her journey.
A check on the mytransport.sg website as at 7.43pm showed that train service was back to normal.
ST has contacted transport operator SMRT for more information.
