Man caught walking on Clementi station
track
A MAN got on the eastbound track at Clementi MRT station and
started walking on it, which disrupted train services for almost 10
minutes on Tuesday morning.
According to an eyewitness, the man in his late 30s walked about
200m towards Dover MRT station before he was stopped by SMRT staff
and taken back to the station.
The eyewitness, who lives near the track, said he went to his
window to check after he heard a 'loud, blasting sound' coming from
a train. He saw the man, clad in a red T-shirt and black shorts, on
the track.
'He was half-walking and half-jogging. He looked quite calm,'
said the 63-year-old, an insurance agent who wanted to be known
only as Mr Chan. He next saw SMRT officers hot on the man's heels.
The man did not put up a struggle as they escorted him back to
Clementi MRT station, Mr Chan added.
An SMRT spokesman said it was a passenger who had alerted staff
about the man at about 9am.
The emergency stop plunger - which stops trains from moving -
was immediately activated, the spokesman said. Electricity to the
tracks was also cut. East- and westbound train services were
delayed for seven minutes and nine minutes respectively.
Police arrested the man under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public
Order and Nuisance) Act.
SMRT said there have been 19 cases of track intrusions between
January and September this year. There were 31 cases last year and
30 in 2006.
Power failure on NEL leaves thousands
stranded
THOUSANDS of commuters were affected when North-East Line (NEL)
train services between Sengkang and Punggol MRT stations were
disrupted by a power supply problem last night.
The fault occurred at about 9pm, and shuttle buses were
activated to ferry passengers between the stations.
'The line is still operating between HarbourFront and Buangkok
stations. We apologise to all affected commuters for the
inconvenience caused,' said SBS Transit spokesman Tammy Tan.
She estimated that 5,000 commuters were affected.