Commuters who were returning home from work got caught
in "human jams" at some stations along the East-West Line on
Tuesday (Feb 7) evening, with one commuter saying at least two
packed trains went by without stopping.
The crowds spilled out of the platforms and up to the
gantries, eyewitnesses told The Straits Times.
SMRT had said in a statement posted on its Facebook
page on Tuesday afternoon that urgent works near Joo Koon station
were needed to replace a track point, which guides the direction of
train travel.
It advised commuters to expect similar delays in the
evening.
Senior marketing manager Patrick Lim, 42, told The
Straits Times that he was leaving his workplace at International
Plaza with his colleague at about 6.30pm when he saw that Tanjong
Pagar MRT station was packed with people.
"A lot of people were at the platform but we saw that
people couldn't get on when the train came. They didn't even open
the doors," he said.
At least two trains went by, pausing at the platform
but not opening the doors for commuters, he said.
Mr Lim added that there were no announcements or signs
put up to inform commuters of what was going on.
"The station people were quite nice and helped us,
deducted the entry charges," he said.
He took a bus home to Tiong Bahru and got home about 40
minutes later, when he usually gets home in less than 10
minutes.
His colleague, senior marketing manager Nadia Dawood,
37, was still on the bus home at 7.25pm when she spoke to The
Straits Times.
She said she would have been at Bukit Batok by 7.15pm
if not for the jams.
There were jams at other MRT stations including Buona
Vista, according to posts by commuters on social media.
SMRT in its earlier statement on Facebook said that its
urgent works are usually planned to take place over a weekend to
minimise impact on commuters, but added that this was "an urgent
and critical case".
ST