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SINGAPORE: Some stations along the East-West Line will close on Sundays from March 14 to May 23 for cable replacement work on the Tuas West Extension of the line.
The closures affect six stations from Pioneer to Tuas Link on three Sundays in March, as well as April 4, April 11 and April 18.
Four stations from Gul Circle to Tuas Link will be closed on April 25, as well as May 2, May 9, May 16, and May 23.
Train services will operate as usual the following Monday, SMRT said in a press release on Tuesday (March 2).
East-West Line station closures. (Image: SMRT)
SMRT said earlier Tuesday that Sunday closures will run from March 7 to May 16, but updated the schedule to delay it by a week “to give travelers more time to make alternative travel plans.”
The Land Transportation Authority (LTA) said in October last year that its prime contractor will replace 150 km of power cables and more than 100 circuit breaker components along the Tuas West Extension, after some defective parts caused a major disruption of train services on October 14.
More than 120,000 commuters along the North-South, East-West and Circle lines were affected by the evening rush hour disruption which, according to LTA, was caused by the “occurrence of simultaneous faults”, beginning with a cable faulty power supply in the Tuas West Extension.
Since then, all circuit breaker trip coils have been replaced along the West Tuas Extension.
In announcing the new closures, SMRT said: “The full closings on Sunday will provide more engineering hours and accelerate cable replacement work, expected to be completed by the end of 2021.”
Shuttle bus service 3 will be available during full closings on Sundays for commuters traveling along the affected sectors. The buses will serve designated bus stops near the affected MRT stations.
Details of the bus transportation service. (Image: SMRT)
“Travelers are advised to plan their trips in advance and to factor in additional travel time when traveling during affected periods,” said SMRT.
Updates on changes to train operating hours and alternative transportation arrangements can be found on the SMRT Trains website, as well as via the SMRT Facebook page, Twitter, and the SMRTConnect app.
