Replacement works on North-East Line completed ahead of schedule; no more early closures for May

SINGAPORE: The early closure of some stations on the North-East Line scheduled for next month will no longer be needed after replacement works for the MRT line's power system was completed ahead of schedule, transport operator SBS Transit said on Tuesday (Apr 27). 

In a Facebook post, SBS Transit said the engineering team responsible for the overhead power system had completed the replacement of all the 132 insulators for the system ahead of time. 

This means there will be no early closures for the stations between Harbourfront and Dhoby Ghaut, which were originally planned for May 7 and 8.

Earlier this month, SBS Transit had early announced early closures for some North-East Line stations on some Fridays and Saturdays in April and May, to allow for "intensified replacement works" on the insulators of the overhead catenary system that supplies power to the trains. 

This came after train service on the line was disrupted for almost three hours on Mar 28 due to a power fault caused by a faulty insulator at Buangkok station. 

The North-East Line is the only MRT line in Singapore that uses such an overhead power system. 

SBS Transit noted on Tuesday that scaffolding had to be set up within the tunnels to allow its engineering team to work at height to carry out the replacement works.

READ: 2 train disruptions over 2 days is 'unfortunate and frustrating': LTA

The early closure of stations made a "huge difference" by giving workers more time to replace the insulators, said Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung. 

"So instead of finishing the work in September, SBS Transit completed the work earlier this week," he said in a Facebook post. 

Mr Ong thanked the maintenance crew for their hard work, "including during the month of Ramadan".