Thomson-East Coast Line train services resume after disruption
A signalling fault occurred at 6.55am on the TEL following tests carried out by original equipment manufacturer ALSTOM on Saturday night.
A screen at City Hall MRT station alerting commuters that there are no train services between Caldecott and Orchard stations on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) on May 3, 2026.
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SINGAPORE: Train services between Caldecott and Orchard stations on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) were down on Sunday morning (May 3) due to a signalling fault, said operator SMRT.
As of mid-afternoon, services had resumed normal operations, said SMRT on X at 3.19pm. All bridging bus and free regular bus services have also ceased.
SMRT first posted about a "minor delay" between Stevens and Caldecott stations in both directions at around 6.55am. At the time, it said commuters could continue using the train service.
This was caused by a signalling fault at 6.55am on the TEL following tests carried out by original equipment manufacturer ALSTOM on Saturday night, said Mr Lam Sheau Kai, President of SMRT Trains.
SMRT posted another update at around 7.30am that the minor delay was still affecting train services in both directions, adding that commuters can continue to use the train service or consider free bus services at the affected stations.
SMRT then said at around 7.50am that there was a "major delay" on the TEL and that there were no train services in both directions between Caldecott and Orchard stations.
Shortly after 8am, the rail provider said there were no train services on the entire TEL - between Woodlands North and Bayshore stations - in both directions.
In an update at around 8.50am, it said that services were "progressively resuming" from Woodlands North to Caldecott stations and from Orchard to Bayshore stations.
Train services between Caldecott and Orchard stations remained disrupted, it said in a Facebook post, adding that commuters can take alternative MRT lines or free bus services between Woodlands North and Marina Bay stations.
At around 10.50am, SMRT said that train services had resumed between Caldecott and Orchard stations, but trains would be "travelling slower".
"Along this affected stretch, trains are being manually driven in both directions until the end of service," Mr Lam said in an 11.10am update.
The fourth stage of the TEL opened in June 2024, with 27 out of 32 TEL stations operational.
In September 2025, a signal fault caused a two-hour disruption on the TEL. A few months earlier, in July, another signalling fault caused delays on the train line, with services between Napier and Great World stations coming to a halt for over an hour.
The TEL was hit with three disruptions in a week in December 2024 and January 2025. SMRT had said that the delays were unrelated.
