I was caught in the midst of it sadly.
And... it is really bad that both of the most heavily utilised lines were affected. The Red North South Line and the Green East West line..
Which means, NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST ALL AFFECTED LIKE WOW
If you're familiar with Singapore news... yes this happens once in a while. How often? It really depends but yes it has happened quite a number of times.
This is the first time I was badly affected and in the thick of the action
So this post is dedicated for such train breakdowns, and I will recap how I got through the breakdown today
[Breakdown at City Area]
I am at Raffles City, City Hall mrt area. Both red and green lines are down. City hall mrt is now uselesss! What should I do?!
Check and understand the current situation!
- Check @ltasg on twitter to know exactly why is going on. Check SMRT's facebook page where they will update if services has resume.
- If you can't access these, ask a friendly local for help, wherever you are
- If you are already at the mrt, there are volunteers with pamplets and suggestions on alternative routes
Know your options, and change your plans if necessary!
- I strongly recommend going to the next available line that is working fine.
This was what I did. I walked a long distance from City Hall to Dhoby Ghaut Mrt, which had both the Purple North East line and the Yellow Circle line that were still working. Ask locals for directions! (but pls, if the local appears not to have a good sense of direction... just say thanks then move on and ask someone else!!!) - I then recommend taking the train service again if it resumes
- Last option... take a bus to your destinations
The free shuttle bus services that run along the mrt lines tend to be crowded, filled to the brim and very slow. I don't recommend taking the free shuttle bus at all to be honest.
For myself, who tried to take a normal bus, this was a very bad first decision. Buses were at a standstill in the city area. In 10 minutes, I covered about 600-800m by foot. However, the bus I saw at Raffles City was still stuck at the exact same position while I have already traveled to a bus stop further down.
The problem with the city is that each bus stop has many buses, up to 13 even. Imagine all 13 buses need to now alight the numerous passengers who can no longer use the mrt and are queuing up in a single row to enter the bus stop. Add all the cars who have been summoned to the city to fetch people home in order to avoid the mrt. Now add in all the taxis that are being used up to send people where they need to go.
you get one massive traffic jam.
In fact, it was so bad that after 30 minutes of staring at buses that could not move, I then gave up my original plan of taking a direct bus home and walked to Dhoby Ghaut mrt station. I took the train and then SOS my dad to pick me nearer to home. - Not even an option... taking a cab
If you are stuck in the traffic jam I mentioned above.... be prepare for your money to fly. Every minute your vehicle is stationary, the meter in the cab would continue running. So you are MUCH BETTER OFF taking the public transport (and the inconvenience).
Remember the bus I left 800m behind? There were also about 9 cabs trying to turn right into the cross junction but to no avail as traffic was absolutely at a standstill.
I really hope this post might help you in the event the train breaks down again. I refused to take pictures of the crowds and standstills as I wanted to save my phone battery. Click the two news reports at the top of this post to see all the details if you want!