Unfazed passengers, orderly lines on first day of no MRT service between Tanah Merah and Expo

SINGAPORE – Many passengers continued with their journeys in an orderly fashion on March 14, the first day of the suspension of East-West Line (EWL) MRT service between Tanah Merah and Expo stations.

Most seemed unfazed and proceeded to take the alternative route via shuttle bus service S8.

Crowd marshals were on standby at train platforms and MRT gantries, as well as at the bus stops served by the shuttle service, to actively broadcast directions on portable microphones, guide passengers with light batons and assist those with questions.

When The Straits Times visited Tanah Merah station at around 7.45am on March 14, there were around six ground staff at the platform, another four at the level where the gantries are located, and about six marshals at the bus stop.

Large signs were on display across the entire station to inform commuters of the suspension of train service between Tanah Merah and Expo stations from March 14 to 17.

Some passengers, like Mr Peter Tan, 48, had found out about the service suspension beforehand, thanks to social media and physical banners at stations.

The sales executive, who works at Changi Airport, said he is typically on the train travelling from Tanah Merah to the airport at 8.20am on most days, but he was still waiting for the shuttle service to arrive at a bus stop outside Tanah Merah station at that time on March 14.

He was confident that he would still be able to get to work on time by 9am, and added that the service suspension was “bearable” since it would last only a few days.

Others, like customer service officer Raj Peruman, learnt about the service changes only on the morning of March 14 upon seeing the signs on display at Jurong East station.

The 38-year-old, who started his commute at Kranji on the North-South Line, said the suspension was “a bit inconvenient” as he would have to make a detour, compared with the direct train ride he normally takes to get to his workplace at Expo.

Mr Peruman, however, noted that the ground staff were “very helpful” in guiding him to take the shuttle service from Tanah Merah to Expo.

Another passenger in his fifties, who wanted to be known only as Mr Soin, was on his way to the airport with his teenage son and wife – and two medium-sized travel bags in tow.

Having known about the service suspension in advance, the Singaporean family of three initially planned to take a different route – via the EWL from Clementi to Tampines, transferring to the Downtown Line at Tampines to get to Expo, and then taking the EWL to Changi Airport.

The family told ST that the staff had directed them to take the shuttle bus service at Tanah Merah instead, which became “troublesome” for them as they had to drag their luggage in and out of stations.

They added that it would have been better if the staff had offered them a train-only alternative.

This is the third and final planned service suspension to link the EWL to the new East Coast Integrated Depot.

The first suspension, from Dec 7 to Dec 10, 2024, halted train service between Tanah Merah and Tampines to begin connecting the EWL to the new depot.

The second, from Nov 29 to Dec 8, 2025, suspended service between Bedok and Tampines, as well as between Tanah Merah and Expo, to complete the remaining track connections to the depot and connect a new platform at Tanah Merah station.

Construction on the depot began in 2016. The facility, set to open in the second half of 2026, will have train depots serving the East-West, Thomson-East Coast and Downtown lines, and a bus depot.

Over at the sheltered area outside Tanah Merah station where passengers were waiting for shuttle service S8, a large tent has been set up, with metal railings arranged neatly to manage queues.

A large fan has also been placed there.

Wait times for shuttle service S8 ranged from 45 seconds to more than five minutes.

The lower floor of each double-decker bus that arrived was mostly full, with some passengers needing to stand with their luggage, while the upper floor was relatively empty.

ST observed that the shuttle bus journey from Tanah Merah to Expo took around six minutes.

At the bus stop at Expo, there were several marshals guiding passengers who exited the shuttle bus towards the MRT station. They also ushered those exiting the MRT station to the same bus stop if they were headed for Tanah Merah.

For Indonesian tourist Aiska Putri, 30, the detour via shuttle service S8 was “quite a difficult experience” as she found it inconvenient to transfer to a shuttle bus halfway through her journey to Changi Airport.

The digital marketer, who travelled from Bugis, said it would be ideal if she could take a straight train on the EWL to Changi Airport.

She did not know about the service suspension prior to March 14, and felt that it was “troublesome” travelling from the city to the airport while wheeling her luggage around.

Domestic helper Melody Tamayo, 40, took a different route via the MRT to avoid the service change.

She took the EWL from Kallang to Paya Lebar, transferred to the Circle Line to travel from Paya Lebar to MacPherson, changed to the Downtown Line to get from MacPherson to Expo, and finally transferred back to the EWL to get to Changi Airport.

While her journey was slightly longer than usual, Ms Tamayo said it was not a problem, especially because the staff on the ground were very helpful and provided her with clear directions.