In the second such breakdown in two days, MRT service has been suspended between Marina Bay and Braddell stations, affecting thousands of evening peak hour commuters.

STOMPers report blackouts hitting Braddell station and some trains.

At 7.45pm at Orchard MRT station, SCDF personnel were seen evacuating a woman in a stretcher after she fainted.

Commuters heading to Orchard should take the East-West Line to City Hall, and take a bus. Passengers heading to Ang Mo Kio should take the EW Line to Paya Lebar and change to the Circle Line.

SMRT has since issued a statement announcing the closure of the train service from Marina Bay to Braddell tonight:

“North bound train service between Marina Bay and Bishan stations will be closed and will not be up tonight.

“However, north bound service from Ang Mo Kio to Jurong East stations, as well as all south bound train service are still running.

“The East West and Circle Line train services are continuing as normal.

“A dedicated one-way bus bridging service will run from Bishan to Ang Mo Kio stations. Circle Line passengers alighting at Bishan and travelling north towards Woodlands are advised to take this bus bridging service or other modes of transport.

“A two-way bus bridging service is available between Marina Bay and Ang Mo Kio stations. Commuters are advised to take alternative modes of transport even though bus bridging services are provided.

“Preliminary investigation shows that around 40-metres of the power rail has been damaged between City Hall and Dhoby Ghaut stations.

“SMRT staff are now on site attending to the fault. We will work round the clock to repair the damage and hope to get the north-bound train service for this stretch up by tomorrow morning.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.

“Passengers are advised to walk away from congested areas/stations and take alternative transport.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.”

Earlier tonight, Stefanie sent in the photo of a blackout in a crowded train (above).

STOMPer Evangelin, who was at one of the affected train stations, wrote:

“I've waited more than half an hour & there's been no train service on both side of the North-South line!"

STOMPer Brian wrote:

“The North-South Line is down at around 6.45pm today (Dec 15).

“Prior to the announcement, I have been waiting for about 45mins.”

“It's the second time this week that a MRT line experienced a technical glitch.”

STOMPer Recopia said:

"It was all normal at Braddell station until I heard an announcement saying that trains heading towards Jurong East were delayed.

"After I boarded the train headed towards Marina Bay, the train stopped for a long time at Newton station.

"The lights in the train went off and we were asked to leave the train.

"Some passengers decided to ditch the MRT while I waited. The next train came and we all squeezed into it.

"At the next stop (Orchard) we stopped again at the station for an abnormally long time. An SMRT officer then said that there would be refunds for the delay.

"By then, half of the passengers had left the train, but I continued to wait.

"Then came the announcement that there will be no train services in both directions from Braddell to Marina Bay.

"When I left the building, I saw a fire engine and ambulance heading to Orchard MRT.

"I hope no one was hurt."

Read more reports from STOMPers affected by the breakdown on the next page.

STOMPer mos13 wrote:

“The MRT train system between Marina Bay and Braddell in both directions has broken down and will only be resumed in one hour.”

STOMPer kean wrote:

“Its bad enough that the train system has broke down but they are still letting ppl into the station.

“How dumb can that be?

STOMPer Dinolong wrote:

“Outrage at SMRT part two.”

STOMPer Mrt is King wrote:

“First, it was the Circle Line that broke down. Now, North South Line is disrupted and leaves people stranded.“

STOMPer Goh wrote:

“I was taking the train from Yishun to Marina bay when it stopped at Khatib station for 10mins.

“After that, it stopped for 15mins at Yio Chu Kang station.

“After 25mins, we were told that the train will be terminating at Ang Mo Kio station so we waited for the next train and we board it.

“After boarding the next train, we were informed that it will be terminating at Bishan station before signboards at the station showed 'No train service from Braddell to Marina Bay'

“Many people were affected by it.”

STOMPer Recopia wrote:

“It was all normal at Bradell station until I heard an announcement that trains heading towards Jurong East were delayed.

"After boarding a train headed towards Marina Bay, the train halted for a long time at Newton Station.

"The lights in the train went off and we were asked to evacuate.

"Some passengers decided to ditch the train while i waited for the next one.

"On board the next train and at Orchard station, we were stuck at the station for a very long time.

"Then, a MRT official said there would be refunds for the delay. By then, half had left the train but i waited still.

"Then came the announcment that there will be no train services in both directions from Bradell to Marina Bay.

"When I left the station, I saw a fire engine and ambulance moving towards Orchard station.

"I hope no one was hurt."

STOMPer donny wrote:

“MRT services are down from City hall to Dhoby Ghaut interchange.

“After an hour of waiting and no air-conditioning, we took a 10-minute walk on the track to Dhoby Ghaut MRT.“

STOMPer dayah wrote:

“The train service was disrupted between Marina Bay and Bradell which left hundreds stranded at MRT stations.
We were bouncing back from Marina Bay to Yishun when we found there was a train disruption and had to take bus after that. “

STOMPer lisa phua wrote:

“Picture: between orchard and somerset, lights out and no aircon “

STOMPer Gray Ng wrote:

“It was around 7.00pm this evening (Dec 15) when the train stopped in the middle of its journey.

“I felt two bumps and the smell of burning metal which lingered for a while.

“The lights and the ventillation went off everywhere except the first few cabins.

“There were no instructions to follow as the speakers are down.

“The air became hot and stuffy and some people fainted as a result.

“20 minutes later, instructions were given by the staff to exit through the first cabin.

“Police and firefighters arrived and helped control the crowd.

“It took 15 mins to get to the nearest station once we alighted from the train.”

STOMPer Eddie wrote:

“I'm not sure what's going on with the North-South line but there is no train service between Marina Bay & Bishan.“

Just yesterday (Dec 14), a communication network problem disrupted train services on the Circle Line in the morning. According to SMRT, 1,400 commuters were affected by the breakdown.