Transport
Train service delay along the North East Line on Friday morning
Passengers traveling on the North East Line (NEL) trains on Friday (19 July) morning, experienced delays in their commute.
SBS Transit (SBST), the transport operator of the NEL train service, informed in a tweet that it was caused by a track fault at the Harbour Front Station.
Commuters posted their information and comments on TATA SMRT Facebook about the delay:
Anthony Low wrote at 7:38am: “Northeast line experience slowness in both direction. 737am.”
Ying Leong commented at 7:44am: “Train stop at Punggol for more than 5 mins.”
Jacquelyn R Lim informed at 7:44am: “Am in a train at Sengkang mrt. Train doors did not close for 5mins++. Ok now trains just started moving. Towards town. (7.44am)”
John Glorious Wang wrote at 7:48am: “Now stuck at buangkok.”
Jacquelyn R Lim informed at 7:49am: “Ok my train fr Sengkang has moved. Next stop Kovan. Every stop will wait for 5mins+. A friend is ahead of me at Hougang. Same situation. So (I think) trains are moving but just add on 5mins every stop. Report lateness to bosses pls!” ?
Mary Lee added at 8:07am: “Train stopped for about 5 mins at sengkang (as of 8am).”
Stephen Chang informed at 8:15am: “Train running at 2mins interval now. Moderate Q at SKG, BKK. HOU Q until opposite platform. Short Q at KOV. No 5 mins stop for me to Serangoon.”
Alan Charles Yap, the Admin of TATA SMRT, shared a tweet from SBS Transit at 8:16am: “NEL SERVICE DELAY 19/07, 8.10am: NEL Svc is delayed due to a track fault at Harbourfront Stn. Additional travel time of abt 5mins is expected for both directions. We are sorry.”
SBS Transit informed the delay on Twitter at 8:11am, citing a track fault at Harbour Front Station as the reason and asking for 5 minutes additional travel time:
19/07, 8.10am: NEL Svc is delayed due to a track fault at Harbourfront Stn. Additional travel time of abt 5mins is expected for both directions. We are sorry.
— SBS Transit (@SBSTransit_Ltd) July 19, 2019
SBST repeated the tweets at 8:20am and 8:32am, asking for 10 minutes and then 15 minutes additional travel times:
19/07, 8.20am: NEL Svc is delayed due to a track fault at Harbourfront Stn. Additional travel time abt 10mins is expected for both directions. We are sorry
— SBS Transit (@SBSTransit_Ltd) July 19, 2019
19/07, 8.32am: NEL Svc is delayed due to a track fault at Harbourfront Stn. Additional travel time of 15 mins is expected for both directions. We are sorry
— SBS Transit (@SBSTransit_Ltd) July 19, 2019
The efforts to take care of the fault was not finished at 9:02am, but additional travel time asked was decreased:
19/07, 9.01am: NEL svc is delayed due to a track fault at Harbourfront Stn. Additional travel time of 5 to 10 mins is expected for both directions.
— SBS Transit (@SBSTransit_Ltd) July 19, 2019
Commuters also took to Twitter platform to inform and complain:
The #NEL is super slow this morning. Stopping and starting over and over between every station
— Nazeem 🍉🍉🍉 (@nazeem) July 18, 2019
Ok, now the #NEL has stopped for good. Been standing still for more than 5min @LTAsg
— Nazeem 🍉🍉🍉 (@nazeem) July 18, 2019
Train disrupted and stop at Posting Pasir in harbourfront direction #smrt #singapore #mrt #train
— Edmund Seah (@edseah) July 18, 2019
@SBSTransit_Ltd what’s going on with NEL today? Usually I’m already reaching Dhoby Ghaut from Punggol at this time, but right now, I just departed Buangkok!
— Rinaldi Widyanto (@CaiusRinaldi) July 18, 2019
#nel 0810hrs… Pretty smooth after Buangkok towards HF. Train very packed. Limited entry at every station. Track fault #SMRT #sbstransit
— Ray (@Kongleng) July 19, 2019
PSA Guys NEL from Punggol to Harboufront has track fault. So literally every stop has to stop for quite a fair bit #FridayFeeling
— tricia pang (@triciapang) July 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/K_SlapShot/status/1152013250646564864
‘shimmer_lightdusk’ shared a photo and complained about fare, though she thought SMRT is the operator of the NEL train service:
https://twitter.com/MLightdusk/status/1152024507034423296
Finally, at 9:25am SBST informed the fault has been rectified, the NEL train service has resumed:
19/07, 9.24am: NEL Svc has resumed. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused.
— SBS Transit (@SBSTransit_Ltd) July 19, 2019
And the passengers tweets stopped after this one:
https://twitter.com/AllenFearless/status/1152027951094910976
![](https://theonlinecitizen.s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/2023/03/26202010/TOC_newlogo_small.webp)
Singapore
SimplyGo revamps app to allow top-up and card blocking features
On 6 September, SimplyGo launched a revamped app allowing commuters to top up and activate card-blocking features for older EZ-Link cards via mobile phones. This comes after the government reversed its plan to phase out older payment cards in January following public outcry over the inability to view balances when tapping their SimplyGo cards on public transport.
![](https://theonlinecitizen.s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/09/06154144/SimplyGo-tile.jpg)
SINGAPORE: On Friday (6 September), SimplyGo, an account-based ticketing (ABT) system primarily used for public transport, launched a revamped app that enables commuters to top up and activate card-blocking features for older card-based EZ-Link cards through their mobile phones.
The upgraded app offers a more comprehensive experience, integrating transit ticketing and travel card-related services into a single platform.
This move follows the merger of TransitLink and EZ-Link into one entity on 1 Sept.
The updated SimplyGo app provides access to the EZ-Link digital wallet for seamless in-store and online payments, announced SimplyGo.
Additionally, motorists can now use the EZ-Link Motoring service to pay for Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) and carpark charges using locally-issued Mastercard or Visa cards.
To top up older EZ-Link cards through the app, users must activate Near Field Communication (NFC) on their mobile phones and tap the physical card on the device.
The auto top-up feature, also available in the revamped app, automatically deducts a pre-set amount when the card’s balance drops to $3 upon exiting train gantries or buses.
For lost or misplaced cards, the new card-blocking function can be activated, though it may take up to 48 hours to complete.
SimplyGo emphasized that the revamped app is part of an ongoing effort to consolidate services that were previously split between the EZ-Link and TransitLink SimplyGo apps.
Existing EZ-Link app users do not need to re-register their cards, as their accounts will sync across the new app using their previously registered mobile numbers.
While the older EZ-Link app remains accessible, commuters are encouraged to switch to the upgraded SimplyGo app to access the full range of features.
Enhanced security measures are also in place, allowing only local mobile numbers for account registration, which ensures better fraud management and more accurate refund services.
Tourists and foreigners can use the app in “Guest Mode” to check their card balances.
SimplyGo’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tan Kim Hong, noted that the enhanced app is the company’s first step towards making SimplyGo the go-to platform for public transport commuters, offering a convenient and secure experience.
More features, such as a wayfinding tool for navigating MRT stations and bus interchanges, will be rolled out progressively.
LTA: Voluntary conversion to SimplyGo for MOE School Smart Cards to commence from 7 Sept
In a separate statement, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced that from Saturday (7 Sept), students will have the option to convert their student concession cards into SimplyGo school smart cards.
This option will be available to all students from Ministry of Education primary and secondary schools, as well as junior colleges and Millennia Institute.
“This follows feedback from parents and students who expressed a preference for converting their existing Student Smart Cards (SSC) to SimplyGo SSCs, allowing parents to top up their children’s cards remotely via the SimplyGo app,” said the LTA.
The conversion process is free and can be completed at selected ticketing machines across all MRT stations and bus interchanges.
However, those wishing to revert to a non-SimplyGo concession card will need to return their SimplyGo school smart card and purchase a new non-SimplyGo concession card for S$8.10 (US$6).
“With this, all commuters now have the option to convert their travel cards to SimplyGo,” said LTA.
In January, LTA U-turn on SimplyGo transition; Transport Minister issued apology
SimplyGo’s latest app revamp was announced following the government’s embarrassing reversal in January of its initial plan to transition entirely to SimplyGo and phase out older public transport payment cards, which was met with significant public outcry.
On 9 January, LTA revealed plans to retire the older card-based ticketing system used by EZ-Link and Nets FlashPay cards, in favor of SimplyGo, an account-based system (ABT).
This transition aimed to streamline fare payments by processing transactions on the back end, moving away from the traditional method of storing transaction data on individual cards.
However, the announcement triggered immediate backlash from commuters, who were particularly frustrated by the inability to view fare deductions and balances directly on the cards.
In response to the public dissatisfaction, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat announced on 22 January that the government would invest an additional S$40 million to extend the lifespan of the card-based ticketing system, allowing passengers to continue using older payment cards until at least 2030.
Minister Chee publicly apologised for the government’s decision, admitting that the LTA had underestimated the strong preference many commuters had for the existing system.
Singapore
COE prices hit new highs across all categories in latest tender
COE prices rose across all categories on 4 September, with premiums for smaller cars hitting a 2024 high of S$96,490. Category B COEs rose to S$106,300, while motorcycles saw the largest increase to S$9,801. Commercial vehicle premiums also climbed, marking the fifth consecutive rise.
![](https://theonlinecitizen.s3.ap-northeast-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/09/04170331/COE-traffic.png)
In the latest Certificate of Entitlement (COE) tender on 4 September, prices across all five categories rose, with the premium for smaller, less powerful cars reaching a 2024 record of S$96,490. This marks a 2.8 per cent increase from the previous tender’s S$93,900 for Category A COEs, which cover smaller cars and electric vehicles (EVs).
Category B COEs, which are for larger and more powerful cars and EVs, also saw a slight rise of 0.4 per cent, bringing the premium to S$106,300 from S$105,889 in the previous tender.
Meanwhile, Open category COEs (Category E), which can be used for any vehicle type except motorcycles but are generally applied to bigger cars, increased by 0.8 per cent to S$106,901, compared to S$106,001 two weeks ago.
Motorcycle COEs (Category D) saw the steepest rise of 5.3 per cent, climbing from S$9,310 to S$9,801, while the commercial vehicle category (Category C) continued its upward trend with a 2.2 per cent increase to S$74,001, marking its fifth consecutive rise.
COEs are a crucial element of vehicle ownership in Singapore, granting the right to own and use a vehicle for a limited period. These rising premiums reflect the ongoing high demand and limited supply in Singapore’s car market.
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