Another train breakdown? Yes, but this time, it is not the MRT.
Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) has apologised after passengers were stuck on the Sentosa Express monorail train for one hour and 50 minutes due to a technical fault.
It happened on Monday (Jan 23), the second day of Chinese New Year, which was a public holiday.
Stomp contributor Emma was one of the passengers on the train.
"I was stuck from approximately 11.40am to 1.30pm with my toddler and several other young families," recounted the Stomp contributor.
"The electricity was off. It was hot and increasingly uncomfortable, with no air conditioning until several tourists helped open a window. There was extremely limited communication between the train company and the passengers about the plan to evacuate safely.
"At one point, another train appeared and commenced ramming our stuck carriage without anyone warning us to hold on for safety or to consider the safety of others. This caused me and other passengers to be extremely distressed."
The moment the other train hit the faulty train was captured in one of the videos taken from inside the stuck train shared by the Stomp contributor.
The impact was so great that the video shows the train the passengers were on shaking. One female passenger reacted with an obscenity.
In another video, the other train appeared to successfully couple with the faulty train.
Emma told Stomp: "After arriving at the point of origin in Sentosa, we were greeted with no apologies from staff or explanation as to what happened.
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"The train driver did his best to communicate on the radio that four babies were on board, though he couldn't offer any reassurance about the rescue plan."
In response to a Stomp query, SDC said: "We apologise for the inconvenience caused to the affected guests as well as the distress they may have experienced. At Sentosa, the safety and well-being of our guests remains our utmost priority.
"When the technical fault had first occurred at around 11.40am, air-conditioning and lighting were not affected.
"In line with established Standard Operating Procedures, SDC made the decision to recover the faulty train through coupling with another train to tow it back to the nearest station for disembarkation. During this procedure, the electricity from the stalled train had to be shut off for safety reasons, which may inadvertently lead to some discomfort experienced in the train cabin.
"During the course of the disruption, the SDC Service Captain onboard made several trips through the cabin to engage with the affected passengers to update them of the situation as well as to offer assistance where required.
"The captain further updated on the train coupling action, which may cause some jerking during the process. As the PA announcement system was not in operation during this time, some passengers may have missed the message.
"The faulty train safely arrived at the Resorts World Sentosa station at approximately 1.30pm and five SDC staff were on-site to receive guests and render assistance."
Admission to Sentosa via the monorail is currently free until March 31, after which the standard fee is $4.
This article was first published in Stomp. Permission required for reproduction.