Train Survives Axle Failure and Financial Loss for Crew, Six-Wheeler Escapes Unharmed

On September 25, 2024, a mechanical failure involving a dislodged axle box on a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) train in Singapore triggered a six-day service disruption on the East-West Line, resulting in extensive damage to rail infrastructure and the suspension of normal operations between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations. The incident, which affected approximately 500,000 daily passenger journeys, was later identified by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) as stemming from the overheating and failure of a train axle box, with contributing factors including deferred maintenance practices and a malfunctioning trackside monitoring system.

The failure occurred when a first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries C151 train (set 065/066) experienced a fault near Clementi station around 9 a.m., leading to a power trip and smoke emission. Passengers evacuated the train, which was subsequently rerouted onto the westbound track at Queenstown station. The dislodged axle box caused one bogie to derail, resulting in severe damage to the permanent way, including rail breaks across 2.55 kilometres of track, destruction of rail fasteners, damage to the third rail, power cables, and point machines.

Due to the extent of the damage, full rail service remained suspended for six days, with normal operations only resuming on October 1, 2024. Bridging bus services were deployed between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations to mitigate passenger impact during the disruption. The Land Transport Authority concluded its investigation on June 3, 2025, confirming the axle box failure as the root cause and identifying SMRT’s deferred maintenance overhaul of the affected train and the malfunctioning trackside axle box temperature monitoring system as key contributing factors.

In response to the findings, the LTA imposed a financial penalty of S$3 million on SMRT for safety lapses that contributed to the incident. The penalty reflects the regulator’s assessment of organizational shortcomings in maintenance oversight and monitoring system reliability, which allowed the axle box defect to progress undetected until failure. The incident remains among the longest MRT service disruptions in Singapore’s history since the 2017 incidents and underscores the critical role of proactive maintenance and real-time monitoring in preventing cascading failures in high-utilization rail systems.