Welcome the advent of citizen journalism! This just added to my portfolio of strange incidents taking the train. Recommended route of approach - let the video load (click play and then pause it) read the story and view the pictures (they open in new windows). *Clears throat*
An accident happened along the east-west route of the MRT 23 Jan. at 3.30 p.m. A whole train of commuters had no choice but to alight from the driver compartment of the train after the train pulled in at Eunos MRT.
It remained stationed for three minutes, and then everyone started queueing up towards the front of the train. The passenger doors were jammed, and the service personnel could not open them manually. The passengers cleared the train from the driver's compartment, forming a bottleneck where the only exit was.
From the platform, a cracked windshield explained why the train did not dock at the actual position further ahead. The announcer's voice blared through the station, louder and higher-strung than normal public service announcements.
It was telling commuters who were entering the station that the east-bound train has broken down and it would take an hour to rectify the situation. It also directed those who alighted from the broken-down train to take buses to their destinations. The money for their trip would be refunded to them the next day onwards.
Within minutes of the announcements, a signboard was erected outside the station control informing passengers of the situation. The civil service, police and ambulance steered into the carpark, without any sirens. Uniformed men ran towards the station, and the stretcher was prepared behind the ambulance.
Damon Wong, an undergraduate at NUS, was an eyewitness to the event. He said that he found out later on from his mother that the cracked windshield was a result of another suicide case. It was reported on Capital 95.8FM that a man jumped down to the tracks and has landed himself in intensive care.
"I was sleeping on the train when it stayed stationary too long. I looked up and saw everyone standing and walking towards the front of the train," he said. "I took a video of the windshield and of us leaving from the front because it doesn't happen everyday." Read up on the newspapers to follow this story.
The civil service pulling in at the Eunos MRT carpark.
Uniformed personnel rushing into the scene.
Bewildered passengers leaving the station to take a bus.
Signboard informing passengers of the breakdown. Announcer inside trying to keep the situation under wraps.
