The North East Line (NEL) Rail Bridging Service (or NEL free shuttle bus service / NEL Bridging Bus) is an emergency bus service which is provided in the event of a Train Service Disruption involving the North East Line, which is operated by SBS Transit.
When a section of the North East Line is suspended, this service may be activated to ferry affected commuters between affected stations, hence minimizing the impact of rail disruptions on commuters. This service may also be activated should there be a significant addition of expected travelling time along the NEL.
Activation:
When the NEL bridging bus service is activated along a specific stretch of the NEL, information will be disseminated through SBS Transit and the Land Transport Authority (LTA)’s media platforms. The service will only stop at specific bus boarding points (either at bus stops, bus interchanges, or roadside bus boarding points) which are marked out in the ticket concourse of every station.
This service is offered for free, in addition to free boarding of regular bus services during a disruption.
Route
Route Map towards Punggol:
Route Map towards HarbourFront:
| Technical Information | ||
Route  |
Telok Blangah Rd (HarbourFront MRT) ↔ Punggol Temp Int (Punggol MRT) | |
| Passes Through | Specific North East Line MRT Stations (Disseminated at moment of activation) |
|
| Fare |
Free Travel | |
| Operator Information | ||
| Current Operator | SBS Transit Ltd | |
| Current Fleet | Any Public Bus |
|
| Departure Times |
Activated and withdrawn only when disseminated | |
Routes are compiled based on observations during a rail disruption.
Operator Information
- NE1 HarbourFront – NE17 Punggol (Service 472)
SBS Transit Ltd
MRT Stations Served:
- NE1CC29 HarbourFront
- NE3EW16 Outram Park
- NE4DT19 Chinatown
- NE5 Clarke Quay
- NE6NS24CC1 Dhoby Ghaut
- NE7DT12 Little India
- NE8 Farrer Park
- NE9 Boon Keng
- NE10 Potong Pasir
- NE11 Woodleigh
- NE12CC13 Serangoon
- NE13 Kovan
- NE14 Hougang
- NE15 Buangkok
- NE16STC Sengkang
- NE17PTC Punggol
History of Activation: (before 2017)
This list is not exhaustive.
History of NEL Bridging Bus activations (2012–2017)| Date | Sector Served | Disruption Reason |
| 15 Mar 2012 | HarbourFront ↔ Dhoby Ghaut | Power Fault (Broken overhead catenary wire) |
| 17 Aug 2012 | HarbourFront ↔ Punggol | Traction Power Fault & reduced peak-hour frequency |
| 10 Jan 2013 | HarbourFront ↔ Outram Park | Power Fault (Broken U-bolts caused overhead catenary misalignment and power trip) |
| 4 June 2013 | Outram Park ↔ Dhoby Ghaut | Power Fault |
| 22 Mar 2014 | Dhoby Ghaut ↔ Sengkang | (Fault quickly resolved; few buses deployed) |
| 6 Apr 2014 | Dhoby Ghaut ↔ Potong Pasir | Power Fault |
| 21 Aug 2014 | Buangkok ↔ Punggol | Power Fault (dislocated cantilever arms) |
| 18 Feb 2015 | Chinatown ↔ Potong Pasir | — |
| 8 Sep 2015 | Punggol ↔ Buangkok | Signalling Fault |
| 13 Oct 2015 | Farrer Park ↔ Hougang | Power Fault & blackouts (Malfunctioned electrical switchgear caused power trip) |
| 26 Oct 2015 | HarbourFront ↔ Punggol | Arcing-induced breakage of overhead catenary wire leading to delayed launching of trains onto the mainline |
| 21 Apr 2016 | Chinatown ↔ Farrer Park | — |
| 29 Jul 2016 | Potong Pasir ↔ Punggol | Train Fault at Buangkok |
| 17 Aug 2016 | Punggol ↔ Buangkok | Train Fault |
| 14 Nov 2016 | HarbourFront ↔ Dhoby Ghaut | — |
| 3 Oct 2017 | Punggol ↔ Buangkok | Train Fault |
| 16 Nov 2017 | Outram Park ↔ Farrer Park | Train Fault |
History of Activation: (since 2018)
| Date | Sector Served | Disruption Reason |
| 11 Apr 2018 | Outram Park ↔ Potong Pasir | Train Fault at Little India |
| 15 Oct 2018 | Farrer Park ↔ Potong Pasir | Power Fault |
| 27 Feb 2020 | Punggol ↔ Buangkok & Punggol ↔ Hougang |
Power Fault (Broken overhead catenary wire at Sengkang depot reception track) |
| 28 Mar 2021 | Serangoon ↔ Punggol | Power Fault (Damaged overhead catenary wire at Buangkok Station) |
| 28 Dec 2021 | HarbourFront ↔ Punggol | Train Fault |
| 23 Jan 2022 | Serangoon ↔ Punggol | Train Fault at Sengkang |
| 29 Mar 2023 | Serangoon ↔ Punggol | Signalling Fault at Sengkang |
Gallery:
External Links & References
Back to Rail Bridging Services
This could receive a few modifications and become a full fledge route.
1. Skip hougang and sengkang int and serves bus stops near it instead.
2. Start from harbourfront int
3. Serve more bus stops along the way