City Hall MRT station lights, escalators back on after blackout

Parts of City Hall MRT Station were hit by blackout caused by a power trip on Friday afternoon.

Train operator SMRT said it started at 1.23pm. 

The power trip caused a blackout on most of the station platforms. 

Emergency lighting was turned on immediately.

For commuter's safety, station staff turned off the escalators leading to the affected platforms and used light sticks to guide commuters. 

They also used loud hailers to alert commuters who were alighting at the station and to advise them not to be alarmed. 

About 50 staff, including the customer service team, were at the concourse and platforms to assist affected commuters. 

SMRT said based on its preliminary assessment, the problem may have started at the generator room in City Hall station. 

It's investigating the cause of the short circuit.

Lighting was progressively restored from 2pm, and was back to normal at 3.15pm. 

All escalators have also been turned on. 

SMRT has apologised for any inconvenience caused. 

When contacted, Singapore Power said its power grid supply to the City Hall station was in order. 

A commuter Mr Tan, who was at the station said:

"In some areas, it's totally pitch black, near to the toilet area it's totally dark. But in the ticketing area, it's still visible. I saw everyone still (moving) in an orderly manner. No one is panicking because there were announcements being made by the station masters to inform the commuters what happened. I saw an MRT personnel bringing out a signboard and on the signboard it indicated that the station is encountering a power failure, but the MRT trains are in working condition."