Train services between Malaysia and Singapore were disrupted since last night when a cargo train belonging to Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) jumped the rail near Tanjong Pagar railway station late Monday.

The cargo carriages, reported to be carrying sugar, dislodged from the main train and flipped over, blocking the railway lines to Singapore's Tanjong Pagar in the incident about 5.40pm.

According to Bernama, factory workers near Lower Delta Road said they heard a loud bang and saw smoke.

"We heard a loud sound, then we went out and saw a lot of smoke," eyewitness Ng Hee Thong said in a Channel NewsAsia report.

Six carriages dislodged from the main train. There were no injuries reported in the incident.

Railway workers had gone to the site to assess the damage and are waiting for instruction from the Malaysian authorities to clear the wreckage.

Major derailment

KTMB said the incident affected some 500 passengers yesterday.

"This is the first time such a major derailment has happened in Singapore... we are working around the clock to make the railway track passable," The Straits Times quoted Tanjong Pagar station manager Mohd Ayob Embong as saying.

It was not immediately known when the passenger train services could resume.

There were four services departing Singapore for Malaysia each day, namely Ekspress Rakyat, Sinaran Petang, Senandung Malam and Ekpress Timuran.

Passenger services remained disrupted today, with Singapore-bound traffic being diverted to Woodlands station near Singapore's border, said KTMB.

Normally, the passenger train stops at Tanjong Pagar station on the fringes of the central business district.

"All passenger services are expected to return to normal later this evening," it said.