SINGAPORE – Regular service will resume between Kent Ridge and HarbourFront stations from April 6, as track work to integrate Stage 6 of the Circle Line (CCL) with the existing rail network has been completed more than a month ahead of schedule.
Since Jan 20, one platform each at the Telok Blangah and HarbourFront CCL stations has been closed to facilitate the track work, and a shuttle train has been operating on the other platform between HarbourFront and Labrador Park stations.
Separately, instead of turning around at HarbourFront, CCL trains have been doing so alternately at Kent Ridge and Labrador Park to maintain peak-hour intervals at the busy stretch from Kent Ridge to Paya Lebar.
The measures were scheduled to be in place until May 24.
Track work was completed early as the contractors had put in additional resources to work round the clock and refined work processes together with SMRT, which operates the MRT line, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said.
The early resumption of service at the affected stations will reduce inconvenience to commuters, LTA said on April 3.
This final stage of the CCL will add three stops between HarbourFront and Marina Bay, closing the loop for the MRT line.
In a Facebook post on April 3, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat thanked the engineers and workers for their effort and commuters for their patience during the works. “With this, the completion of the Circle Line is well under way, and we can look forward to the opening of the last three stations – Keppel, Cantonment and Prince Edward (Road) – by 2026,” he said.
Passengers The Straits Times spoke to at HarbourFront station on the afternoon of April 3 welcomed the upcoming resumption of regular service on the CCL, as it will make their commutes quicker and more convenient.
Business owner Juveina Sim, 38, who was on her way to Kent Ridge station, said having to use the shuttle service and changing trains was disruptive, and added five to 10 minutes to her journey.
Interior designer Elaine Lim, 49, said not having to wait for connecting trains would shave off 10 to 20 minutes from her journey from HarbourFront to Pasir Panjang.
The CCL was the least reliable among Singapore’s five MRT lines in 2023, based on the latest rail reliability statistics released by LTA in March.
The CCL managed 1.21 million train-km. This means the line had a fault resulting in a delay exceeding five minutes for every 1.21 million km travelled. This was a performance decline from 1.84 million train-km in 2022.
The Downtown Line (DTL) was the best performer. Operated by SBS Transit, the line achieved 8.12 million train-km between delays, an improvement from 4.05 million train-km in 2022.
The East-West Line (EWL), also run by SMRT, clocked 3.36 million train-km between delays, up from 2.04 million train-km in 2022. It is the only MRT line to have recorded continuous improvements since 2021.
Reliability of the North East Line (NEL), run by SBS Transit, and SMRT’s North-South Line (NSL) declined slightly from 2022. The NEL dipped by 1,000 train-km between delays to 2.063 million train-km, while the NSL’s performance fell to 1.41 million train-km, from 1.65 million train-km.
Work to renew six core systems on the NSL and EWL was slated to be mostly done by the end of 2023. This includes the communication system, the support for the tracks and the part of the track that supplies power to the trains.
Overall, the reliability of the MRT network dipped to 2.08 million train-km, from 2.09 million train-km in 2022.
In 2023, there were no service disruptions that lasted more than 30 minutes on the DTL, EWL and NEL. There were two on the CCL and three instances on the NSL. In 2022, there were seven such disruptions over the five MRT lines.
The reliability of the LRT lines improved. The SMRT-run Bukit Panjang LRT line covered 248,000 train-km between delays of more than five minutes, up from 222,000 train-km in 2022. The Sengkang-Punggol LRT line operated by SBS Transit managed 1.22 million train-km between delays, up from 438,000 train-km in 2022.
LTA noted that all the MRT lines did well in 2023 in maintaining reliability standards above the one million train-km benchmark. This was a target set by then Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan in 2017 to be achieved by 2020.
“In the event of incidents, operators endeavour to restore normal services in the shortest time possible without compromising safety. We will continue to closely monitor the reliability of our MRT network,” LTA added.
The reliability of the Thomson-East Coast Line was not reflected in the report.
LTA said the performance of the newest line is being monitored separately, as it will experience greater volatility due to the lower mileage clocked and teething issues commonly experienced by new systems.
- Additional reporting by Whitney William
