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Singapore's (4 million inh.) rapid transit system is considered one of the most modern in the world and was the first one to introduce platform sliding doors to protect passengers from falling onto tracks and to allow better air regulation in underground station areas (similar doors were installed in the St. Petersburg metro from the 1960's though).

North South Line & East West Line

The first two lines are operated by SMRT (formerly Singapore Mass Rapid Transit):

1990: 67km (19km underground, 3.3km at grade, 44.8km on viaduct), 42 stations (15 underground)

2002: 2 lines, 89.4 km (23.3km underground), 51 stations (16 underground, 9 of which are prepared as civil defence stations), including 6.4 km airport branch. Average station depth is 14.7m, Raffles Place being the deepest on these two lines at 21.3m.

North South Line (Marina Bay - Jurong East) - 44km

East West Line (Pasir Ris/Changi Airport - Boon Lay) - 45.4km

Both lines are served by 138m long 6-car-trains, which are air-conditioned, with 4 doors each car. Carriages are 3.2m wide. Trains reach a maximum speed of 80km/h (average 45km/h), use 1435 mm gauge, power supply is via third rail at 750V.

From 22 July 2003, the Tanah Merah - Changi Airport section is operated as a shuttle service.

More photos here

North East Line (NEL)

A 20 km underground and fully automated*, driverless line from the HarbourFront (World Trade Center) to Punggol opened in June 2003. Woodleigh station will not be opened until the area gets further developed. The first 25 six-car trains were delivered by Alstom in Oct. 2000. They are able to travel at a maximum speed of 90km/h and are powered via overhead pantographs. This line (total travelling time 33 minutes) is operated by SBS Transit. They also operate two LRT feeder lines, the Sengkang LRT & the Punggol LRT (see below).

* Alstom URBALIS system (click here for brochure)

More NEL photos

Bukit-Panjang LRT

Apart from the two metro lines there is an automated elevated people mover line which started operation in 1999 and which connects the MRT station at Choa-Chu-Kang with the new town of Bukit Panjang. Service is provided on a double track loop line every 6 minutes (2-4 minutes during rush hours) from 5:00 to 1:00. The 7.8 km long line with 13 stations is operated by SMRT, and uses 19 rubber tyred vehicles.

Station names are as follows:

BP1 Choa Chu Kang, BP2 South View, BP3 Keat Hong, BP4 Teck Whye, BP5 Phoenix, BP6 Bukit Panjang, BP7 Petir, BP8 Pending, BP9 Bangkit, BP10 Fajar, BP11 Segar, BP12 Jelapang, BP13 Senja, BP14 Ten Mile Junction.

Sengkang LRT

This is a new 8-shaped fully automated mini-metro designed as a feeder line for the North-East-Line, operating a 3.5 minute headway during peak hours and a 6-minute off-peak service. See photos

Station names are:
STC - Sengkang, SE1 - Compassvale, SE2 - Rumbia, SE3 - Bakau, SE4 - Kangkar, SE5 - Ranggung; SW1 - Cheng Lim, SW2 - Farmway, SW3 - Kupang, SW4 - Thanggam, SW5 - Fernvale, SW6 - Layar, SW7 - Tongkang, SW8 - Renjong

Punggol LRT

This is the second automatic people mover working as a feeder line for the North East Line.

Station names are:
PTC - Punggol, PE1 - Cove, PE2 - Meridian, PE3 - Coral Edge, PE4 - Riviera, PE5 - Kalaloor, PE6 - Oasis, PE7 - Damai; PW1 - Sam Kee, PW2 - Teck Lee, PW3 - Punggol Point, PW4 - Samudera, PW5 - Nibong, PW6 - Sumang, PW7 - Soo Teck

Sentosa Express

Since 15 Jan 2007, the 3-station Sentosa Express has linked the Sentosa island to the mainland, where it provides transfer to the MRT at the HarbourFront station. A fourth station, Waterfront, will open in 2010.

North South Line

07/11/1987: Yio Chu Kang- Toa Payoh
12/12/1987: Toa Payoh - Raffles Place
20/12/1988: Yio Chu Kang - Yishun
04/11/1989: Raffles Place - Marina Bay (start of two separate lines)
10/03/1990: Jurong East - Choa Chu Kang (then part of the East West Line)
10/02/1996: Yishun - Choa Chu Kang (incorporating line up to Jurong East)

12/12/1987: Raffles Place - Outram Park
12/03/1988: Outram Park - Clementi
05/11/1988: Clementi - Lakeside
04/11/1989: Raffles Place - Tanah Merah (start of two separate lines)
16/12/1989: Tanah Merah - Pasir Ris
10/03/1990: Jurong East - Choa Chu Kang (later linked to the North South Line)
06/07/1990: Lakeside - Boon Lay
10/01/2001: EW28 Expo station (shuttle service between Tanah Merah and Expo stations)
18/10/2001: Dover station (EW22) added between Clementi and Buona Vista
08/02/2002: EW29 Changi Airport (with through service from Boon Lay)

22/07/2003: Shuttle service Tanah Merah (EW4) - Changi Airport (CG2)

North East Line (NEL)

20 June 2003: HarbourFront - Punggol (except Woodleigh and Buangkok stations)
15 Jan 2006: Buangkok station opened

Bukit-Panjang LRT

6 Nov 1999 (7.8 km, 13 stations)

Sengkang LRT

20 Jan 2003 - East Loop
29 Jan 2005 - West Loop (except stations from SW1 to SW3)
15 Nov 2007 - Farmway station (SW2) opened

Punggol LRT

29 Jan 2005 - PTC Punggol and East Loop (except stations PE5 and PE6)
15 Jun 2007 - Oasis station (PE6) added

- The Circle Line will be a fully automated metro linking all other lines radiating out from the city centre. The initial 5.2 km section (Dhoby Ghaut, Museum, Convention Centre, Millennia, Nicoll Highway and Stadium Boulevard) is planned to open in 2010 and will eventually be expanded to a 33 km long Circle Line with 29 stations:

Stage 1: Dhoby Ghaut, Bras Basah (Museum), Esplanade (Convention Centre), Promenade (Millenia), Nicoll Highway, Stadium - 2010
Stage 2: Mountbatten (Old Airport Road), Dakota (Tanjong Katong), Paya Lebar, MacPherson, Tai Seng (Upper Paya Lebar) - 2007/08
Stage 3: Bartley, Serangoon, Lorong Chuan, Bishan, Marymount - 2008/09
Stage 4: Botanic Garden (Adam), Farrer Road, Holland Village, Buona Vista, one-north, Kent Ridge (NUH) - 2010
Stage 5: Pasir Panjang, Labrador Park (Alexandra), Telok Blangah, HarbourFront - 2010

- By 2009 The East West Line will be extended 3.8 km westwards towards Tuas with two stations, EW28 Pioneer Station & EW29 Joo Koon Station (Boon Lay Extension - BLE).

- Three new rail lines (two MRT and one LRT) will be built over the next 10 to 15 years to serve Bukit Timah, Jurong and estates in the eastern part of Singapore. Bukit Timah MRT Line - for the Bukit Panjang, Upper Bukit Timah and Bukit Timah regions. It is likely to be fully underground. Eastern Region MRT Line - to complement the existing East West Line and serve residents in Tampines, Bedok, Marine Parade, MacPherson and Kaki Bukit. It will be largely underground. Jurong Region LRT Line - a light rail system for those who live beyond the end point of teh East West Line and also students and staff of Nanyang Technological University. Details can be found here.

- In June 2005, the Singapore government decided to built the 'Downtown Extension' with 5 stations between Promenade station on the Circle Line and Chinatown station on the North East Line, with intermediate stations at Bayfront, Landmark and Cross Street (3.4 km). This project was later expanded into a separate line, with the first section to open in 2013. In a first stage (4.3 km) six stations will be built: Bugis (interchange with the East-West line), Promenade (located along Temasek Avenue;interchange with the Circle Line), Bayfront, Landmark, Cross Street and Chinatown (interchange with the North East Line). See details here and here.

- OPERATION

5:30 - 00:30, every 3-4/5-8 minutes

Apart from station names shown in English, stations are also numbered. A new numbering scheme was introduced in August 2001. Line directions are now shown by numbers. From 2005, stations signs and other information is also in Mandarin and Tamil. Between City Hall and Raffles Place there are four tracks, both stations allow comfortable transfer between lines on the same platform, City Hall in direction north/east and Raffles Place south/west. By 2006, all stations will be fully accessible for mobility impaired persons.

- FARES

The EZ-Link card, a contactless smart card similar to the Octopus card in Hong Kong, was launched on 13 April 2002. It can be used for fare payment on the MRT, LRT and buses, and is also accepted in some stores. An adult ez-link Card costs $15. More value can be added at machines. Fares depend on the distance travelled and range from 0.69 to 1.94.

The Standard Ticket is used for single trips and has a refundable SGP$1 deposit on top of the price of the ride. This can be refunded at any General Ticketing Machine after the ride. Standard tickets are slightly more expensive than ez-link card fares.

Visitors Card: more details here

Official SMRT page includes a clickable map with station information

ez-link Card (Tariff System)

SBS Transit (official - North-East-Line & Sengkang/Punggol LRT operator)

Land Transport Authority incl. new projects

A tour of the Singapore Metro by Mark S. Feinman

Singapore's Rail Transit System by Kenmin Shu (incl. many pictures)

Development of the Singapore MRT Network Article in JRTR by Tai Chong Chew and Chong Kheng Chua

UrbanRail.Net Singapore Metro Photo Gallery

TransitLink transit integration

Public Transport Council

Sentosa Monorail pictures

Singapore Rapid Transit map at Johomaps.com