Circle MRT Line

Circle MRT Line 地铁环线
The Circle Line is coloured orange on system maps.
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)
Status	Operational
Termini	Dhoby Ghaut HarbourFront Marina Bay
Stations	31
Services	3
Operation
Opened	28 May 2009 (Stage 3) 17 April 2010 (Stage 1 and 2) 8 October 2011 (Stage 4 and 5, except Bukit Brown) 14 January 2012 (Circle Line Extension)
Owner	Land Transport Authority
Operator(s)	SMRT Trains (SMRT Corporation)
Rolling stock	Alstom Metropolis C830, Alstom Metropolis C830C
Technical
Line length	35.7 km (22.2 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge
Electrification	Third rail
Route map Legend  Jurong East   HarbourFront – Punggol  CC1 Dhoby Ghaut ■ ■  Expo  CC2 Bras Basah CC3 Esplanade CE2 Marina Bay ■ CE1 Bayfront ■ CC4 Promenade ■  Bukit Panjang  CC5 Nicoll Highway CC6 Stadium CC7 Mountbatten CC8 Dakota CC9 Paya Lebar ■  Pasir Ris – Joo Koon  CC10 MacPherson ■  Expo – Bukit Panjang  CC11 Tai Seng Kim Chuan Depot CC12 Bartley  Punggol – HarbourFront  CC13 Serangoon ■ CC14 Lorong Chuan CC15 Bishan ■  Jurong East – Marina Bay  CC16 Marymount CC17 Caldecott CC18 Bukit Brown  Bukit Panjang – Expo  CC19 Botanic Gardens ■ CC20 Farrer Road CC21 Holland Village  Joo Koon – Pasir Ris  CC22 Buona Vista ■ CC23 one-north CC24 Kent Ridge CC25 Haw Par Villa CC26 Pasir Panjang CC27 Labrador Park CC28 Telok Blangah CC29 HarbourFront ■  Punggol

The Circle Line (CCL) is Singapore's fourth Mass Rapid Transit line, operated by SMRT Corporation. This underground line is currently 35.7 kilometres (22.2 mi) long with 28 stations (excluding Bukit Brown) and is fully automatically operated. It takes about an hour to travel from one end to the other and is coloured orange on the rail map.

As the name implies, the line is an orbital line linking all radial lines leading to the city, and also covering many parts of the Central Area. It will also include a branch line beginning at Promenade Station and ending at Marina Bay Station. Transfers to the North South Line will be provided at Bishan, Dhoby Ghaut and Marina Bay stations, East West Line at Paya Lebar and Buona Vista stations, and North East Line at Dhoby Ghaut, Serangoon and HarbourFront stations. Until the opening of the Circle Line extension, the Circle Line had both of its termini that interchanges with the North East Line. The future Downtown Line will interchange with the Circle Line at Bayfront, Promenade, Botanic Gardens and MacPherson stations.

The Circle Line is the first medium capacity line in Singapore. As a medium capacity line, each Circle Line train has only three cars instead of the six-car configuration as seen on current MRT lines. The rolling stock consists of forty Alstom Metropolis C830 trains. When complete, half a million people are expected to use the Circle Line each day. The completed line will reduce travelling time for commuters by allowing them to shorten trips between north to east or north to west and vice versa, bypassing busy interchange like City Hall and Raffles Place.

Currently, the Circle Line is not a full circle yet, as there is no through service on the section between Harbourfront and Marina Bay or Dhoby Ghaut. Passengers will need to transfer onto the North East Line to get to Dhoby Ghaut instead. However, a branch passing through the Marina District has been built, and a "Stage 6" that would complete the circle has been mooted but is not officially planned.

To complete the circle without transferring to other rail lines, one has to commute SBS Transit bus service 97 from the bus stops along Harbourfront station to Marina Bay station.

Like the North East Line, the Circle Line features the Art in Transit programme. This consists of artwork that is integrated into station designs as well as "Art Seats". Also part of the LTA's Art in Transit programme were open architectural competitions for two Circle Line stations, Stadium, and Bras Basah, both of which were awarded to WOHA Architects.

History

Plans for the Circle Line date back to the 1980s. The then Minister for Communications and Information, Dr Yeo Ning Hong stated that such a system "would be feasible when the population reaches four million".

In the 1990s, the Circle Line was first known as the Marina Line. The Marina Line was initially planned as a 12-station underground line, starting from Chinatown and Dhoby Ghaut via the National Stadium to either Kallang or Paya Lebar station. However, the Chinatown leg was later truncated and was reduced to 6 stations up to Stadium station. On the other hand, a further extension towards Upper Paya Lebar was added. Eventually, the Marina Line ended up as an inner circular line. Stations in Circle Line that were a part of the original Marina Line plans include Dhoby Ghaut, Bras Basah, Esplanade, Promenade, Nicoll Highway and Stadium. Also, the part of the Marina Line from Chinatown Station to Promenade Station is now part of the Downtown Line.

Originally scheduled to be opened from 2006 and fully opened in 2010, with an estimated cost of S$6.7 billion, the Nicoll Highway collapse caused the construction of the line to be delayed. As a result, the opening of the Circle Line was delayed to 2009, with full opening by 2011 (excluding the Marina Bay Extension), at an escalated cost of nearly S$10 billion. Due to the re-alignment of the Nicoll Highway Station to a new location, the station is only two-thirds the size of the original plan before the collapse, and located 100 metres (330 ft) away from the highway collapse site. The decision was also made to open both Caldecott, and Haw Par Villa stations (previously Thomson and West Coast), initially planned as shell stations, together with the whole line, leaving only Bukit Brown Station closed.

Stage 3, a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) five-station segment stretching from Bartley to Marymount, was the first section of the line opened, on May 28, 2009. Ridership on this section has been considerably lower than estimated, at 32,000 passengers per day (ppd) instead of the expected 55,000 ppd. Tunneling works for the entire line were completed on August 17, 2009. Stages 1 and 2 started operations on April 17, 2010, Stages 4 and 5 on October 8, 2011. and the final Circle Line Extension on January 14, 2012.

• 28 May 2009: Stage 3 (Bartley - Marymount) opened
• 17 April 2010: Stage 1 and 2 (Dhoby Ghaut - Bartley) opened
• 8 October 2011: Stage 4 and 5 (Marymount - HarbourFront) opened
• 14 January 2012: Circle Line Extension (CCLe) (Promenade - Marina Bay) opened

Possible future extensions

The Circle Line is widely expected to have a Stage 6 which completes the circle from HarbourFront to Marina Bay stations. Several options have been mooted for closing the 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) gap, primarily a northern route through the existing Tanjong Pagar MRT Station or a southern route passing through the Port of Singapore's Tanjong Pagar dock area, whose lease expires in 2027. The cost of closing the gap has been estimated to be at S$1.5 to 2.0 billion at 2010 prices. At HarbourFront MRT Station, Paya Lebar MRT Station, Marina Bay MRT Station and at Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, Circle Line trains change their direction in the platform area; trains terminating for example at Stadium MRT Station change their direction in a nearby siding track. As soon as the circle will have been completed between HarbourFront MRT Station and Marina Bay MRT Station, the Circle Line is the only line in Singapore that have single terminus, which is Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station.

Accidents

Several accidents occurred during the construction of the Circle Line, most notably the Nicoll Highway collapse, which occurred on April 20, 2004.

Nicoll Highway collapse

Main article: Nicoll Highway collapse

On April 20, 2004, a section of the tunnel being built for the Circle Line collapsed, apparently when a retaining wall used in the tunnel's construction gave way. This occurred near what was planned to become the Nicoll Highway Station on the Circle line, not far from the Merdeka Bridge. The accident left a collapse zone 150 metres (490 ft) wide, 100 metres (330 ft) long, and 30 metres (98 ft) deep. Four workers were killed, with three more injured.

A criminal inquiry found the main contractor Nishimatsu Construction Company and joint venture partner firm Lum Chang Construction Company and their officers, as well as key Land Transport Authority officers responsible for the collapse. Several other officers and subcontractors were reprimanded and issued warnings in connection with the accident.

As a result of this accident, the first phase of the Circle Line, previously scheduled to open in 2008, was completed in 2010 instead. The affected station has been shifted about 100 metres (330 ft) away from the accident site and is now located at Republic Avenue.

This accident had also resulted in stricter safety regulations for the construction of all future MRT lines. The shifting of the Nicoll Highway Station also meant it can no longer serve as a terminus for the Bukit Timah Line, partially influencing the creation of the current Downtown Line.

Other incidents

On August 16, 2007, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) issued a stop-work order and revoked the contractor's tunnelling permit after a 7 metres (23 ft) stretch of two lanes sank about 20 centimetres (7.9 in), close to the junction of Telok Blangah Road and Alexandra Road in the evening, resulting in a halting of tunnelling works.

A section of the road above a construction site near Holland Road caved in on the morning of May 24, 2008, creating a massive hole. The hole, directly in front of two private houses along Cornwall Gardens Road, measured 8 by 7 metres and was 3 metres deep. No one was injured, but the road was temporarily closed to traffic.

Line Disruptions

On 20 September 2011, a power fault disrupted train services on all 16 stations on the Circle Line. The four hours delay left thousands of commuters stranded during rush-hour. It was reported that leaks and a damaged cable along the Circle Line were the caused of the disruption. The disruption started at about 5.30am. Train services were gradually restored from 8am and all services were restored just before 10am. Dakota and Mountbatten stations were the last two to resume operations. Investigations were carried out. It was later found that a faulty cable beneath the platform level at Dakota Station caused a power fault on Tuesday morning that affected train services at all 16 stations on the Circle Line. 27,000 passengers were affected by the disruption during the four hours delay, with bus bridging services plying the Circle Line route.

On 17 October 2011, at about 8.36am, a train heading from Labrador Park Station to Pasir Panjang Station experienced a train fault and had to be taken out of service. Announcements were made in the affected stations, while bus bridging services were provided plying the affected section of the Circle Line. Normal train services resumed at 11.12am.

On 14 December 2011, a communication network problem caused service disruption between Marymount and one-north MRT stations at 6am. Partial train service was restored by 6.40am but extra peak hour trains could not be deployed for the morning peak hours. Bus bridging services were provided for stations between Marymount and one-north MRT stations and also between Serangoon and one-north MRT stations. SMRT said services had resumed around 10am but TODAY's deputy news editor Leong Wee Keat, who was at Bishan MRT, says the service is still slow. In an updated statement, SMRT reported that full services were resumed at 11.45am and bus bridging services were extended till 1pm. SMRT is still attending to the fault and investigating its cause with the system supplier Alstom.

On 19 January 2012, around 12.30pm, a track fault occurred between Promenade and Marina Bay. This was the first time, Circle Line Extension encountered a fault since operation began on 14 January 2012. Bus bridging services provided between stations. Train services resumed as of 12.50pm.

Stations

View of underground platform at Bishan Station of the Circle Line from ground level (when under construction). This station interchanges with Bishan Station on the North South Line

Alstom Metropolis C830 rolling stock for the Circle Line parked in the depot.

one-north Station on the Circle Line.

Main article: List of Circle MRT Line station names

Station Number	Station Name	Interchange/Notes
CC1  NS24  NE6	Dhoby Ghaut	North South Line North East Line
CC2	Bras Basah
CC3	Esplanade
CC4  DT15	Promenade	Downtown Line (under construction)
CC5	Nicoll Highway
CC6	Stadium	Terminal for Marina Bay shuttle train service in non peak hour.
CC7	Mountbatten
CC8	Dakota
CC9  EW8	Paya Lebar	East West Line
CC10  DT26	MacPherson	Downtown Line (under construction)
CC11	Tai Seng
CC12	Bartley
CC13  NE12	Serangoon	North East Line
CC14	Lorong Chuan
CC15  NS17	Bishan	North South Line
CC16	Marymount
CC17	Caldecott
CC18	Bukit Brown	(Not in operation)
CC19  DT9	Botanic Gardens	Downtown Line (under construction)
CC20	Farrer Road
CC21	Holland Village
CC22  EW21	Buona Vista	East West Line
CC23	one-north
CC24	Kent Ridge
CC25	Haw Par Villa
CC26	Pasir Panjang
CC27	Labrador Park
CC28	Telok Blangah
CC29  NE1	HarbourFront	North East Line

Circle Line Extension

Station Number	Station Name	Interchange
CC4  DT15	Promenade	Downtown Line (under construction)
CE1  DT16	Bayfront	Downtown Line (under construction)
CE2  NS27	Marina Bay	North South Line

Circle Line Extension had been in operation since 14 January 2012.

Rolling stock

Interior of CCL MRT Alstom Metropolis C830 train

Door of Alstom Metropolis C830, which shows the Circle Line Stage 3 map

Emergency exit of Alstom Metropolis C830

The rolling stock consists of Alstom Metropolis C830 trains running in three-car formation. They are stabled at Kim Chuan depot, the world's largest underground depot. 16 additional Alstom Metropolis C830C trains will arrive around 2015.

Additional information

• Trains from Marina Bay to Stadium were being extended to HarbourFront during peak hours.
• Additional train service runs across the whole line during lunch hours from 12pm to 2pm on weekdays (excluding public holidays). Trains run at a frequency of 5 minutes during these times, down from the usual 7 minutes.
• There used to be a short working trip on the Circle Line from Paya Lebar MRT Station to HarbourFront MRT Station (Originally Marymount MRT Station and later one-north MRT Station) since 19 April 2010, the first working day since its operations. However, on 14 January 2012, with the opening of Bayfront MRT Station and Marina Bay MRT Station, the short working trip and the middle platform of this station became defunct as trains will run the full line.

See also

• Circle Line Facebook

External links

• Land Transport Authority's Circle Line Project
• Land Transport Authority - Circle Line Art