Circle MRT Line

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Circle MRT Line 地铁环线
The Circle Line is coloured orange on system maps.
Info
Type	Rapid transit
System	Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)
Status	Operational (Stage 3)
Termini	Dhoby Ghaut HarbourFront Promenade Marina Bay
Stations	31
Services	2
Operation
Opened	28 May 2009 (Stage 3) 2010 (Stages 1 & 2) 2011 (Stages 4 & 5 except Bukit Brown) 2012 (Marina Bay Extension)
Owner	Land Transport Authority
Operator(s)	SMRT Corporation
Rolling stock	Alstom Metropolis C830
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 NS:  Jurong East  NE:  HarbourFront – Punggol  CC1 Dhoby Ghaut DT:  Expo  CC2 Bras Basah CC3 Esplanade CC? Marina Bay CC? Bayfront CC4 Promenade DT:  Bukit Panjang  CC5 Nicoll Highway CC6 Stadium CC7 Mountbatten CC8 Dakota CC9 Paya Lebar EW:  Pasir Ris – Joo Koon  CC10 MacPherson DT:  Expo – Bukit Panjang  CC11 Tai Seng Kim Chuan Depot CC12 Bartley NE:  Punggol – HarbourFront  CC13 Serangoon CC14 Lorong Chuan CC15 Bishan NS:  Jurong East – Marina Bay  CC16 Marymount CC17 Caldecott CC18 Bukit Brown DT:  Bukit Panjang – Expo  CC19 Botanic Gardens CC20 Farrer Road CC21 Holland Village EW:  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 NE:  Punggol

The Circle Line (CCL) is Singapore's fourth Mass Rapid Transit line. Currently and mostly under construction, with the first section opened on May 28, 2009, the fully underground line will be 35.7 km long with 31 stations, and will be operated by SMRT Corporation. It will be the world's longest fully automated metro line.^[1] This line is coloured orange in the rail map.

As the name implies, it will be an orbital line linking all radial lines leading to the city, and also will cover 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. The future Downtown Line will interchange with the Circle Line at Bayfront, Promenade, Botanic Gardens and MacPherson stations.

The Circle Line will be the first medium capacity line in Singapore. As a medium capacity line, each Circle Line train will only have three cars instead of the six-car configuration as seen on current MRT lines. The rolling stock will consist of forty Alstom Metropolis C830 trains. Half a million people are expected to use the Circle Line each day.

Despite the name, the Circle Line is not actually a full circle, as there will be no through service on the section between Harbourfront and Dhoby Ghaut. Passengers will need to transfer onto the North-East Line instead. A branch passing through the Marina District is being built, and a "Stage 6" that would complete the circle has been mooted but is not officially planned.

Like the North East Line, the Circle Line will also feature the Art in Transit programme. It will consist of artwork that is integrated into station designs as well as Art Seats.

[edit] History

Plans for the Circle Line date back to the 1980s. 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 to the National Stadium. 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. The Marina Line was originally slated for completion in 2006.

Circle Line stations 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.

It is widely expected^{[weasel words][citation needed]} to have a Stage 6 which completes the circle from HarbourFront to Promenade stations. On 27 April 2007, the LTA announced an extension of a branch line from Promenade to Bayfront station^[2], which may be the first segment of the line's final stage.^{[citation needed]} On 25 January 2008, Minister for Transport, Mr Raymond Lim, announced an further extension of the line from Bayfront Station to Marina Bay Station, scheduled to open in 2012. He also revealed the decision 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 remaining closed when the line opens. On 12 February 2009, Raymond Lim announced the Circle Line Stage 3, from Bartley to Marymount, is scheduled to open in 30 May 2009 ^[3], a date later revised to 28 May 2009.^[4]

[edit] Accidents

There have been some accidents that had occurred throughout the construction of the Circle Line, most notably the collapse of Nicoll Highway in 2004.

[edit] Nicoll Highway collapse

On April 20, 2004, a section of 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 to become the Nicoll Highway station on the Circle line, not far from the Merdeka Bridge. The accident left a collapse zone 150m wide, 100m long, and 30m 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, will be completed in 2010 instead. The affected station has been shifted about 100m 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.

[edit] 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-metre stretch of two lanes sank about 20 cm, close to the junction of Telok Blangah Road and Alexandra Road in the evening, resulting in a halting of tunnelling works.^[5]

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.^[6]

[edit] Status

The project is being implemented in stages. 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, and the entire line is now expected to be fully operational by 2011 (excluding the Marina Bay Extension), at an estimated cost of nearly S$10 billion.^[7] Tunneling works were completed on August 17, 2009.^[8]

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 interchanges like City Hall and Raffles Place. Stage 3, a 5 km five-station segment stretching from Bartley to Marymount, was the first section of the line opened on 28 May 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.^[9]

Due to the re-alignment of the Nicoll Highway station to a new location, the station will be two thirds the size of the original plan before the collapse, and located 100 metres away from the highway collapse site.^[10]

[edit] Stations

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

A view from the platform of Bartley MRT Station Here, an Alstom Metropolis C830 (rolling stock for the Circle Line) is parked in the station.

[edit] Marina Bay Extension

[edit] Rolling stock

Interior of CCL MRT Alstom Metropolis C830 train

Door of Alstom Metropolis C830

Emergency exit of Alstom Metropolis C830

The rolling stock consists of Alstom Metropolis C830 trains^[11] running in three-car formation. They are stabled at Kim Chuan depot, the world's largest underground depot.^[12]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Singapore Mass Rapid Transit Circle Line

• Land Transport Authority's Circle Line Project
• Circle Line Art (Land Transport Authority)

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