Downtown MRT line

Downtown MRT Line 滨海市区地铁线
The Downtown Line is tentatively coloured brown. The line is indicated here as the blue line.
Overview
Status	Under Construction (Stage 1) Planning (Stages 2, 3)
Owner	Land Transport Authority
Termini	Chinatown Bugis
Stations	33
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)
Services	1
Operator(s)	TBA
Rolling stock	Alstom Metropolis
Technical
Line length	Template:Km to mi
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Standard gauge
Route map Template:MRT route

The Downtown Line (DTL) will be the fifth Mass Rapid Transit line in Singapore, with the first stage of construction commencing on February 12, 2008. When fully completed, the line will be about 40-km long with 33 stations. It will be a fully-automatic and driverless system similar to the North East Line and the Circle Line, and will be mostly underground. The line will serve the Bukit Timah area and eastern Singapore and bring commuters to the new downtown area. The line is tentatively coloured brown in the rail map.

The Land Transport Authority of Singapore is currently studying final sites for the stations, and announced a list of interchange stations on 27 April 2007. Specific locations of all stations for Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the line have been announced. Stage 1 of the Downtown Line is targeted for completion in 2013, while Stage 2 is targeted for 2015 and Stage 3 is targeted for 2016.

For some time, Stage 1 of the Downtown Line was referred to as the "Downtown Extension" of the Circle Line.

Stage 1 (former Downtown Extension)

File:Future MRT Downtown Map.jpg

An impression of the future Downtown Map, illustrating Stage 1 of the Downtown Line (in brown).

On June 14, 2005, the Land Transport Authority announced that it would construct the (then known as) Downtown Extension of the Circle Line, to serve the Downtown at Marina Bay (DTMB) area, where an integrated resort and Singapore's second botanical garden will be located. The 3.4-kilometre fully underground line was estimated to cost S$1.4 billion. Construction of the extension was slated to begin in 2007, with completion by 2012.

On 27 April 2007, it was announced that Stage 1 of the line will connect Promenade station with Bugis. As such, the former Downtown Extension of the Circle Line became known as the Downtown Line Stage 1, a 4.3km 6 station segment running fully underground from Chinatown Station on the North East Line to Bugis Station on the East West Line, due to be operational in 2013, a year later than originally planned.

Three new stations will be constructed underground, linking the Bugis station on the East-West Line, Promenade station on the Circle Line and the Chinatown station on the North East Line. Two stations, Bayfront and Landmark, will be built to serve the DTMB area. Another station, Cross Street, will be built along Cross Street near the Chinatown area.

A maintenance facility will be built adjacent to the Circle Line Marina Bay station to stable the Downtown Line rolling stock.

Stage 2 (Bukit Timah Section)

Stage 2 of the Downtown Line will be 16.6km long, consist of 12 stations including 3 interchange stations, and is scheduled to be completed by 2015. The location, alignment, and tentative name of each station were announced 15 July 2008. Construction is expected to begin in the middle of 2009.

A new MRT depot, the Gali Batu Depot, will be built at part of the Kwong Hou Sua Teochew Cemetery off Woodlands Road.

In its preliminary plans, stage 2 of the Downtown Line was called the Bukit Timah Line, supposedly a 20-kilometre line that would connect the new downtown with the Bukit Panjang, Upper Bukit Timah and Bukit Timah corridor. It was to intersect the Circle Line and all other current lines along the way. When constructed, it was expected to alleviate the heavy traffic along Bukit Timah, Dunearn Road and Upper Bukit Timah. Provisions were made at Promenade station which would have been the line's southern interchange with the Circle Line.

On July 15, 2008, the LTA has announced the exact location of the 12 stations to be built. Their current working names are Rochor, Little India (interchange with North East Line), Newton (interchange with North South Line), Stevens, Botanic Gardens (Interchange with Circle Line), Duchess, Sixth Avenue, Blackmore, Beauty World, Hillview, Cashew and Petir (Interchange with Bukit Panjang LRT).

Stage 3 (Eastern Region Section)

In its preliminary plans, stage 3 of the Downtown Line was part of the Eastern Region Line, a 40-kilometre rectangular loop that would have complemented the existing East-West Line and enhance inter- and intra-town travelling in the eastern region. It would have looped around the Jalan Besar and East Coast areas, intersecting the Circle Line and other current lines along the way, benefitting residents in Tampines, Bedok, Marine Parade, MacPherson and Kaki Bukit. Stage 3 now only comprises the northern segment of the original plan, from Chinatown to Expo. Provisions were made at Chinatown station, which would have been the line's western interchange with the North-East Line and the Downtown Extension. The northern segment of the loop was to be constructed first, passing through Jalan Besar area and eastwards to parts of Bedok and Tampines. Similar to Stage 2, preliminary work by the LTA had begun.

Stage 3 of the Downtown Line will be 19.1km long, consisting of 15 stations and the line would have been completed by 2018. But in 2008, the government decided to accelerate this sector's opening to 2016.

List of Stations

Station locations for Stage 1 and 2, and interchange stations with existing lines for Stage 3 have been officially announced.

Station Number	Station Name	Remarks
Stage 1
DT1 / NE4	Chinatown	Interchange with North East Line
DT2	Cross Street	Provisional name
DT3	Landmark	Provisional name
DT4	Bayfront	Interchange with Circle Line Marina Bay Extension, Provisional name
DT5 / CC4	Promenade	Interchange with Circle Line
DT6 / EW12	Bugis	Interchange with East West Line
Stage 2
	Rochor	Provisional name
	Little India	Interchange with North East Line
	Newton	Interchange with North South Line
	Stevens	Provisional name
	Botanic Gardens	Interchange with Circle Line
	Duchess	Provisional name
	Sixth Avenue	Provisional name
	Blackmore	Provisional name
	Beauty World	Provisional name
	Hillview	Provisional name
	Cashew	Provisional name
	Petir	Provisional name
Stage 3
(Intermediate station details to be announced)
	MacPherson	Interchange with Circle Line
(Intermediate station details to be announced)
	Tampines	Interchange with East West Line
	Somapah	Provisional name
	Expo	Interchange with Changi Airport Extension