Jump to content

Downtown MRT line

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ceecookie (talk | contribs) at 13:38, 22 April 2015 (Reverted last known accurate information. My earlier revert removed good info.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For the station, see Downtown MRT Station.
Downtown MRT Line
Laluan MRT Pusat Bandar
滨海市区地铁线
டவுன்டவுன் எம்ஆர்டி வழி
The Downtown Line is coloured blue on system maps.
Overview
StatusOpened (Stage 1)
Under testing (Stage 2)
Under construction (Stage 3)
Under planning (Stage 4/Stage 3 Extension)
OwnerLand Transport Authority
Termini
Stations6 (operational)[1]
28 (U/C), 2 (under planning)
Service
TypeRapid transit
SystemMass Rapid Transit (Singapore)
Services1
Operator(s)SBS Transit DTL[2]
Rolling stockBombardier MOVIA C951
History
Opened22 December 2013 (Stage 1)
Q1 2016 (Stage 2)
2017 (Stage 3)
2024 (DTL3e)
Technical
Line length4.3 km (2.7 mi) (operational)[1]
39.9 km (24.8 mi) (U/C)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
SignallingInvensys Rail SIRIUS CBTC
Route map
Template:MRT route

The Downtown Line (DTL) is the fifth Mass Rapid Transit line in Singapore. The 4.3-kilometre (2.7 mi), 6 station Stage 1 of the line opened on 22 December 2013,[3] with Stages 2 and 3 due to open in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The line will connect the North-Western and Central-Eastern regions to the new downtown of Singapore.

The Downtown Line interchanges with the North East Line at Chinatown, with the East West Line at Bugis, and with the Circle Line at Bayfront and Promenade. Future extensions of the Downtown Line will interchange with the North East Line at Little India, with the North South Line at Newton, with the East West Line at Tampines and Expo, with the Circle Line at MacPherson and Botanic Gardens, and with the Bukit Panjang LRT at Bukit Panjang.

This line is the third in Singapore to be entirely underground (apart from the Gali Batu Depot). When fully completed, the line will be about 44 km (27 mi) long with 37 stations and will serve more than half a million commuters daily.[4] It will also be the longest driverless rapid transit line in Singapore,[1] surpassing the record set by the Circle Line. Travelling from one end to the other will take about 70 minutes. The line is coloured blue in the rail map.[2]

History

LTA's Downtown Line (Stage 1) project office next to Bugis MRT station.

On 14 June 2005, the Land Transport Authority announced the Downtown Extension of the Circle Line to serve the Downtown at Marina Bay area, where an integrated resort (Marina Bay Sands) and Singapore's second botanical garden (Gardens by the Bay) was to be located. The 3.4-kilometre fully underground line was estimated to cost S$1.4 billion. Construction of the extension began in January 2008. During the construction of the North East Line at Chinatown station, platform provisions were built to facilitate an interchange station.

Stage 2 of the Downtown Line was first conceptualized and announced as the Bukit Timah Line. It was supposedly a 20-kilometer line that would connect the new downtown with the Bukit Panjang, Upper Bukit Timah and Bukit Timah corridor, alleviating the heavy traffic travelling along the sector, but a full route was released. Provisions were provided at Nicoll Highway station which would have seen the line terminating there and interchanging with the Circle Line.[5] However, the Nicoll Highway collapse and subsequent feasibility works deemed the old station unusable.[6] The former Downtown Extension of the Circle Line was subsequently assimilated into the Downtown Line and was revamped as part of Stage 1, a 4.3-kilometre (2.7 mi), 6 station segment connecting Chinatown to Bugis stations.[1]

Now 16.6-kilometre (10.3 mi) long and consisting of twelve stations,[1] including three interchange stations, it is scheduled to be completed by Q1 2016.[7][8] Construction for Stage 2 began on 3 July 2009 with a groundbreaking ceremony at Beauty World Station.[9][10]

Stage 3 of the Downtown Line consists of the original Eastern Region Line that was announced in 2001. The route goes from Chinatown to Expo. The station locations and finalized route were unveiled on 20 August 2010.[11] Stage 3 of the Downtown line will be 21-kilometre (13 mi) long and serve 16 stations.[1] The completion date is set to be done on the first half of 2017.[12]

A new depot, the Gali Batu Depot, is under construction at part of the former Kwong Hou Sua Teochew Cemetery off Woodlands Road to serve the line.[13]

In August 2011, SBS Transit won the bid and was appointed to be the operator of the Downtown Line, under a new framework which would see the authority remaining the owner of the line.[14] Final costs of building the line may reach an estimated S$20.7 billion, up more than 70% from an initial estimation of S$12 billion.[15] In January 2013, plans for a southern extension which will run from Expo through the East Coast area, interchanging with the Eastern Region Line were announced for completion by 2025.[16]

Stage 1 of the Downtown Line began service on 22 December 2013,[17] with its official inauguration made on the day before by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.[18]

Stage 3 Extension was announced on 15 August 2014, in conjunction with the announcement of the Thomson-East Coast MRT Line.[19] Two stations, Xilin MRT Station and Sungei Bedok MRT Station will be added to the Downtown Line, with Sungei Bedok as an interchange station with the Thomson-East Coast Line. It will add an additional 2.2 km to the line with the extension.[19] Due in 2024, Stage 3 will join the current East West and future Thomson-East Coast lines that runs through Marine Parade.[20]

Stations

Main article: List of Downtown MRT Line station names

Here are the following station locations for all three stages of the Downtown Line.

Station Number Station Name Interchange/Notes
Stage 2 (under testing)
 DT1  BP6  Bukit Panjang Template:SLRT lines
 DT2  Cashew
 DT3  Hillview
 DT5  Beauty World
 DT6  King Albert Park
 DT7  Sixth Avenue
 DT8  Tan Kah Kee
 DT9  CC19  Botanic Gardens Template:SMRT lines
 DT10  TE11  Stevens Template:SMRT lines
 DT11  NS21  Newton Template:SMRT lines
 DT12  NE7  Little India Template:SMRT lines
 DT13  Rochor
Stage 1 (completed)
 DT14  EW12  Bugis Template:SMRT lines
 DT15  CC4  Promenade Template:SMRT lines
 DT16  CE1  Bayfront Template:SMRT lines
 DT17  Downtown
 DT18  Telok Ayer
 DT19  NE4  Chinatown Template:SMRT lines
Stage 3 (under construction)
 DT20  Fort Canning
 DT21  Bencoolen
 DT22  Jalan Besar
 DT23  Bendemeer
 DT24  Geylang Bahru
 DT25  Mattar
 DT26  CC10  MacPherson Template:SMRT lines
 DT27  Ubi
 DT28  Kaki Bukit
 DT29  Bedok North
 DT30  Bedok Reservoir
 DT31  Tampines West
 DT32  EW2  Tampines Template:SMRT lines
 DT33  Tampines East
 DT34  Upper Changi
 DT35  CG1  Expo Template:SMRT lines (Changi Airport Branch)
Stage 3 Extension (under planning)
 DT36  Xilin
 DT37  TE31  Sungei Bedok Template:SMRT lines

The Downtown Line's numbering scheme reserves station code "DT4" between Hillview (DT3) and Beauty World (DT5) for the future Hume Station. This station doubles as an emergency escape shaft.

Rolling stock

A view of the Chinatown station on the Downtown Line platform.

The rolling stock consists of Bombardier MOVIA C951 cars,[21] running in three-car formation. They will be stabled at Gali Batu Depot when it opens with Stage 2 of Downtown Line by 2016. For the period between the operation of Downtown Line Stage 1 and Downtown Line Stage 2, trains will be stabled at a maintenance facility that was built at Marina Bay as part of the Circle Line project. Kim Chuan Depot will house the Operations Control Centre for the Downtown Line until Gali Batu Depot and Changi Depot is ready to be used.[22]

On 12 October 2012, the first of 11 trains for the Downtown Line Stage 1 arrived at Jurong Port. It was transported to Kim Chuan Depot to undergo testing by LTA before it was handed over to SBS Transit.[23] As of 28 February 2013, Bombardier had delivered five of the 11 trains for Downtown Line Stage 1.[24] LTA together with the operator, SBS Transit, conducted the necessary tests to ensure safety standards, functional performance and systems compatibility requirements were met before revenue service began on 22 December 2013.[3]

Train control

The Downtown Line is equipped with a fully automatic communication-based train control system from Invensys Rail, using a digital radio system for communication between trains and the centralised control system.[25] A fall-back signalling system, relying on conventional track-circuit occupancy detection, is included to ensure fully automatic operation and train protection independent of the radio system. Automatic platform screen doors provide safety for passengers, offering protection from arriving and departing trains.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Projects - Downtown Line - Stages". Land Transport Authority of Singapore. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Company Announcement – Incorporation of a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary" (PDF).
  3. ^ a b "Land Transport Masterplan: Downtown Line Stage 1 to open on Dec 22". The Straits Times. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  4. ^ "MORE TRAINS, MORE CAPACITY, MORE OFTEN", Land Transport Authority
  5. ^ Land Transport Authority (24 January 2014). "Circle Line Linking All Lines". The Straits Times. p. 50.
  6. ^ "Govt approves S$12b MRT Downtown Line to be built by 2018".
  7. ^ "Groundwork begins for new MRT lines", Christopher Tan, The Straits Times, 13 March 2006
  8. ^ "LTA unveils locations of DTL stage 2 stations", Christopher Tan, The Straits Times, 15 July 2008
  9. ^ "Work on MRT Downtown Line Phase 2 Starts", Tyler Thia, Channel NewsAsia, 3 July 2009
  10. ^ "Thumbs Up For Downtown Line's Earlier Opening". The Straits Times.
  11. ^ Downtown Line 3 Station Locations Unveiled. Land Transport Authority, 20 August 2010
  12. ^ Downtown Line 3 Station Names Announced
  13. ^ "Downtown Line depot to be located off Woodlands Road", Margaret Perry, Channel NewsAsia, 26 February 2008
  14. ^ LTA Appoints SBS Transit Limited to Operate Downtown Line under New Rail Financing Framework Land Transport Authority – 29 August 2011
  15. ^ "Downtown Line costs soar by more than 70%", Christopher Tan, The Straits Times, 30 October 2012
  16. ^ "TWO NEW RAIL LINES AND THREE NEW EXTENSIONS TO EXPAND RAIL NETWORK BY 2030". Land Transport Authority. January 17, 2013.
  17. ^ "Downtown Line". Land Transport Authority. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  18. ^ "Downtown Line Stage 1 officially opened by PM Lee". The Straits Times. 21 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  19. ^ a b "Thomson-East Coast Line, connecting North and East, ready by 2024", Saifulbahri Ismail, Channel NewsAsia, 15 August 2014
  20. ^ "Downtown Line 3 Extension". Land Transport Authority. 15 August 2014.
  21. ^ LTA Awards 6 Downtown Line Contracts Totalling $1.13 Billion
  22. ^ Contract 901QP: Terms of Reference, Land Transport Authority, 9 November 2007 (tender document from www.gebiz.gov.sg)
  23. ^ "First Downtown Line train lands in Singapore". Land Transport Authority. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
  24. ^ "Shorter Waiting Time With 15 More Trains For Downtown Line". Land Transport Authority. March 28, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  25. ^ Invensys Rail secures signalling contract for Singapore’s new Downtown Line

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Downtown_MRT_line&oldid=658358087"