Downtown MRT Line

The Downtown Line (DTL) will be the fifth Mass Rapid Transit line in Singapore. When completed, the line will be about 42-km long with 34 stations and serve about half a million commuters daily,^[1] making it the longest underground and driverless MRT line in Singapore. Travelling from one end to the other will take about 65 minutes. The line is coloured blue in the rail map and will be operated by SBS Transit.

Overview

The line will connect the North-Western and Central-Eastern regions to the new downtown of Singapore. Transfers to this line from the North East Line will be available at Chinatown and Little India stations, the North South Line at Newton, the East West Line at Bugis, Tampines and Expo stations, the Circle Line at MacPherson, Bayfront, Promenade and Botanic Gardens stations and Bukit Panjang LRT at Bukit Panjang. This line will be the third in Singapore to be entirely underground. Once fully completed, this line will also be the longest automated and rapid transit line abolishing the record set by the Circle Line.

History

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.^[2] As such, the former Downtown Extension of the Circle Line became known as the Downtown Line Stage 1, a 4.3 km 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 Downtown, will be built to serve the DTMB area. Another station, Telok Ayer, will be built along Cross Street near the Chinatown area.^[3] During this period of time, the line was designated brown.

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. Stage 2 of the Downtown Line will be 16.6 km long, consist of 12 stations including 3 interchange stations, and is scheduled to be completed by 2015.^[4] On July 15, 2008, the LTA announced the exact location, alignment and tentative name of the 12 stations to be built.^[5] Their final names are Rochor, Little India (interchange with North East Line), Newton (interchange with North South Line), Stevens, Botanic Gardens (Interchange with Circle Line), Tan Kah Kee, Sixth Avenue, King Albert Park, Beauty World, Hillview, Cashew and Bukit Panjang. Commencement of construction for Downtown Line 2 has begun on 3 July 2009 with a groundbreaking ceremony at the Beauty World^[6] station.

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, Tampines and Expo to serve the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) next to Upper Changi MRT Station and Singapore Expo which will move there when the new campus is completed in 2018. Being 21km long, the 16 stations would have been completed by 2018. In 2008, the government decided to accelerate the sector's opening to 2016. Station locations and their working names for Stage 3 were officially announced on 20 August 2010.^[7] At the same time, Transport Minister Raymond Lim also announced a delay of the completion of Stage 3 by a year to 2017 to accommodate the construction of an additional station at Jalan Besar. Similar to Stage 2, preliminary work by the LTA had begun. The finalised names for DTL3 stations were announced on 19 August 2011.^[8]

A new MRT depot, the Gali Batu Depot, will be built at part of the Kwong Hou Sua Teochew Cemetery off Woodlands Road.^[9]

On 29 August 2011, the LTA appointed SBS Transit as the operator^[10], changing the line colour to blue subsequently.

Stations

Here's the following announced station locations for all 3 stages of the Downtown Line.

The Downtown Line's numbering scheme reserves station code "DT4" between Hillview (DT3) and Beauty World (DT5). As of 2011, the LTA has not announced any details of any future station here.

Rolling stock

The rolling stock consists of Bombardier Movia cars (a.k.a. C951),^[11] running in three-car formation. They will be stabled at Gali Batu Depot and Kim Chuan Depot.

A maintenance facility will also be built adjacent to the Circle Line Marina Bay station to stable the Downtown Line rolling stock when Stage 1 opens.^[12]

Signaling for the line will be provided by Westinghouse, which will also provide automatic platform doors and a Systematics ATS control system.

Operator

LTA announced that SBS Transit would be the operator for Downtown Line under the new rail financing framework that LTA adopted in 2010.^[13]

External Links

• Official MRT map released by the Land Transport Authority showing the Downtown line: http://www.lta.gov.sg/projects/proj_maps_rail_l.htm

References