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
Opening	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, and named after one of the London Underground lines, with its same name, from Circle line in the UK. This underground line is 35.7 kilometres (22.2 mi) long with 31 stations (excluding Bukit Brown) and is fully automatically operated.^[1] It takes about one hour to travel from one end to the other. The line is coloured orange on the rail map.

As the name implies, the line is an orbital circle route linking all radial routes leading to the city. It also covers many parts of the Central Area. From Promenade, the line branches with one branch terminating at Dhoby Ghaut and the other terminating at Marina Bay. Transfers to the North South Line are provided at Bishan, Dhoby Ghaut and Marina Bay, East West Line at Paya Lebar and Buona Vista, and North East Line at Dhoby Ghaut, Serangoon and HarbourFront. The Downtown Line interchanges with the Circle Line at Bayfront and Promenade and future sections of the Downtown Line will interchange at Botanic Gardens and MacPherson. The future Thomson Line will interchange with the Circle Line at Caldecott and Marina Bay.

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. Half a million people are expected to use the Circle Line each day. The line reduces 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.

On 8 October 2011, the Circle Line became fully operational to commemorate its operator SMRT's 24th Anniversary for Rail Services since the company's establishment in 1987.

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."^{[citation needed]}

In the 1990s, the Circle Line was first known as the Marina Line. The Marina Line, first planned in 1998 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.^{[citation needed]} 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 to Promenade 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 Circle Line to be delayed to 2009, with full opening by 2011 (excluding the Marina Bay Extension), at an escalated cost of nearly S$10 billion.^[2] 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.^[3] 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. Initial ridership on this section was lower than estimated, at 32,000 passengers per day (ppd) instead of the estimated 55,000 ppd.^[4] Tunneling works for the entire line were completed on August 17, 2009.^[5] Stages 1 and 2 started operations on April 17, 2010,^[6] Stages 4 and 5 on October 8, 2011,^[7] and the final Circle Line Extension on January 14, 2012. The line was also fully completed in October 2011, to commemorate operator SMRT's 24th anniversary.

On 17 January 2013, the Land Transport Authority announced 'Circle Line Stage 6' which will close the circle, running between Marina Bay and HarbourFront via Keppel. It will be a 4 km extension and is planned to be completed by 2025.^[8]

Nicoll Highway collapse

On 20 April 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 16 August 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.^[9]

A section of the road above a construction site near Holland Road caved in on the morning of 24 May 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.^[10]

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.^[11] The disruption started at about 5.30 am. 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.^[12] 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.^[13] 27,000 passengers were affected by the disruption during the four hours delay, with bus bridging services plying the Circle Line route.^[14]

Stations

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
CC5	Nicoll Highway
CC6	Stadium	Marina Bay shuttle terminus
CC7	Mountbatten
CC8	Dakota
CC9  EW8	Paya Lebar	East West Line
CC10  DT26	MacPherson	Downtown Line
CC11	Tai Seng
CC12	Bartley
CC13  NE12	Serangoon	North East Line
CC14	Lorong Chuan
CC15  NS17	Bishan	North South Line
CC16	Marymount
CC17  TS9	Caldecott	Thomson Line (under construction)
CC18	Bukit Brown	(Not in operation)
CC19  DT9	Botanic Gardens	Downtown Line
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
CC4  DT15	Promenade	Downtown Line
CE1  DT16	Bayfront	Downtown Line
CE2  NS27  TS20	Marina Bay	North South Line Thomson Line (under construction)
Circle Line Extension (CCLe) had been in operation since 14 January 2012.[15]

Rolling stock

The rolling stock consists of 40^[16] Alstom Metropolis C830 trains^[17] running in three-car formation. They are stabled at Kim Chuan depot, the world's largest underground depot.^{[citation needed]} 24 additional Alstom Metropolis C830C trains will arrive starting in 2015.^[18][19]

Additional information

• Trains from Marina Bay to Stadium are 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 5 minute intervals during these times, down from the usual 7 minutes.

External links

• Circle Line

References

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

v t e Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) Overview History Nicoll Highway collapse 2011 Singapore MRT disruptions Stations Fares and ticketing EZ-Link NETS CEPAS Facilities STARiS Safety Security Public Transport Security Command Lines Current    North South    East West    North East    Circle    Downtown Under construction    Thomson Future Eastern Region Jurong Region Cross Island Defunct    Branch Rolling stock Current Kawasaki Heavy Industries C151 Siemens C651 Kawasaki Heavy Industries & Nippon Sharyo C751B Alstom Metropolis C751A Alstom Metropolis C830 Kawasaki Heavy Industries & CSR Sifang C151A Bombardier MOVIA C951 Future Alstom Metropolis C751C Alstom Metropolis C830C Kawasaki Heavy Industries & CSR Sifang C151B Depots Current Bishan Changi Kim Chuan Sengkang Ulu Pandan Under construction Gali Batu Tuas Mandai Companies ComfortDelGro SBS Transit SMRT Corporation SMRT Trains

v t e Railway lines in Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)    North South SMRT    East West SMRT    North East SBST    Circle SMRT    Downtown SBST    Thomson    Eastern Region    Jurong Region    Cross Island Light Rail Transit (LRT)    Bukit Panjang SMRT    Sengkang SBST    Punggol SBST International Intercity North-South KTM Other lines Changi Airport Skytrain CAAS Sentosa Express SDC Defunct lines Jurong BirdPark Panorail WRS Sentosa Monorail SDC Operators are denoted in brackets, planned or under construction lines in italics

v t e MRT stations in Singapore North South Jurong East Bukit Batok Bukit Gombak Choa Chu Kang Yew Tee Kranji Marsiling Woodlands Admiralty Sembawang Yishun Khatib Yio Chu Kang Ang Mo Kio Bishan Braddell Toa Payoh Novena Newton Orchard Somerset Dhoby Ghaut City Hall Raffles Place Marina Bay Marina South Pier East West Pasir Ris Tampines Simei Tanah Merah Bedok Kembangan Eunos Paya Lebar Aljunied Kallang Lavender Bugis City Hall Raffles Place Tanjong Pagar Outram Park Tiong Bahru Redhill Queenstown Commonwealth Buona Vista Dover Clementi Jurong East Chinese Garden Lakeside Boon Lay Pioneer Joo Koon Gul Circle Tuas Crescent Tuas West Road Tuas Link Changi Airport Branch Line Tanah Merah Expo Changi Airport North East HarbourFront Outram Park Chinatown Clarke Quay Dhoby Ghaut Little India Farrer Park Boon Keng Potong Pasir Woodleigh Serangoon Kovan Hougang Buangkok Sengkang Punggol Circle Dhoby Ghaut Bras Basah Esplanade Promenade Nicoll Highway Stadium Mountbatten Dakota Paya Lebar MacPherson Tai Seng Bartley Serangoon Lorong Chuan Bishan Marymount Caldecott Bukit Brown Botanic Gardens Farrer Road Holland Village Buona Vista one-north Kent Ridge Haw Par Villa Pasir Panjang Labrador Park Telok Blangah HarbourFront Circle Line Extension Promenade Bayfront Marina Bay Downtown Stage 2 - Opening 2016 Bukit Panjang Cashew Hillview Beauty World King Albert Park Sixth Avenue Tan Kah Kee Botanic Gardens Stevens Newton Little India Rochor Stage 1 - Opened 2013 Bugis Promenade Bayfront Downtown Telok Ayer Chinatown Stage 3 - Opening 2017 Fort Canning Bencoolen Jalan Besar Bendemeer Geylang Bahru Mattar MacPherson Ubi Kaki Bukit Bedok North Bedok Reservoir Tampines West Tampines Tampines East Upper Changi Expo Thomson Stage 1 - Opening 2019 Woodlands North Woodlands Woodlands South Stage 2 - Opening 2020 Springleaf Lentor Mayflower Sin Ming Upper Thomson Caldecott Stage 3 - Opening 2021 Mount Pleasant Stevens Napier Orchard Boulevard Orchard Great World Havelock Outram Park Maxwell Shenton Way Marina Bay Marina South Gardens by the Bay Stations in operational lines that are denoted in italics have yet to open. Eastern Region, Jurong Region and Cross Island Lines are under planning stages.