MRT & LRT News and Updates

Live Updates

These are the latest updates via Twitter for Singapore's two MRT and LRT systems operators - SMRT and SBS Transit.

Public Transport Fare Updates

On 27 Oct 2016, the Public Transport Council (PTC) announced that the 2016 Fare Review Exercise had concluded and fares will be reduced 4.2% overall (translating into 1-27 cents reductions for card fares). These decreases take effect from 30 Dec 2016. Fares for underground rail lines will also be reduced to be the same as aboveground rail lines in this fare change exercise.

In October 2015, the Public Transport Council (PTC) approved fare decreases of up to 1.9% for public transport fares (LRT, MRT and buses). Commuters will see the cost of their travel drop by 1-4 cents per trip starting from 27 December 2015.

Latest Network Developments

13 January 2019: Ten Mile Junction LRT Station (BP14) of the Bukit Panjang LRT network has permanently ceased operations effective 13 Jan 2019.

21 October 2017: Phase 3 of the Downtown Line (a.k.a. 'blue' line), known as Downtown Line 3 (DTL3), will commence operation on 21 Oct 2017. This part of the Downtown Line will link up the current Chinatown DTL19 Station to eastern Singapore - namely Bendemeer, Ubi, Kaki Bukit, Bedok North & Reservoir, and Tampines. DTL3 is 21km long and effectively doubles the whole Downtown Line to 42km - making it the longest driverless transit rail line in Singapore. The sixteen(16) new stations of DTL3 are: (after Chinatown) Fort Canning, Bencoolen, Jalan Besar, Bendemeer, Geylang Bahru, Mattar, Macpherson, Ubi, Kaki Bukit, Bedok North, Bedok Reservoir, Tampines West, Tampines, Tampines East, Upper Changi, and Expo. After Expo, two more future stations, Xilin and Sungei Bedok, are under construction.

18 June 2017: Four new MRT stations on the western end of Singapore starts service today. Part of the East-West Line, the four aboveground stations are Gul Circle(EW30), Tuas Crescent(EW31), Tuas West Road(EW32) and Tuas Link(EW33). The new stations extend the MRT network into the westernmost part of Singapore and serve the Tuas, Gul and Pioneer industrial sectors. The terminal Tuas Link station is close to the eponymous Tuas Second Link bridge that connects Singapore to Malaysia(Johor).

13 April 2017 (Good Friday Eve): SMRT announced extensions of operating hours as follows: 12.30am(14 Apr) last departure from City Hall (NSL to Jurong East and Marina South Pier; EWL to Pasir Ris and Joo Koon); 11.55pm(13 Apr) last departure from Dhoby Ghaut(CCL); 11.30pm(13 Apr) last departure from HarbourFront(CCL); 1.27am(14 Apr) last train from Choa Chu Kang to Bukit Panjang BP6 (Bukit Panjang LRT Service A). SBSTransit also announced extensions : train services on NEL, DTL, Sengkang and Punggol LRT systems will be extended by about 30 minutes on the eve of Good Friday.

31 March 2017: SMRT announced early closures (service stops from 11pm) for parts of the East-West Line (EWL) for maintenance and renewal purposes. The affected stations are: Lakeside to/from Joo Koon (both directions) on Friday, 14 and Friday, 21 Apr 2017; Tanah Merah to/from Changi Airport on Friday, 28 Apr and Friday, 5 May 2017. (Note: 14 Apr is a public holiday - Good Friday). SMRT also announced that provision of parallel bus services for these affected routes.

31 March 2017: Samudera(PW4) LRT Station of the Punggol LRT system (west loop) started service.

29 December 2016: Punggol Point(PW3) LRT Station of the Punggol LRT system (west loop) started service.

The Downtown Line Phase 2 (DTL2) MRT line has commenced passenger service on 27 December 2015. DTL2 runs between Bukit Panjang Station in the northwest of Singapore to the city centre in Rochor Station. There will be four interchange stations - Bukit Panjang (which links to Bukit Panjang LRT Line), Botanic Gardens (which links to Circle Line), Newton (which links to North-South Line) and Little India (which links to North East Line).

From 27 December 2015 to 1 January 2016, rides on the Downtown Line 2 (DTL2) will be free.

Major past failures of Singapore's MRT Network

The last major failure on the MRT network was on 7pm+, 7 July to 10am, 8 July 2015. The North-South Line (NSL) and East-West Line (EWL) were shut down due to power faults that triggered circuit breakers of the lines' power systems. As both the EWL and NSL are major arterial island-wide lines, that disruption is considered one of the worst failures in the history of Singapore's mass rail transit.

Other significant disruptions of 2015 include the following:

  • February 23 - from 3.10pm to 7.30pm, North-South Line (NSL) train services were disrupted between Yew Tee station and Kranji station in the direction of Marina South Pier.
  • March 9 - Bukit Panjang LRT was shut down from 6pm until 4pm the next day due to damaged equipment.
  • September 8 - between 7am and 11am, the North East Line (NEL) trains were delayed in both directions due to signalling issues.
  • October 13 - from 8am to 9.30am, train services on the North East Line (NEL) were disrupted between Farrer Park station and Hougang station in both directions due to a power fault.
  • October 26 - from 5am to 9.30am, the entire North East Line (NEL) was disrupted due to a power fault.