SINGAPORE — The 21km-long Downtown Line 3 (DTL3) will begin operations on Oct 21, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Wednesday (May 31).
With its opening, commuters can travel from the north-western and eastern areas of the island to the Central Business District and Marina Bay. For instance, commuters will be able to travel from Bukit Panjang station to Expo in approximately 1 hour 10 minutes.
DTL3 comprises 16 stations: Fort Canning, Bencoolen, Jalan Besar, Bendeemer, Geylang Bahru, Mattar, MacPherson, Ubi, Kaki Bukit, Bedok North, Bedok Reservoir, Tampines West, Tampines, Tampines East, Upper Changi and Expo stations.
Of these, three are interchange stations that will link up to the CCL and East-West Line (EWL). The MacPherson interchange station links the DTL3 to the CCL, while Tampines and Expo stations link to the EWL.
The first 10 stations from Fort Canning to Bedok North have obtained their Temporary Occupation Permit status, while final fitting-out works are currently in progress at the last six stations.
DTL3 is the longest stretch of the line to be completed, and with it, DTL will be the longest underground and driverless MRT line in Singapore at 42km long, surpassing the 35.7km-long Circle Line (CCL).
The Upper Changi station is the longest station on the DTL3 at 205m. It has four entrances and comprises three levels — concourse, intermediate and platform.
DTL1, with six stations from Chinatown to Bugis, opened on Dec 22, 2013, and DTL2, with 12 stations from Bukit Panjang to Rochor, opened on Dec 27, 2015.
A DTL3 extension from Expo to Sungei Bedok will open in 2024. This extension will have three stations: Expo, Xilin and Sungei Bedok.
