SINGAPORE: Seven stations along the East-West Line (EWL) and three stations along the North-South Line (NSL) will close earlier on some Fridays and Saturdays and open later on some Saturdays and Sundays from August to September to facilitate rail maintenance.
In a media release on Wednesday (Jul 18), the affected stations, from Dover to Pioneer and from Bukit Gombak to Jurong East, will close earlier at around 11pm on some Fridays and Saturdays, and open later at around 8am on some Saturdays and Sundays.
(Image: SMRT)
Train services from Choa Chu Kang to Marina South Pier MRT stations, and from Joo Koon to Tuas Link MRT stations will not be affected, SMRT said.
“For the months of August and September 2018, our engineering teams will use the additional hour to continue with track maintenance and renewal works along this sector of the NSEWL,” SMRT said in the release.
During this period, train services will operate as a bi-directional shuttle between Queenstown, Commonwealth and Buona Vista MRT Stations using a single track. This arrangement will allow train services to continue between the three stations while facilitating the turn-around of trains for the rest of the EWL, SMRT said.
The bi-directional shuttle will also operate at a longer service interval of up to 12 minutes and commuters travelling to and from stations served only by the bi-directional shuttle will have to transfer at Queenstown MRT station to continue their journey, SMRT said.
ALTERNATIVE TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS
Shuttle buses will be deployed during the planned early closures. Shuttle bus service 2 will be available between Buona Vista and Joo Koon MRT stations while shuttle bus service 4 will be available between Choa Chu Kang and Jurong East MRT stations.
An express bus service will also be available to offer direct connections across major transport nodes along the affected EWL stretch, SMRT said. Express 5 will offer two direct trips from Boon Lay MRT station to Jurong East and Buona Vista MRT stations, and two direct trips from Buona Vista MRT station to Jurong East and Boon Lay MRT stations.
(Image: SMRT)
(Image: SMRT)
Commuters are advised to check for station-specific timings on SMRT’s website and social media platforms as departing times for first and last trains at the affected stations may vary. SMRT also reminds commuters to cater for additional travel time when using the shuttle bus services.
SMRT has carried out early closures and late openings of stations along the same western sector of the NSEWL since December 2017 to facilitate intensified testing of the EWL’s new Communications Based Train Control signalling system, which has been in use since May 28, 2018.
