Train services for Downtown Line to start later on Sundays from May

SINGAPORE: Train services on the Downtown Line (DTL) will start later on Sundays from May 14 to Aug 27, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and train operator SBS Transit announced on Wednesday (Apr 26).

During this period, except for the Hari Raya Puasa weekend on Jun 25, the first train will leave at 7.30am – one hour and 40 minutes later than the current starting time of 5.50am from Bukit Panjang station. This is to facilitate the testing of the entire line in preparation for the opening of the third phase of the line (DTL3) by end-2017, LTA and SBS said.

“We are making good progress on the DTL3 and are on track to open the 16 new stations by the end of the year,” LTA chief executive Ngien Hoon Ping said.

“Before this, we need to carry out comprehensive systems testing and run trains along the entire DTL from Bukit Panjang to Expo. It is, therefore, necessary that we extend our limited engineering hours once a week to allow our engineers to test the system in an integrated manner.”

LTA and SBS said that one round-trip loop between the Bukit Panjang and Expo stations will take about two-and-a-half hours. They will thus need to add two hours for these test runs, in addition to the three engineering hours used for running tests on the line usually.

Extra time is also needed for preparation prior to each test and to ready the systems for passenger service, they added.

According to both parties, the DTL is more complex than SBS’ Circle Line, which has a shorter rail line and fewer trains. They also said the late opening hours are necessary for more rigorous testing and system integration.

Affected commuters can use existing public bus services to travel between the DTL corridor and the city area. A shuttle bus service that runs parallel to the alignments of the existing two phases of the line and that stops at each of the existing DTL stations will also be provided.

Prices for this shuttle bus service will follow the DTL fare structure.