Downtown Line

Downtown Line 滨海市区地铁线
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Overview
Type	Mass Rapid Transit
Status	Under Construction
Termini	Bukit Panjang Expo
Stations	34
Abbreviated form	DTL
Line colour
Operation
Opened	(U/C)
Owner	Land Transport Authority
Operator	SBS Transit
Rolling stock	C951
Technical
Line length	42 km
Track gauge	1435mm standard gauge
Electrification	750V DC bottom-contact third rail

The Downtown Line (DTL) will be the fifth Mass Rapid Transit line in Singapore. It is due to be opened in 3 stages, in 2013, 2015 and 2017 respectively. When fully complete, the line will be about 42 km long with 34 stations and serve about half a million commuters daily,⁽¹⁾ making it the longest underground and driverless MRT line in Singapore. Travelling from one end to the other will take about 65 minutes. The line is coloured blue in the rail map and will be operated by SBS Transit ⁽²⁾.

Overview

The line will connect the North-Western and Central-Eastern regions to the new downtown of Singapore. Transfers to this line from the North East Line will be available at Chinatown and Little India stations, the North South Line at Newton, the East West Line at Bugis, Tampines and Expo stations, the Circle Line at MacPherson, Bayfront, Promenade and Botanic Gardens stations and Bukit Panjang LRT at Bukit Panjang. This line will be the third in Singapore to be entirely underground (apart from the Gali Batu Depot). Once fully completed, this line will also be the longest automated and rapid transit line abolishing the record set by the Circle Line.

History

On June 14, 2005, the Land Transport Authority announced that it would construct the (then known as) Downtown Extension of the Circle Line, to serve the Downtown at Marina Bay (DTMB) area, where an integrated resort and Singapore's second botanical garden will be located. The 3.4-kilometre fully underground line was estimated to cost S$1.4 billion. Construction of the extension was slated to begin in 2007. Bayfront and Marina Bay stations effectively opened on 14 January 2012 ⁽³⁾.

On 27 April 2007, it was announced that Stage 1 of the line will connect Promenade with Bugis.⁽⁴⁾ As such, the former Downtown Extension of the Circle Line became known as the Downtown Line Stage 1, a 4.3 km 6 station segment running fully underground from Chinatown Station on the North East Line to Bugis Station on the East West Line, due to be operational in 2013, a year later than originally planned. Three new stations will be constructed underground, linking Bugis Station on the East West Line, Promenade Station on the Circle Line and Chinatown Station on the North East Line. Two stations, Bayfront and Downtown, will be built to serve the DTMB area. Another station, Telok Ayer, will be built along Cross Street near the Chinatown area.⁽⁵⁾ During this period of time, the line was designated brown.

In its preliminary plans, Stage 2 of the Downtown Line was called the Bukit Timah Line, supposedly a 20-kilometre line that would connect the new downtown with the Bukit Panjang, Upper Bukit Timah and the Bukit Timah corridor. It was to intersect the Circle Line and all other current lines along the way. It was expected to alleviate the heavy traffic along Bukit Timah, Dunearn Road and Upper Bukit Timah after completion. Provisions were made at Promenade Station which would have been the line's southern interchange with the Circle Line. Stage 2 of the Downtown Line will be 16.6 km long, consisting twelve stations, including three interchange stations, and is scheduled to be completed by 2015. On July 15, 2008, the LTA announced the exact location, alignment and tentative name of the twelve stations to be built.⁽⁶⁾ Their final names are Rochor, Little India (interchanges with the North East Line), Newton (interchanges with the North South Line), Stevens, Botanic Gardens (interchanges with the Circle Line), Tan Kah Kee, Sixth Avenue, King Albert Park, Beauty World, Hillview, Cashew and Bukit Panjang. Commencement of construction for Stage 2 has begun on 3 July 2009 with a groundbreaking ceremony at Beauty World station.⁽⁷⁾

In its preliminary plans, Stage 3 of the Downtown Line was part of the Eastern Region Line, a 40-kilometre rectangular loop that would have complemented the existing East West Line and enhance inter- and intra-town travelling in the eastern region. It would have looped around the Jalan Besar and East Coast areas, intersecting the Circle Line and other current lines along the way, benefiting residents in Tampines, Bedok, Marine Parade, MacPherson and Kaki Bukit. Stage 3 now only comprises the northern segment of the original plan, from Chinatown Station to Expo Station. Provisions were made at Chinatown Station, which would have been the line's western interchange with the North East Line and the Downtown Extension. The northern segment of the loop was to be constructed first, passing through Jalan Besar area and eastwards to parts of Bedok, Tampines Station and Expo Station to serve the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) next to Upper Changi Station and Singapore Expo which will move there when the new campus is completed in 2018. Being 21km-long, the sixteen stations would have been completed by 2018. In 2008, the government decided to accelerate the sector's opening to 2016. Station locations and their working names for Stage 3 were officially announced on 20 August 2010.⁽⁸⁾. At the same time, Transport Minister Raymond Lim also announced a delay of the completion of Stage 3 by a year to 2017 to accommodate the construction of an additional station at Jalan Besar. Similar to Stage 2, preliminary work by the LTA had begun. The finalised names for the Stage 3 stations were announced on 19 August 2011.⁽⁹⁾

A new MRT depot, the Gali Batu Depot, will be built at part of the Kwong Hou Sua Teochew Cemetery off Woodlands Road.⁽¹⁰⁾

On 29 August 2011, the LTA appointed SBS Transit as the operator of the Downtown Line⁽¹¹⁾ (also currently the operator of North East Line), changing the line colour to blue subsequently.

Stations

Downtown Line

Alpha-Numeric Code	Abbreviation	Station Name			Notes
		English	Chinese	Tamil
Downtown Line
DT1 / BP6	PTR	Bukit Panjang	武吉班让		Bukit Panjang LRT Line
DT2	CSW	Cashew	凯秀
DT3	HVW	Hillview	山景
DT5	BTW	Beauty World	美世界
DT6	KAP	King Albert Park	阿尔柏王园
DT7	SAV	Sixth Avenue	第六道
DT8	TKK	Tan Kah Kee	陈嘉庚
DT9	BTN	Botanic Gardens	植物园		Circle Line
DT10	STV	Stevens	史蒂芬
DT11	NEW	Newton	纽顿		North South Line
DT12	LTI	Little India	小印度		North East Line
DT13	RCR	Rochor	梧槽
DT14	BGS	Bugis	武吉士		East West Line
DT15	PMN	Promenade	宝门廊		Circle Line
DT16	BFT	Bayfront	海湾舫		Circle Line Extension
DT17	DTN	Downtown	市中心
DT18	TLA	Telok Ayer	直落亚逸
DT19	CNT	Chinatown	牛车水		North East Line
DT20	FCN	Fort Canning	福康宁
DT21	BCL	Bencoolen	明古连
DT22	JLB	Jalan Besar	惹兰勿刹
DT23	BDM	Bendemeer	明地迷亚
DT24	GLB	Geylang Bahru	芽笼峇鲁
DT25	MTR	Mattar	玛达
DT26	MPS	MacPherson	麦波申		Circle Line
DT27	UBI	Ubi	乌美
DT28	KKB	Kaki Bukit	加基武吉
DT29	BDN	Bedok North	勿洛北
DT30	BDR	Bedok Reservoir	勿洛蓄水池
DT31	TPW	Tampines West	淡滨尼西
DT32	TAM	Tampines	淡滨尼		East West Line
DT33	TPE	Tampines East	淡滨尼东
DT34	UPC	Upper Changi	樟宜上段
DT35	XPO	Expo	博览		Changi Airport Branch Line

The Downtown Line's numbering scheme reserves station code 'DT4' between Hillview (DT3) and Beauty World (DT5). As of 2011, the LTA has not announced any details of any future station here.

Rolling stock

The rolling stock consists of Bombardier MOVIA C951 cars,⁽¹²⁾ running in three-car formation. They will be stabled at Gali Batu Depot when it opens with Stage 2 of Downtown Line by 2015. For the period between the operation of Downtown Line Stage 1 and Downtown Line Stage 2, trains will be stabled along sidings and platforms of Stage 1 stations. A maintenance facility will be built adjacent to the Marina Bay (Circle Line) to maintain the Downtown Line rolling stock. Kim Chuan Depot (KCD) will house the Operations Control Centre (OCC) for Downtown Line until Gali Batu Depot (GBD) is ready to be used.⁽¹³⁾Eight trains will be operational by the time Stage 1 of Downtown Line opens in 2013. Two of them are expected to arrive in Singapore in October (2012) with the rest arriving progressively in 2013.⁽¹⁴⁾

Train Control

The line will be equipped with a fully automatic Communication-based train control (CBTC) train control system provided by Invensys Rail, using a high-capacity digital radio system for communication between trains and the centralised control system⁽¹⁵⁾. A sophisticated fall-back signalling system (FBSS, relying on conventional track-circuit occupancy detection) is included to ensure fully automatic operation and train protection independent of the radio system. Initially, an integrated control centre based on Invensys RailSystematICS provides automatic train control . Following an internal business decision, Invensys Rail decided to ditch the SystematICS ATS solution in February 2011 to the benefit of its Rail9000 solution (supported by its Dimetronic division⁽¹⁶⁾. Automatic platform screen doors (provided by Faiveley Transport) ensure a safe and comfortable environment for passengers, offering protection from arriving and departing trains.

Operator

LTA announced that SBS Transit would be the operator for Downtown Line under the new rail financing framework that LTA adopted in 2010.⁽¹⁷⁾

External links

• The official MRT map released by the Land Transport Authority showing the Downtown Line: http://www.lta.gov.sg/content/lta/en/projects/rail_system_map_mrtlrt/proj_maps_rail.html

References

1. "12 MRT stations for Bukit Timah by 2015", Luxuryasiahome, 16 July 2008
2. [1]
3. http://app.lta.gov.sg/corp_press_content.asp?start=t89i1holr8zr2ut7irdtwonb461ayv5x976b6w38nt7b2ouz78
4. "Govt approves S$12b MRT Downtown Line to be built by 2018", Dominique Loh, Channel NewsAsia, 27 April 2007
5. "Expanding The Rail Network With Downtown Extension", Land Transport Authority Press Release, 14 June 2005
6. "LTA unveils locations of DTL stage 2 stations", Christopher Tan, Straits Times Online, 15 July 2008
7. "Work on MRT Downtown Line Phase 2 Starts", Tyler Thia, Channel NewsAsia, 3 July 2009
8. Downtown Line 3 Station Locations Unveiled. Land Transport Authority, 20 August 2010
9. Downtown Line 3 Station Names Announced
10. "Downtown Line depot to be located off Woodlands Road", Margaret Perry, Channel NewsAsia, 26 February 2008
11. LTA Appoints SBS Transit Limited to Operate Downtown Line under New Rail Financing Framework Land Transport Authority - 29 August 2011
12. LTA Awards 6 Downtown Line Contracts Totalling $1.13 Billion
13. Contract 901QP: Terms of Reference, Land Transport Authority, 9 November 2007 (tender document from www.gebiz.gov.sg)
14. [2]
15. http://www.invensysrail.com/downloads/595waLu5GfpEF1t.pdf [Invensys Rail secures signalling contract for Singapore’s new Downtown Line]
16. http://www.dimetronic.com/wps/wcm/connect/86510a8049d0b216ba0fbff7e15bce0f/CTC+RAIL+9000+inglés.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=86510a8049d0b216ba0fbff7e15bce0f
17. LTA Appoints SBS Transit Limited to Operate Downtown Line under New Rail Financing Framework