Bukit Panjang LRT Line
Encyclopedia
Bukit Panjang LRT Line is a 7.8 km light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...

 line opened on 6 November 1999 and part of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

's LRT system. It is fully automated, and the project was contracted to Adtranz
Adtranz
ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation , commonly known under its brand Adtranz, was a multi-national rail transport equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the USA....

, Keppel Corporation
Keppel Corporation
The Keppel Group of Companies includes Keppel Offshore & Marine, Keppel Integrated Engineering, Keppel Energy, Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation and Keppel Land, among others....

 and Gammon Construction
Gammon Construction
Gammon Construction Limited is a leading construction contractors headquartered in Hong Kong. In addition to local construction projects, it also actively participating in various projects in China and Southeast Asia.-History:...

. The line uses the Innovia APM 100 rolling stock supplied by Bombardier
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....

, and is similar to the ones used in the Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Changi Airport , Changi International Airport, or simply Changi Airport, is the main airport in Singapore. A major aviation hub in Southeast Asia, it is about north-east from the commercial centre in Changi, on a site....

's people mover
People mover
A people mover or automated people mover is a fully automated, grade-separated mass transit system.The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks, but is sometimes applied to considerably more complex automated...

 service during the 90s. It is currently operated by SMRT Light Rail, a subsidiary of SMRT Corporation
SMRT Corporation
SMRT Corporation is a public transport operator incorporated on March 6, 2000, as a result of an industry overhaul to form multi-modal public-transport operators in Singapore. It is the second-largest public-transport company in Singapore after ComfortDelGro...

. A complete loop journey on the line (excluding Ten Mile Junction
Ten Mile Junction
Ten Mile Junction Ten Mile Junction Ten Mile Junction (Chinese: 十里广场)is a shopping mall located at the junction between Woodlands Road and Choa Chu Kang Road. Named after the defunct KTM tenth-mile railway line mark of the former Tanjong Pagar to Kranji part of its Singapore mainline from Upper...

 Station) takes 28 minutes and all stations, except Choa Chu Kang
Choa Chu Kang
Choa Chu Kang is a major residential town and neighbourhood and is a suburban area in the West Region of Singapore...

 and Ten Mile Junction Stations have two opposing side platforms, like Dover
Dover MRT Station
The Dover MRT Station ' is a Mass Rapid Transit station located in Dover in Singapore that is part of the East West Line. The station is located between the Clementi MRT Station and the Buona Vista MRT Station, and was opened on October 18, 2001 with test runs from October 13, 2001 to October 17,...

, Braddell
Braddell MRT Station
Braddell MRT Station is an MRT station located on the North South Line. It is an underground station located in the northern part of Toa Payoh. At the completion of the initial MRT network, it was one of the two underground station with side platforms due to similar space-constraint problems, and...

, Bishan
Bishan MRT Station
Bishan MRT Station is a Singapore Mass Rapid Transit interchange station along the North South Line and the Circle Line that serves the Bishan community, especially that of Bishan East. The station is located in Central Singapore, along Bishan Road, close to the town centre of Bishan...

(North South Line section) and Fernvale
Fernvale LRT Station
Fernvale LRT station is an LRT station on the Sengkang LRT Line West Loop in Singapore. It was opened in January 2005 together with the Punggol LRT East Loop. It is operated by SBS Transit. The station serves residents who just shifted into the newly-constructed HDB flats as part of Fernvale...

 Stations.

Stations

Station Number Station Name Interchange/Notes
BP1 / NS4 Choa Chu Kang
Choa Chu Kang MRT/LRT Station
The Choa Chu Kang MRT/LRT Station is an interchange station serving the Choa Chu Kang area of Singapore. It is part of the North South MRT Line and it is also the terminus of the Bukit Panjang LRT Line...

North South Line
North South MRT Line
The North South Line was the 1st Mass Rapid Transit line in Singapore. The line is currently 44 km long with 25 stations, and is operated by SMRT Corporation...

BP2 South View
South View LRT Station
South View LRT Station is one of Singapore's light-rail stations on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line. Operated by SMRT Light Rail, the station was completed on June 11, 1999 and was opened to the public in November 1999....

 
BP3 Keat Hong
Keat Hong LRT Station
Keat Hong LRT Station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999 and is operated by SMRT.-Train service:-Station layout:-2010 accident:...

 
BP4 Teck Whye
Teck Whye LRT Station
Teck Whye LRT Station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999 and is operated by SMRT.-Train service:-Station layout:-Etymology:...

 
BP5 Phoenix
Phoenix LRT Station
Phoenix LRT station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999. It is operated by SMRT.-Etymology:...

 
BP6 Bukit Panjang Shuttle to Ten Mile Junction / Downtown Line
Downtown MRT Line
The Downtown Line will be the fifth Mass Rapid Transit line in Singapore. When completed, the line will be about 42-km long with 34 stations and serve about half a million commuters daily, making it the longest underground and driverless MRT line in Singapore. Travelling from one end to the other...

 (U/C)
BP7 Petir
Petir LRT Station
Petir LRT Station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999. It is operated by SMRT.-Etymology:This station is located along Petir Road. Petir means lightning in Malay.-Train service:...

 
BP8 Pending
Pending LRT Station
Pending LRT Station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999. It is operated by SMRT.-Etymology:The station is located along Pending Road. Pending refers to a large waist buckle in Malay...

 
BP9 Bangkit
Bangkit LRT Station
Bangkit LRT Station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999. It is operated by SMRT.-Etymology:The station is located near Bangkit Road...

 
BP10 Fajar
Fajar LRT Station
Fajar LRT Station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999. It is operated by SMRT.-Etymology:This station is located along Fajar Road...

 
BP11 Segar
Segar LRT Station
Segar LRT Station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999. It is operated by SMRT.-Etymology:The station is located near Segar Road...

 
BP12 Jelapang
Jelapang LRT Station
Jelapang LRT Station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999.-Etymology:The station is located near Jelapang Road...

 
BP13 Senja
Senja LRT Station
Senja LRT Station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999. It is operated by SMRT....

 
BP14 Ten Mile Junction
Ten Mile Junction LRT Station
Ten Mile Junction LRT Station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999 and is operated by SMRT...

(Shuttle Station), (Station Closed)

Service

There are three services operating along the Bukit Panjang Line before 10 December 2010. Trains designated on Service A will ply the outer loop (clockwise) via Senja
Senja LRT Station
Senja LRT Station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999. It is operated by SMRT....

 first whereas trains designated on Service B will ply the inner loop (anti-clockwise) via Petir
Petir LRT Station
Petir LRT Station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999. It is operated by SMRT.-Etymology:This station is located along Petir Road. Petir means lightning in Malay.-Train service:...

 first. Service C runs between Bukit Panjang and Ten Mile Junction
Ten Mile Junction LRT Station
Ten Mile Junction LRT Station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999 and is operated by SMRT...

 and the service frequency is 20 minutes. Service C is no longer available from 10 December 2010 due to redevelopment of the building, making Service A and B only continue the train service.

Issues

The operation of the Bukit Panjang LRT has been plagued by problems since its opening in 1999. On 6 November 1999, the trains were unable to move as planned and frequently halted in between stations. Software glitches during initial running resulted in frequent delays in service and incidents of varying severity.

It was reported on 10 January 2011 that the Bukit Panjang LRT had broken down 32 times between 2008 and 2010. In each incident, disruption to service exceeded 10 minutes. In the worst of these incidents in September 2009, commuters had to endure a four-hour disruption.

There have been two serious accidents since its opening:
  • In 2000, two LRT trains crashed head-to-back at Phoenix Station
    Phoenix LRT Station
    Phoenix LRT station is an LRT station on the Bukit Panjang LRT Line in Singapore. It was opened in November 1999. It is operated by SMRT.-Etymology:...

     causing minor injuries. The operator was fined S$10,000.
  • In 2002, a dislodged train wheel caused the entire shutdown of the system for six days, as it crippled the power system and the rail at the incident was damaged and had to be repaired.


Other incidents include:
  • Train service was disrupted on 24 April 2010 due to a power trip caused by lightning. As a result, two trains with a total of 100 passengers were stalled between Phoenix and Bukit Panjang LRT stations. About 5,000 passengers were affected by the disruption.
  • 1,600 passengers being affected on 17 May 2011 by a one hour long disruption due to an electrical fault that occurred somewhere along the system at Keat Hong, South View and Choa Chu Kang stations. At one point, 20 passengers on a train that stalled before Choa Chu Kang station had to get off and walk on a 1.5-metre emergency walkway for about 10 metres.
  • 1,420 passengers being affected on 7 June 2011 by a one hour long disruption caused by a signaling fault between Phoenix and Bukit Panjang stations.


In each case of disruption, SMRT activates bus bridging services to serve other LRT passengers. It allows passengers who were unable to complete their journey to any Passenger Service Centre over the next three days for a refund.

There have also been over a hundred disruptions in service which still continues today, the most recent being on 23 August 2011. The poor operation had no bearing on the operation of the Sengkang LRT Line
Sengkang LRT Line
The Sengkang LRT Line is a 10.7 km light rail line which partly opened on 18 January 2003. It is the second LRT system in Singapore and is fully automated and currently operated by SBS Transit. The line uses the Crystal Mover rolling stock supplied by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries...

 and Punggol LRT Line
Punggol LRT Line
The Punggol LRT Line is the third line of the LRT system in Singapore. Its first phase comprises a 10.3km line with 15 stations. Similar to the Sengkang LRT Line, its rolling stock and line operator are the Crystal Movers and SBS Transit respectively....

 being awarded to rival company SBS Transit
SBS Transit
SBS Transit Limited is a public transport operator in Singapore. Its major competitor in Singapore's duopoly transport system is SMRT Corporation, which also operates bus, rail, taxi and other transport services....

 and rival manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
, or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...

 as those contracts were placed prior to Bukit Panjang LRT commencing operation. Most of the problems have been addressed and ironed out since.

The Bukit Panjang LRT was operating at a loss for the first five years. This has raised complaints from the public who argue that the system is a white elephant
White elephant
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth...

.

It was also reported that residents were unhappy with the withdrawal of feeder bus services operating in the area since the opening of the Bukit Panjang LRT, and were further aggravated by the unreliability of the service. After lobbying to Members of the Parliament, 2 feeder services, Services 920 and 922, were reinstated.

It has also been seen that all LRT trains had their white wheel covers removed.

Future plans

Plans by the Land Transport Authority
Land Transport Authority
The Land Transport Authority is a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Singapore Government.-History:...

 have indicated a Mass Rapid Transit
Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)
The Mass Rapid Transit or MRT is a rapid transit system that forms the backbone of the railway system in Singapore, spanning the entire city-state. The initial section of the MRT, between Yio Chu Kang Station and Toa Payoh Station, opened in 1987 establishing itself as the second-oldest metro...

 Station (Bukit Panjang MRT Station) near Bukit Panjang Station as part of the Downtown MRT Line
Downtown MRT Line
The Downtown Line will be the fifth Mass Rapid Transit line in Singapore. When completed, the line will be about 42-km long with 34 stations and serve about half a million commuters daily, making it the longest underground and driverless MRT line in Singapore. Travelling from one end to the other...

, which is expected to open in 2015. It was revealed by the authorities in 2009 that the existing bus interchange could be moved closer to the upcoming MRT station. Previously, the LTA had explained that the MRT station could not be moved next to the LRT station owing to technical constraints. Residents had pointed out that transfers would be inconvenient as the MRT station will be sited about 120m from the existing Bukit Panjang LRT and bus interchange.

External links

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