Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) & Light Rapid Transit (LRT)

Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)

The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) is a partially underground metro system with trains running on steel wheels. For the North East Line (NE), it is entirely underground and trains are driverless. 

North South Line (NS), East West Line (EW) (CG), North East Line (NE) & Circle Line (CC)

North South Line (NS)

The North South Line (NS), comprising of 25 Stations, stretches from NS1 Jurong East Station in the northwest  to NS27 Marina Bay Station in the south of Singapore, in to the New Downtown and connects to the East West Line (EW) (CG) at NS25 City Hall Station and NS26 Raffles Place Station. Trains running on this Line are either manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), Siemens or Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI)/Nippon Sharyo.

East West Line (EW) (CG)

The East West Line (EW) (CG), comprising of 29 Stations, stretches from EW1 Pasir Ris Station in the east to EW27 Boon Lay Station in the west and connects to the North South Line (NS) at EW13 City Hall Station and EW14 Raffles Place Station, and the North East Line (NE) at EW16 Outram Park Station. At the branch of the main Line at EW4 Tanah Merah Station, a 12 minute interval shuttle service brings passengers to CG1 Expo Station and CG2 Changi Airport Station. Trains running on this Line are either manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), Siemens or Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI)/Nippon Sharyo.

North East Line

The North East Line (NE), comprising of 16 Stations, stretches from NE1 HarbourFront Station in the south to NE17 Punggol Station in the northeastern part of the island and connects to the East West Line (EW) (CG) at NE3 Outram Park Station, the North South Line (NS) at NE5 Dhoby Ghaut Station, the Sengkang LRT Line (SK) at NE16 Sengkang Station and the Punggol LRT Line (PG) at NE17 Punggol Station. Passenger service commenced on 20 June 2003. NE11 Woodleigh Station and NE15 Buangkok Station will not be opened for passenger service until the surround areas get further developed. The North East Line (NE) is the first driverless and underground heavy rail system in the world.

The trains are manufactured by Alstom and are unitized six-car sets, with walk-through articulation. Each car has four doors per side, longitudinal seats (62 per car), and ceiling handholds along the center of the car. Yes, one can still be a straphanger in Singapore. The trainsets use AC propulsion as denoted by the telltale multi-pitch whine. Station stops are announced automatically, using a woman's voice that has a British accent. She even throws in "Please Mind The Gap'' for good measure. Each car has six Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) that show commercials, safety messages, inspirational quotes; travel information scrolls along the bottom. There are also two ceiling-mounted LED Displays that also show travel information, date & time in each car. Operation is totally automatic. In fact, there is no cab; the trainsets have a similar appearance to airport peoplemovers -- with a covered drivers' console that can be used in an emergency. In a throwback to tradition, there are two railfan windows, one at either side of the front car. In automatic operation, dwell time is set and doors close automatically after a warning signal. I saw no door holding at any time, even during rush hour. There are supposedly roving customer service personnel; I thought I saw one sitting in the middle of the train. He wasn't wearing a uniform, but was holding a two-way radio.

Stations are immaculate -- there was not one piece of litter on any platform or train. Station cleaners were everywhere. As with the older lines, modern faregates accept only the ''ezlink'' Contactless Smart Card for multiple rides, the ''Standard Ticket'' for single trips or the ''Visitors Card'' for tourists. Fares range from S$0.80 to S1.80 depending on distance travelled. Stations have Platform Screen Doors (PSD), so all stations are well air-conditioned. Station mezzanines and transfer corridors along the new line are spacious and well-lit. They are also "ADA-compatible," or would be if there was an ADA-like law in Singapore (the older lines are not).

Circle Line (CC)

The Circle Line (CC), comprising of 29 Stations, stretches from CC1 Dhoby Ghaut Station in the main hotel and retail belt to CC29 HarbourFront Station in the south next to VivoCity, Singapore's largest entertainment and retail centre, due to open in 2006 and will be connected to every other Line at numerous Stations. The intial section of the Circle Line will commence passenger service in 2007 while the last section will commence passenger service by 2010. CC18 Bukit Brown Station, CC19 Adam Station & CC25 West Coast Station will not be opened for passenger service until the surrounding areas get further developed. The Circle Line (CC) will be the longest driverless and underground heavy rail system in the world.

Light Rapid Transit (LRT)

The Light Rapid Transit (LRT) is an elevated driverless system with train cars running on rubber tyres, similar to the Automated People Mover (APM) systems at Singapore's Changi Airport & the Hong Kong Interational Airport (HKIA). The Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system in Singapore is not the same as the Light Rail Transit systems in Los Angeles & Hong Kong as those systems are at grade, operated by drivers and train cars run on steel wheels. The Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system acts as a feeder service to the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system for residents of the primarily high density residential neighbourhoods.

Bukit Panjang Line (BP), Sengkang Line (SK) & Punggol Line (PG)

The Bukit Panjang Line (BP) is a primarily a single Loop system comprising of 14 Stations and connects to the North South Line (NS) at NS4 Choa Chu Kang Station. Passenger service commenced on 06 November 1999. Bombardier's ''CX-100'' train cars, either in 1 car or 2 car train sets depending on demand, run in both clockwise and anticlockwise directions along this Loop.

The Sengkang Line (SK) is a 2 Loop system, comprising of a East Loop and a West Loop connect to the North East Line (NE) at NE16 Sengkang Station. Even though both Loops have been constructed, only the East Loop at present, comprising of 6 Stations has commenced passenger service. The West Loop, comprising of another 8 Stations will commence passenger service possibly in 2008 when the area surrounding the Stations along this Loop are further developed. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)'s individual ''Crystal Mover'' train cars run in both clockwise and anticlockwise directions along this Loop.

The Punggol Line (PG) is another 2 Loop system, again comprising of a East Loop and the West Loop connect to the North East Line (NE) at NE17 Punggol Station. Even though both Loops have been constructed, only the East Loop, comprising of 8 Stations will commence passenger service in 2005. The West Loop, comprising of another 7 Stations will commence passenger service at a later date yet to be determined when the area surrounding the Stations along this Loop are further developed. The same Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)'s individual ''Crystal Mover'' train cars run in both clockwise and anticlockwise directions along this Loop.