Circle Line
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Notes: This page is still under construction.
The Circle Line (CCL) is Singapore's fourth Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line. Currently and mostly under construction, with the first section opened on May 28, 2009, the fully underground line will be 35.7 km long with 31 stations, and will be operated by SMRT Corporation. It will be the world's longest fully automated metro line. This line is coloured orange in the rail map.
As the name implies, it will be an orbital line linking all radial lines leading to the city, and also will cover many parts of the Central Area. It will also include a branch line beginning at Promenade Station and ending at Marina Bay Station. Transfers to the North South MRT Line will be provided at Bishan MRT Station, Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station and Marina Bay MRT Station, East West MRT Line at Paya Lebar MRT Station and Buona Vista MRT Station, and North East MRT Line at Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, Serangoon MRT Station and HarbourFront MRT Station. The future Downtown MRT Line will interchange with the Circle Line at Bayfront MRT Station, Promenade MRT Station, Botanic Gardens MRT Station and MacPherson MRT Station.
The Circle Line will be the first medium capacity line in Singapore. As a medium capacity line, each Circle Line train will only have three cars instead of the six-car configuration as seen on current MRT lines. The rolling stock will consist of forty Alstom Metropolis C830 trains. Half a million people are expected to use the Circle Line each day.
Despite the name, the Circle Line is not actually a full circle, as there will be no through service on the section between Harbourfront and Dhoby Ghaut. Passengers will need to transfer onto the North-East Line instead. A branch passing through the Marina District is being built, and a "Stage 6" that would complete the circle has been mooted but is not officially planned.
Like the North East MRT Line, the Circle Line will also feature the Art in Transit programme. It will consist of artwork that is integrated into station designs as well as Art Seats. Also part of the LTA's Art in Transit programme were open architectural competitions for two Circle Line stations: Stadium MRT Station, and Bras Basah MRT Station. Both stations were awarded to WOHA Architects, which received the "World Transport Building of the Year" Award at the World Architecture Festival, 2009.
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History
Plans for the Circle Line date back to the 1980s. Then Minister for Communications and Information Dr Yeo Ning Hong stated that such a system "would be feasible when the population reaches four million".
In the 1990s, the Circle Line was first known as the Marina Line. The Marina Line was initially planned as a 12-station underground line, starting from Chinatown MRT Station and Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station to the Stadium MRT Station. However, the Chinatown leg was later truncated and was reduced to 6 stations up to Stadium MRT Station. On the other hand, a further extension towards Upper Paya Lebar was added. Eventually, the Marina line ended up as an inner circular line. The Marina Line was originally slated for completion in 2006.
Circle Line stations that were a part of the original Marina Line plans include Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, Bras Basah MRT Station, Esplanade MRT Station, Promenade MRT Station, Nicoll Highway MRT Station and Stadium MRT Station. Also, the part of the Marina Line from Chinatown Station to Promenade Station is now part of the Downtown MRT Line.
It is widely expected to have a Stage 6 which completes the circle from HarbourFront to Promenade stations. On 27 April 2007, the LTA announced an extension of a branch line from Promenade to Bayfront station, which may be the first segment of the line's final stage.(Citation needed) On 25 January 2008, Minister for Transport, Mr Raymond Lim, announced a further extension of the line from Bayfront Station to Marina Bay MRT Station, scheduled to open in 2012. He also revealed the decision to open both Caldecott MRT Station, and Haw Par Villa MRT Station stations (previously Thomson and West Coast), initially planned as shell stations, together with the whole line, leaving only Bukit Brown MRT Station Station remaining closed when the line opens. On 12 February 2009, Raymond Lim announced the Circle Line Stage 3, from Bartley to Marymount, is scheduled to open in 30 May 2009 a date later revised to 28 May 2009. On 26 January 2010, Mr Lim announced that the stations from Bartley to Dhoby Ghaut will open on 17 April 2010.
Accidents
There have been some accidents that had occurred throughout the construction of the Circle Line, most notably the collapse of Nicoll Highway in 2004.
Nicoll Highway collapse
On April 20, 2004, a section of tunnel being built for the Circle Line collapsed, apparently when a retaining wall used in the tunnel's construction gave way. This occurred near what was to become the Nicoll Highway MRT Station on the Circle line, not far from the Merdeka Bridge. The accident left a collapse zone 150m wide, 100m long, and 30m deep. Four workers were killed, with three more injured.
A criminal inquiry found the main contractor Nishimatsu Construction Company and joint venture partner firm Lum Chang Construction Company and their officers, as well as key Land Transport Authority officers responsible for the collapse. Several other officers and subcontractors were reprimanded and issued warnings in connection with the accident.
As a result of this accident, the first phase of the Circle Line, previously scheduled to open in 2008, will be completed in 2010 instead. The affected station has been shifted about 100m away from the accident site and is now located at Republic Avenue.
This accident had also resulted in stricter safety regulations for the construction of all future MRT lines. The shifting of the Nicoll Highway station also meant it can no longer serve as a terminus for the Bukit Timah Line, partially influencing the creation of the current Downtown Line.
Other incidents
On August 16, 2007, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) issued a stop-work order and revoked the contractor's tunnelling permit after a 7-metre stretch of two lanes sank about 20 cm, close to the junction of Telok Blangah Road and Alexandra Road in the evening, resulting in a halting of tunnelling works.
A section of the road above a construction site near Holland Road caved in on the morning of May 24, 2008, creating a massive hole. The hole, directly in front of two private houses along Cornwall Gardens Road, measured 8 by 7 metres and was 3 metres deep. No one was injured, but the road was temporarily closed to traffic.
Status
The project is being implemented in stages. Originally scheduled to be opened from 2006 and fully opened in 2010, with an estimated cost of S$6.7 billion, the Nicoll Highway collapse caused the construction of the line to be delayed. As a result, the opening of the Circle Line was delayed to 2009, and the entire line is now expected to be fully operational by 2011 excluding the Marina Bay Extension, at an estimated cost of nearly S$10 billion. Tunneling works were completed on August 17, 2009.
The completed line will reduce travelling time for commuters by allowing them to shorten trips between north to east or north to west and vice versa, bypassing busy interchanges like City Hall and Raffles Place. Stage 3, a 5& km five-station segment stretching from Bartley to Marymount, was the first section of the line opened on 28 May 2009. Ridership on this section has been considerably lower than estimated, at 32,000 passengers per day (ppd) instead of the expected 55,000 ppd. Stages 1 and 2 will commence operations on 17 April 2010.
Due to the re-alignment of the Nicoll Highway station to a new location, the station will be two thirds the size of the original plan before the collapse, and located 100 metres away from the highway collapse site.
Station
| Alpha-Numeric Code | Abbreviation | Station Name | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Chinese | Tamil | |||
| Circle Line | |||||
| Stage 1 (Opening on 17 April 2010) | |||||
| CC1 / NS24 / NE6 | DBG | Dhoby Ghaut | 多美歌 | டோபி காட் | U/C, Future Interchange station with NSL & NEL |
| CC2 | BBS | Bras Basah | 勿拉士巴沙 | U/C | |
| CC3 | EPN | Esplanade | 滨海中心 | U/C | |
| CC4 / DT15 | PMD | Promenade | 宝门廊 | U/C, Future Interchange station with DTL | |
| CC5 | NCH(unconfirmed for now) | Nicoll Highway | 尼诰大道 | U/C | |
| CC6 | SDM | Stadium | 体育场 | U/C | |
| Stage 2 (Opening on 17 April 2010) | |||||
| CC7 | MBT(unconfirmed for now) | Mountbatten | 蒙巴登 | U/C | |
| CC8 | DKT(unconfirmed for now) | Dakota | 达科达 | டகோடா | U/C |
| CC9 / EW8 | PYL | Paya Lebar | 巴耶利峇 | பாய லேபார் | U/C, Future Interchange station with EWL |
| CC10 | MPH | MacPherson | 麦波申 | U/C | |
| CC11 | TAS(unconfirmed for now) | Tai Seng | 大成 | தை செங் | U/C |
| Stage 3 (Opened) | |||||
| CC12 | BTL | Bartley | 巴特礼 | Terminus (8) | |
| CC13 / NE12 | SER/SRG | Serangoon | 实龙岗 | சிராங்கூன் | Interchange station with NEL |
| CC14 | LRC | Lorong Chuan | 罗弄泉 | ||
| CC15 / NS17 | BSH | Bishan | 碧山 | பீஷான் | Interchange station with NSL |
| CC16 | MRM | Marymount | 玛丽蒙 | Terminus (9) | |
| Stage 4 (Under Construction) | |||||
| CC17 | CAL(unconfirmed for now) | Caldecott | 加利谷 | U/C | |
| CC18 | Unknown | Bukit Brown | U/C | ||
| CC19 / DT9 | BTN | Botanic Gardens | 植物园 | U/C, Future Interchange station with DTL | |
| CC20 | FER(unconfirmed for now) | Farrer Road | 花拉路 | U/C | |
| CC21 | HLV(unconfirmed for now) | Holland Village | 荷兰村 | U/C | |
| CC22 / EW21 | BNV | Buona Vista | 波那维斯达 | புவன விஸ்தா | U/C, Future Interchange station with EWL |
| CC23 | ONH(unconfirmed for now) | one-north | 纬壹 | U/C | |
| CC24 | KNR(unconfirmed for now) | Kent Ridge | 肯特岗 | U/C | |
| Stage 5 (Under Construction) | |||||
| CC25 | HPV | Haw Par Villa | 虎豹别墅 | U/C | |
| CC26 | PPJ | Pasir Panjang | 巴西班让 | பாசிர் பாஞ்சாங் | U/C |
| CC27 | LBD | Labrador | 拉柏多 | U/C | |
| CC28 | TLB | Telok Blangah | 直落布兰雅 | U/C | |
| CC29 / NE1 | HBF | HarbourFront | 港湾 | துறைமுகம் | U/C, Future Interchange station with NEL |
Rolling stock
The rolling stock consists of Alstom Metropolis C830 trains running in three-car formation. They are stabled at Kim Chuan Depot, the world's largest underground depot.
Rail Lines in Singapore
MRT Lines
NS North South Line
EW East West Line
CG Changi Airport Extension
NE North East Line
CC Circle Line (Opened/Opening/Under Construction)
-- Marina Bay Extension (Under Construction)
DT Downtown Line (Under construction/Planning)
-- Thomson Line (Planning)
-- Eastern Region Line (Planning)
LRT Lines
BP Bukit Panjang LRT
SE SW STC Sengkang LRT
PE PW PTC Punggol LRT
