Bukit Panjang LRT to shut on 2 Sundays to facilitate tests; some upgrading work nearing completion
Fourteen of 19 new third-generation light rail vehicles have been deployed for passenger service.
SINGAPORE – Train service on the Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) line will be suspended for two days so that a new signalling system can be tested to make sure it is properly integrated with new and upgraded light rail vehicles.
In a statement on July 30, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and BPLRT operator SMRT said the line would be closed on Aug 31 and Sept 21.
The closure will allow the testing of the new signalling system while 'simulating actual operating conditions', LTA and SMRT said.
This is to make sure that the various BPLRT systems can operate safely and reliably when they are rolled out for passenger service, they added.
A shuttle bus service, LRT Shuttle B, will operate on Aug 31 and Sept 21 in the direction of BPLRT Service B from Choa Chu Kang station to Bukit Panjang, via Petir, at a frequency of five to 15 minutes.
LTA and SMRT also said that renewal works on the BPLRT's signalling system and fleet are nearing completion.
Fourteen of 19 new third-generation light rail vehicles have been deployed for passenger service, and 11 of 13 second-generation vehicles have been upgraded and returned to service.
The remaining new third-generation vehicles and upgraded second-generation vehicles are expected to be deployed by the end of 2025. Work to upgrade the new signalling system will also be completed then.
The BPLRT's entire power supply system has also been fully upgraded, with increased capacity, including dedicated power supply monitoring and control systems, LTA and SMRT said.
Train service on the BPLRT line was disrupted for nearly two hours on July 19 due to a power fault.
SMRT said previously that its investigations revealed that the power fault 'shares a similar failure mode' to an earlier three-hour-long service disruption on July 3.
All 13 BPLRT stations were affected during both service disruptions.
Both incidents were linked to the newly installed Power Scada system, said Mr Lam Sheau Kai, president of SMRT Trains, in a July 20 statement on SMRT's Facebook page.
The system plays a key role in monitoring and controlling power distribution across the LRT line.
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