Circle MRT Line

Not to be confused with MRT Circle Line.

CCL  Circle MRT Line Laluan MRT Bulatan 地铁环线 இணைப்பு எம்ஆர்டி வழி
The Circle Line is coloured orange on system maps.
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)
Status	Operational
Termini	Dhoby Ghaut HarbourFront (Until 2025) Marina Bay (Until 2025)
Stations	33 (excluding Bukit Brown)
Services	3
Daily ridership	398,000 (May 2015)
Operation
Opened	28 May 2009 (Stage 3) 17 April 2010 (Stage 1 and 2) 8 October 2011 (Stage 4 and 5) 14 January 2012 (Circle Line Extension) 2025 (Stage 6)
Owner	Land Transport Authority
Operator(s)	SMRT Trains (SMRT Corporation)
Character	Underground
Depot(s)	Kim Chuan
Rolling stock	C830, C830C
Technical
Line length	35.5 km (22.1 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC third rail
Operating speed	limit of 78 kilometres per hour (48 mph)
Route map Legend ■ Jurong East   ■ HarbourFront   ■ Punggol  CC1  NS24  NE6  Dhoby Ghaut     ■ Chinatown  CC2  Bras Basah  CC3  Esplanade  CE2  NS27  TE20  Marina Bay ■ Marina South Pier    CE1  DT16  Bayfront  CC4  DT15  Promenade ■ Bukit Panjang    CC5  Nicoll Highway Kallang Basin  CC6  Stadium  CC7  Mountbatten  CC8  Dakota Geylang River  CC9  EW8  Paya Lebar ■ Pasir Ris   ■ Joo Koon x20px Pan Island Expressway x20px Kallang–Paya Lebar Expressway  CC10  DT26  MacPherson ■ Sungei Bedok   ■ Bukit Panjang  CC11  Tai Seng Kim Chuan Depot  CC12  Bartley ■ Punggol   ■ HarbourFront  CC13  NE12  Serangoon  CC14  Lorong Chuan Central Expressway  CC15  NS17  Bishan x20px ■ Jurong East   ■ Marina South Pier  CC16  Marymount ■ Woodlands North    CC17  TE9  Caldecott   ■ Sungei Bedok   x20px  CC18  Bukit Brown Pan Island Expressway ■ Bukit Panjang   ■ Sungei Bedok  CC19  DT9  Botanic Gardens  CC20  Farrer Road  CC21  Holland Village ■ Joo Koon   ■ Pasir Ris  CC22  EW21  Buona Vista  CC23  one-north Ayer Rajah Expressway  CC24  Kent Ridge  CC25  Haw Par Villa  CC26  Pasir Panjang  CC27  Labrador Park  CC28  Telok Blangah  CC29  NE1  HarbourFront   ■ Punggol    CC30  Keppel  CC31  Cantonment  CC32  Prince Edward

The Circle Line (CCL) is Singapore's fourth Mass Rapid Transit line. This fully underground line is 35.5 kilometres (22.1 mi) long with 30 stations (excluding Bukit Brown) and is fully automatically operated. It takes about one hour to travel from one end to the other. The line is coloured orange in the rail map.

As the name implies, the line is an orbital circle route linking all radial routes leading to the city. It also covers many parts of the Central Area. From Promenade, the line branches with one branch terminating at Dhoby Ghaut and the other terminating at Marina Bay. Transfers to the North South Line are provided at Bishan, Dhoby Ghaut and Marina Bay, East West Line at Paya Lebar and Buona Vista, and North East Line at Dhoby Ghaut, Serangoon and HarbourFront. The Downtown Line interchanges with the Circle Line at Bayfront, Promenade and Botanic Gardens. Future sections of the Downtown Line will interchange with the line at MacPherson. The future Thomson-East Coast Line will interchange with the Circle Line at Caldecott and Marina Bay.

The Circle Line is the first medium capacity line in Singapore. As a medium capacity line, each Circle Line train has only three cars instead of the six-car configuration as seen on other currently operating MRT lines excluding the Downtown Line. Half a million people were expected to use the Circle Line each day. The line reduces travelling time for commuters by allowing them to shorten trips between north to east or north to west and vice versa, bypassing busy interchange like City Hall and Raffles Place.

On 8 October 2011, the Circle Line became fully operational to commemorate its operator SMRT's 24th Anniversary for Rail Services since the company's establishment in 1987.

History

Plans for the Circle Line date back to the 1980s. The then Minister for Communications and Information, Dr Yeo Ning Hong stated that such a system "would be feasible when the population reaches four million."

The Circle Line was first known as the Marina Line in May 1998. The Marina Line was initially planned as a 12-station underground line, starting from Chinatown and Dhoby Ghaut via the National Stadium to either Kallang or Paya Lebar station. However, the Chinatown leg was later truncated and was reduced to 6 stations up to Stadium station. On the other hand, a further extension towards Upper Paya Lebar was added in the year 2000. The Marina Line was also merged with a LRT line that goes from Paya Lebar to Buona Vista via Serangoon and Bishan to form Circle Line Stage 3 and 4 in 2001. Stations in Circle Line that were a part of the original Marina Line plans include Dhoby Ghaut, Bras Basah, Esplanade, Promenade, Nicoll Highway and Stadium. Also, the part of the Marina Line from Chinatown to Promenade is now part of the Downtown Line.

Construction started in 2002, and was supposed 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 Circle Line to be delayed to open from 28 May 2009 (the Stage 3 of which it is not affected by Nicoll Highway collapse), with full opening on 8 October 2011, at an escalated cost of nearly S$10 billion. Due to the re-alignment of the Nicoll Highway Station to a new location, the station is only two-thirds the size of the original plan before the collapse, and located 100 metres (330 ft) away from the highway collapse site. The decision was also made to open both Caldecott, and Haw Par Villa stations (previously Thomson and West Coast), as a normal stations leaving the Bukit Brown MRT Station closed, and there is only a middle track and emergency escape shaft.

File:Bishan MRT Circle Line Underground Platform 2007.JPG

View of underground platform at Bishan Station of the Circle Line from ground level during construction in 2007.

Stage 3, a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) five-station segment stretching from Bartley to Marymount, was the first section of the line opened, on May 28, 2009. Initial ridership on this section was lower than estimated, at 32,000 passengers per day (ppd) instead of the estimated 55,000 ppd. Tunneling works for the entire line were completed on August 17, 2009. Stages 1 and 2 started operations on April 17, 2010, Stages 4 and 5 on October 8, 2011, and the final Circle Line Extension on January 14, 2012. The line was also fully completed in October 2011, to commemorate operator SMRT's 24th anniversary.

File:CC23one-north.jpg

one-north Station on the Circle Line.

On 17 January 2013, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced 'Circle Line Stage 6' which will close the circle, running between Marina Bay and HarbourFront. It will be a 4 km extension. On 29 October 2015, the LTA announced the 3 station locations for the 'Circle Line Stage 6'. The stations are Keppel Station, Cantonment Station and Prince Edward Station. Tenders will be called for construction in 2016 and demolition, diversion and utility works will commence in 2017. Construction of the line will begin in earnest in 2018 and it is due for completion in 2025.

Incidents

Nicoll Highway collapse

Main article: Nicoll Highway collapse

On 20 April 2004, a section of the 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 planned to become the Nicoll Highway Station on the Circle line, not far from the Merdeka Bridge. The accident left a collapse zone 150 metres (490 ft) wide, 100 metres (330 ft) long, and 30 metres (98 ft) 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, was completed in 2010 instead. The affected station has been shifted about 100 metres (330 ft) 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 16 August 2007, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) issued a stop-work order and revoked the contractor's tunnelling permit after a 7 metres (23 ft) stretch of two lanes sank about 20 centimetres (7.9 in), 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 24 May 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.

Line disruptions

On 20 September 2011, a power fault disrupted train services on all 16 stations on the Circle Line. The four hours delay left thousands of commuters stranded during rush-hour. It was reported that leaks and a damaged cable along the Circle Line were the caused of the disruption. The disruption started at about 5.30 am. Train services were gradually restored from 8am and all services were restored just before 10am. Dakota and Mountbatten stations were the last two to resume operations. Investigations were carried out. It was later found that a faulty cable beneath the platform level at Dakota Station caused a power fault on Tuesday morning that affected train services at all 16 stations on the Circle Line. 27,000 passengers were affected by the disruption during the four hours delay, with bus bridging services plying the Circle Line route.

Stations

Alstom Metropolis C830 rolling stock for the Circle Line parked in the depot.

The map of the Circle Line shown on top of the train doors in 2012. A newer version with the current LTA font has since replaced them.

Interior of CCL MRT Alstom Metropolis C830 train

The main route goes between Dhoby Ghaut and HarbourFront, with a branch line between Marina Bay and Stadium.

Main article: List of Circle MRT Line station names

Station Number	Station Name	Interchange/Notes
CC1  NS24  NE6	Dhoby Ghaut	Change for the North South Line or North East Line
CC2	Bras Basah
CC3	Esplanade
CC4  DT15	Promenade	Change for the Downtown Line Change for train services towards CE1 Bayfront or CE2 Marina Bay
CC5	Nicoll Highway
CC6	Stadium	Marina Bay shuttle terminus during off-peak hours
CC7	Mountbatten
CC8	Dakota
CC9  EW8	Paya Lebar	Change for the East West Line
CC10  DT26	MacPherson	Change for the Downtown Line (2017)
CC11	Tai Seng
CC12	Bartley
CC13  NE12	Serangoon	Change for the North East Line
CC14	Lorong Chuan
CC15  NS17	Bishan	Change for the North South Line
CC16	Marymount
CC17  TE9	Caldecott	Change for the Thomson-East Coast Line (2020)
CC18	Bukit Brown	Closed until further notice; Shell station; Not in operation
CC19  DT9	Botanic Gardens	Change for the Downtown Line
CC20	Farrer Road
CC21	Holland Village
CC22  EW21	Buona Vista	Change for the East West Line
CC23	one-north
CC24	Kent Ridge
CC25	Haw Par Villa
CC26	Pasir Panjang
CC27	Labrador Park
CC28	Telok Blangah
CC29  NE1	HarbourFront	Change for the North East Line
Stage 6 (Under planning)
CC30	Keppel
CC31	Cantonment
CC32	Prince Edward
Circle Line Extension
CE1  DT16	Bayfront	Change for the Downtown Line
CE2  NS27  TE20	Marina Bay	Change for the North South Line or Thomson-East Coast Line (2021)

Rolling stock

The rolling stock consists of 40 Alstom Metropolis C830 trains running in three-car formation. They are stabled at Kim Chuan depot, the world's largest underground depot. 24 additional Alstom Metropolis C830C trains has started delivery from end July 2014 and began operation from 26 June 2015. Currently 16 out of 24 C830Cs are in revenue service.

Train Control

The Circle Line is equipped with Alstom Urbalis 300 Communications-based train control (CBTC) moving block signalling system on the MASTRIA system with Automatic train control (ATC) under Automatic train operation (ATO) GoA 4 (UTO). The subsystems consist of Automatic train protection (ATP) to govern train speed, Iconis Automatic Train Supervision (ATS) to track and schedule trains and Smartlock Computer-based interlocking (CBI) system that prevents incorrect signal and track points to be set.

Train Data Management System (TDMS) which concentrate and dispatch the rolling stock information with fixed equipment. The IAGO Waveguide communications network has the capability to transmit video and is almost maintenance-free. Base stations are located within the signalling equipment room.

Automatic platform screen doors supplied by Westinghouse provide safety for passengers, offering protection from arriving and departing trains.

External links

• Circle Line