5 days Ago
The Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) will fully resume service on dual loops from Dec 30. On Dec 16, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Facebook that the BPLRT’s renewal programme was progressing well, which will allow dual-loop service to resume fully all day during operating hours. In response to queries from The Straits Times, LTA confirmed that the full resumption of dual-loop service will begin from the start of passenger service on Dec 30.
Single-loop service was rolled out from Dec 1, 2019, with the BPLRT functioning only on Service B from Choa Chu Kang station to Bukit Panjang, via Petir station, during off-peak hours to enable renewal work, which began in 2018 to improve the line’s reliability. Service A between Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang, via Senja station, operated only during weekday peak hours, excluding public holidays. It did not operate during off-peak hours.
Dual-loop service resumed in March on Saturdays, from 11am to 1pm and 5pm to 7pm. In June, service resumed during the same hours on Sundays. First 2 new trains for Sengkang-Punggol LRT arrive Since Sept 28, there have been all-day dual-loop services on weekends and public holidays.
With LTA’s latest announcement, the BPLRT will resume dual-loop services for the entire day on weekdays as well, from Dec 30. The line will, however, continue to close an hour early, at 10.30pm, from Thursdays to Sundays till Oct 31, 2025.
The early closure, which was announced on Nov 1, is to allow the upgrading of the BPLRT’s signalling system, and the testing of new and retrofitted light-rail vehicles. The intensive testing is needed for the BPLRT to fully integrate the signalling system with trackside equipment, and more time is required for testing beyond engineering hours, which refer to the period after the end of passenger service. The BPLRT is in the midst of a multi-year asset renewal programme to improve its reliability, which includes an upgraded operations control centre and replacement of its power rails, which supply power to trains.
The full renewal programme is targeted to be completed by the end of 2026. The 25-year-old network has had a long history of reliability issues, with the most recent trip-up taking place on Oct 22 when LRT service stalled between Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang stations during the evening rush hour. Based on LTA’s latest rail reliability figures, BPLRT trains travelled an average of 189,000 car-km between delays of more than five minutes in the 12 months to September.
This is down from 248,000 car-km between such delays in 2023..
