From now till 30 June, the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (BPLRT) is temporarily changing its operation hours.
The line is closing earlier on three out of seven days of the week, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
This is to facilitate the testing of new trains and systems as part of renewal works.
The early closing of the BPLRT was announced by the LTA in a news release on 5 March.
It said that from 22 March to 30 June, BPLRT service would end at 10.30pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night.
Source: Land Transport Authority – We Keep Your World Moving on Facebook
This is one hour earlier than its regular closing time of 11.30pm on these nights.
The reduction in service comes amid an ongoing project to renew the system to enhance the line’s reliability.
The BPLRT is reportedly over 20 years old.
As part of the renewal works, the BPLRT’s second-generation vehicles are being upgraded and a new signalling system installed.
19 new trains will also replace the first-generation vehicles, which have been in service since 1999.
Two of these new trains have already arrived and will begin passenger service in the third quarter of 2024 after testing and commissioning works.
Source: Land Transport Authority on Facebook
The early closure is thus necessary to provide longer engineering hours to test the new vehicles and systems, LTA said.
Since December 2019, the BPLRT has been running on a single counter-clockwise loop (service B) during off-peak hours.
Source: LTA
From 16 March, however, a limited dual-loop service started operating on Saturdays from 11am to 1pm, and 5pm to 7pm.
This was so that the authorities could monitor the performance of the network closely before deciding whether to expand the dual-loop service to more off-peak hours, LTA said.
During peak hours, i.e. weekday mornings and evenings, full dual-loop services are still in operation.
Commuters will still be served by existing bus services on the days of the early closure.
Some of these services are: 67, 171, 920, 922, 960, 963, 972, 972M, 973, 974, and 976.
They all serve the Bukit Panjang and/or Choa Chu Kang areas, so commuters can make use of them to continue their journeys after 10.30pm.
The previous early closure of the BPLRT occurred last year, when BPLRT shut down for a whole day on 1 Oct.
It also ended service at 10.30pm over two weekends in August.
This was for the upgrading of the Operations Control Centre to support a new signalling system, LTA said at the time.
Also read: Bukit Panjang LRT Service Hours Reduced In August, Line Will Temporarily Close On 1 Oct
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Featured image adapted from Takeshi Aida on Flickr.
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