Bukit Panjang LRT to resume full dual-loop service on Dec 30

SINGAPORE – The Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) will resume full service on dual loops on Dec 30.

On Dec 16, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Facebook that the BPLRT’s renewal programme was progressing well, making it possible for full dual-loop service to resume 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 at the start of passenger service on Dec 30.

Single-loop service was rolled out on Dec 1, 2019, with the BPLRT functioning only on Service B from Choa Chu Kang station to Bukit Panjang, via Petir, during off-peak hours to enable renewal work, which began in 2018.

Service A between Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang, via Senja, operated only during weekday peak hours, excluding public holidays. It did not operate during off-peak hours.

Dual-loop service resumed in March 2024 on Saturdays, from 11am to 1pm and from 5pm to 7pm. In June, the dual-loop service resumed during the same hours on Sundays.

Since Sept 28, there has been an all-day dual-loop service at weekends and on public holidays. With LTA’s latest announcement, the BPLRT will resume dual-loop service for the entire day on weekdays, on 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

– the period after the end of passenger service.

Operated by SMRT, the BPLRT is in the midst of a multi-year asset-renewal programme to improve its reliability. This includes an upgraded operations control centre and replacement of its power rails, which supply power to trains.

The renewal programme has a target completion date of end-2026.

The 25-year-old network has had a long history of reliability issues, with the

most recent trip-up on Oct 22

when 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.

Aircraft technician Amiruddin Asyraaf, 26, takes the BPLRT from Keat Hong station to Bukit Panjang twice or thrice a week, at about 1pm, to get to work. He then takes a bus from Bukit Panjang, provided by the company he works for, to Pasir Ris.

The Choa Chu Kang resident said the LRT is a key means of transport for residents of his town and Bukit Panjang, as taking a car or bus would be slower owing to the number of traffic lights between Keat Hong and Bukit Panjang.

On the full resumption of dual-loop service on the BPLRT, Mr Amiruddin said: “As long as this means that there are shorter waiting times, I am happy.”