SINGAPORE – Train services on the Circle and Thomson-East Coast lines will end earlier on some days, and a platform each at three Circle Line stops will shut temporarily as part of a string of changes between October and May 2024 for rail expansion work.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operator SMRT said on Thursday that the changes are to integrate Stage 6 of the Circle Line (CCL) and Stage 4 of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) with the existing network.

Over four Sundays – Oct 15, 22 and 29 and Nov 5 – CCL services will end at 10pm, instead of as late as 12.38am, to allow the testing of a new automatic train supervision system. This system regulates the movement of driverless trains and is a key part of the line’s signalling system.

The early closures will affect about 13,700 passengers on each of the four Sundays.

LTA and SMRT said the new supervision system will enable the operation of 23 new trains, three new stations and the expanded Kim Chuan Depot when Stage 6 of the CCL starts operations.

Estimated to be completed by 2026, this extension will add three stops between HarbourFront and Marina Bay, closing the loop for the line.

To allow track work to connect the extension with the CCL’s HarbourFront station, one platform each at HarbourFront, Telok Blangah and Labrador Park stations will be closed temporarily from Jan 20 to May 24, 2024. This will affect an average of 43,000 passengers daily.

A shuttle train will operate on the other platform between HarbourFront and Labrador Park, which is two stops away, at 10-minute intervals, LTA and SMRT said.

LTA said the extensive work at HarbourFront would involve many contractors, and entail removing and replacing a portion of the track and cables. This includes hacking concrete on the track bed, and installing signalling cables and trackside equipment, as well as reconnecting the rails and testing.

Separately, instead of turning around at HarbourFront, CCL trains will do so alternately at Kent Ridge and Labrador Park to maintain peak-hour intervals at the busy stretch from Kent Ridge to Paya Lebar.

At peak hours, commuters can expect train intervals of about five minutes at stops between Kent Ridge and Labrador Park, said LTA and SMRT.

As an alternative to the CCL during the platform closure, commuters can use 11 public bus services (10, 30, 57, 61, 93, 97, 100, 143, 166, 188 and 963).

LTA will also provide a shuttle bus service at weekday peak hours that will travel between the HarbourFront, Telok Blangah, Labrador Park and Kent Ridge stations at intervals of 10 to 15 minutes.

Commuters getting to and from Haw Par Villa and Pasir Panjang stations can also use existing bus services, such as 10, 30, 143 or 188, that ply the stretch between Haw Par Villa and HarbourFront.

For the TEL, between Nov 3 and Jan 28, 2024, train services will start later at 8am on Saturdays and Sundays, instead of as early as 5.56am. Services will also end earlier, at 11.30pm, on Fridays and Saturdays, rather than as late as 12.35am.

The exceptions are Nov 11 and 12, the eve of Deepavali and Deepavali, when services will run as normal.

In all, the TEL service changes will affect about 19,200 commuters every weekend.

LTA and SMRT said this is to allow the rigorous integrated testing of systems from Stages 1 to 4 of the TEL to prepare for the opening of Stage 4 in 2024.

The TEL is being built in five stages, and the eight-station Stage 4 runs from Founders’ Memorial to Bayshore. The Founders’ Memorial stop will start operations in tandem with the memorial’s expected opening in 2027.

Two shuttle bus services will serve commuters inconvenienced by the late opening. These will ply between Woodlands North and Caldecott, and between Caldecott and Outram Park, at intervals of five to 10 minutes.

There will not be shuttle bus services for commuters affected by the early closure.

Mr Yee Boon Cheow, LTA’s group director of rail (electrical and mechanical), said the late opening and early closure times were determined based on ridership data on the CCL and TEL to minimise impact on commuters.

Some commuters The Straits Times interviewed were concerned about the inconvenience and extra travelling time the upcoming changes would bring.

Student Chan Jun Hao, 22, said the TEL’s early closure would be “very troublesome” because after 11.30pm, he would have to take a detour to reach his home in Bright Hill from Dhoby Ghaut, which he frequents for his part-time job and leisure.

The detours via the North-South Line and a bus transfer would add 20 minutes to his journey.

Brand strategist Vuyo Khomalo, 39, said he was looking forward to the closing of the CCL loop, but the four months of inconvenience due to the platform closure at HarbourFront would make his life “a lot more painful”.

Others such as cashier Zhang Shu Ling welcomed the long-term benefits of the rail expansion work.

The 55-year-old said the temporary inconveniences would be necessary in exchange for greater benefit to more commuters down the road.

LTA and SMRT advised commuters to plan their journeys, and said staff will be deployed at affected stations.

The last time train service changes happened on the CCL was in June, when one platform was shut across seven stations for precautionary maintenance work.