SINGAPORE - Five stations along the North-South Line from Admiralty to Yio Chu Kang will close earlier on Fridays and Saturdays, and open later on the weekends from June 1 to July 1.
The affected stations are Admiralty, Sembawang, Yishun, Khatib and Yio Chu Kang, which will close earlier at around 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and open later at around 8am on Saturdays and Sundays.
Train operator SMRT said in a statement on Thursday (May 17) that the adjustment in operating hours is to facilitate maintenance and rectification works along the NSL.
However, the trains will operate at normal hours on June 15, 16 and 17. Train services will also be extended on the eve of Hari Raya Puasa on June 14, said SMRT.
During the planned closures, commuters can still travel on the NSL between Jurong East and Woodlands stations, and between Ang Mo Kio and Marina South Pier stations.
Shuttle bus service 10 will ply the stretch of the NSL between Woodlands and Ang Mo Kio stations during the early closures and late openings of the five affected stations.
A direct bus service, Express 17, will also operate from Woodlands to Bukit Panjang stations to connect commuters directly to the Downtown Line.
Timings of the first and last trains departing the affected stations will vary, said SMRT, which advised commuters to check for station-specific timings on the operator's website and social media platforms.
Chief executive officer for SMRT Trains, Mr Lee Ling Wee, said engineering teams are "making good progress" on the renewal, maintenance and rectification works along the NSL and East-West Lines, thanks to the additional hours available on weekends over the past six months.
Since December last year, shorter operating hours have been scheduled for stations on the NSL and EWL, with some stations closed all day on two Sundays.
This month, seven MRT stations along NSL - Khatib, Yio Chu Kang, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Braddell, Toa Payoh and Novena - also saw shorter operating hours.
Trains usually run from 5.30am to about midnight daily.
Earlier in March, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said commuters should expect early closures and late openings of the train network to continue beyond June, to give engineers more time to carry out upgrading work.
Three out of six major renewal programmes for the North-South, East-West MRT lines will be completed by middle of this year, with the remaining three slated for completion by early-2020s.
