Engineering groups Siemens and Alstom will be setting up signalling simulation centres for the Downtown (DTL) and Thomson-East Coast (TEL) lines in Singapore.
Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan revealed this at the Eighth Joint Forum on Infrastructure Maintenance yesterday.
The moves by the German conglomerate Siemens and French multinational company Alstom come in the wake of French engineering group Thales setting up such a facility in Bishan Depot following a collision which happened during its resignalling project here two years ago.
Mr Khaw said the Thales facility has been "invaluable" to the operation of the North-South and East-West lines.
"I am happy to see Thales using the facility for training their regional clients," he said at the event held at the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) headquarters in Hampshire Road.
LTA said the DTL's facility will be located at Gali Batu Depot, while the TEL's will be housed at Mandai Depot.
The signalling simulation facilities will be installed with hardware and software equipment which are digital mirrors of the actual signalling systems on the DTL and TEL.
This will allow LTA and the rail operators to test software patches rigorously under local conditions before they are deployed on the main line, LTA noted.
These new facilities are expected to start operating in phases from the end of this year.
Christopher Tan
