North East MRT Line

NEL  North East MRT Line Laluan MRT Timur Laut 东北地铁线 வடக்கு கிழக்கு எம்ஆர்டி வழி
The North East Line is coloured purple on system maps.
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)
Status	Operational
Termini	HarbourFront Punggol
Stations	16
Services	1
Daily ridership	577,000 (Q3 2016)
Operation
Opened	20 June 2003 15 January 2006 (Buangkok) 20 June 2011 (Woodleigh)
Owner	Land Transport Authority
Operator(s)	SBS Transit (ComfortDelGro Corporation)
Character	Fully Underground
Rolling stock	Alstom Metropolis C751A Alstom Metropolis & Shanghai Electric C751C
Technical
Line length	20 km (12 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	1500V DC Overhead catenary
Operating speed	limit of 90 km/h (56 mph)
Route map Legend   ■ Dhoby Ghaut  NE1  CC29  HarbourFront ■ Paya Lebar    NE3  EW16  TE17  Outram Park ■ Pasir Ris   ■ Joo Koon ■ Woodlands North   ■ Sungei Bedok  NE4  DT19  Chinatown ■ Sungei Bedok    NE5  Clarke Quay Singapore River  NE6  NS24  CC1  Dhoby Ghaut ■ Marina South Pier   ■ Jurong East ■ HarbourFront       ■ Bukit Panjang  NE7  DT12  Little India  NE8  Farrer Park  NE9  Boon Keng  NE10  Potong Pasir  NE11  Woodleigh  NE12  CC13  Serangoon ■ Dhoby Ghaut   ■ HarbourFront  NE13  Kovan  NE14  Hougang  NE15  Buangkok Sengkang Depot ■ West Loop: Fernvale via Renjong  ■ East Loop:  Bakau via Ranggung  NE16  STC  Sengkang ■ West Loop: Fernvale via Cheng Lim  ■ East Loop:  Bakau via Compassvale ■ West Loop: Samudera via Soo Teck  ■ East Loop  Riviera via Cove  NE17  PTC  Punggol ■ West Loop: Samudera via Sam Kee  ■ East Loop:  Riviera via Damai

The North East Line is coloured purple in the MRT system map.

The North East Line (NEL) is the third Mass Rapid Transit line in Singapore and the world's second longest fully underground, automated and driverless, rapid transit line after the Circle Line.^[1] The line is the world's first fully automated and driverless underground rapid transit line at 19.2km with 16 stations. Travelling from one end of this line to the other end takes 33 minutes.^[2] This line is coloured purple in the rail map.

The North East Line is also the first line to feature Art in Transit across all 16 stations.

Overview

Buangkok MRT Station exterior

As the name implies, the line connects central Singapore to the north-eastern part of the island. Transfer to the North South Line is provided at Dhoby Ghaut, to the East West Line at Outram Park and to the Circle Line at Serangoon, Dhoby Ghaut and HarbourFront. The North East Line interchanges with the Downtown Line at Chinatown and Little India. The North East Line will interchange with the future Thomson-East Coast Line at Outram Park. It passes through the busy areas such as Chinatown, Clarke Quay and Dhoby Ghaut (which have historical and cultural value), and through the mature and new residential estates at Potong Pasir, Serangoon, Hougang, Sengkang and Punggol. The North East Line passes through the Eu Tong Sen Street, Serangoon Road, Bendemeer Underpass, Upper Serangoon Road and the Upper Serangoon Viaduct. This line is the first in Singapore to be entirely underground and the first line to be operated by SBS Transit.

The North East Line is the first line in Singapore to have artwork integrated into all its 16 stations under the Art in Transit programme. Other than the Art in Transit programme, the interior architecture for the stations are typical of the design of the early 2000s with lots of white, glass and steel. This kind of design can be seen in other subway stations built during this period like the Shenzhen Metro and Hong Kong MTR's Tseung Kwan O line.

As of 2015, trains operate at two-minute intervals during peak hours, five-minute intervals during mid-day service and six-minute intervals in the early morning and night times.

History

North East Line dates back to 1986, where the Communications Minister Yeo Ning Hong had announced that it would be "feasible to extend the MRT once it is 3 million". The line would have gone from Punggol and Seletar/Jalan Kayu to Outram Park.

In the initial stages of planning, Outram Park was initially planned to be the southern terminus of the North East Line. However, in 1993, the Land Transport Authority decided to extend the line southwards to HarbourFront, after noting that many people liked to go to the World Trade Centre (the present day HarbourFront Centre).

The Land Transport Authority received approval for the construction of the North East Line on 16 January 1996, shortly after the plans were feasible once the Hougang Central Bus Interchange is already opened since 17 December 1994. French company Alstom was chosen as the main contractor and manager of the project. The operating license was given to new rail operator SBS Transit in order to foster competition with SMRT Trains. Construction began on 1 January 1997 and was completed on 20 January 2001, but all the stations had been completed with new signages.

The line was scheduled for completion in December 2002, but due to various problems in the automation, the opening was repeatedly delayed. It was finally opened on 20 June 2003, with higher fares than existing lines supposedly to compensate for the heavy construction costs (S$4.6 billion).

At the time that the line was opened, all of the stations were operating except Buangkok and Woodleigh. SBS Transit announced that these would open only when there was a critical mass of passengers in those areas. With respect to Buangkok, which had already been fully built, the company claimed that the projected number of passengers was too low to cover operating costs. Constant public pressure, notably the "White Elephant" incident and subsequent media attention, forced it to review the situation and the station duly opened on 15 January 2006. The last station on the line, Woodleigh, opened on 20 June 2011 in anticipation of an American International School which is under construction in the vicinity of the station that is slated to open in 2012.^[3]

Punggol Downtown Extension (PGDe)

On 17 January 2013, a 2-kilometre extension which will run from Punggol through Punggol North including the new Punggol Downtown was announced. It is expected to be completed by 2030.^[4] However, the extension might be completed ahead of schedule due to the rapid development of Punggol North. Engineering consultancy studies have started for the extension.

Busiest MRT Station

Dhoby Ghaut was previously the busiest station on the line. But a week after VivoCity (a shopping mall) opened, HarbourFront's daily ridership doubled to 60,000 passengers a day, becoming the busiest MRT station on the North East Line.

Stations

Doors of the NEL Train, showing the line map above them before Woodleigh and Buangkok opened.

The interior of a NEL train.

The North East Line's numbering scheme reserves station code NE2 between HarbourFront (NE1) and Outram Park (NE3).

Rolling stock

The front cabin of a NEL train, showing the emergency exit.

The rolling stock consists of Alstom Metropolis C751A trains, running in six-car formation. These trains operate from Sengkang Depot near Buangkok Station on the North East Line. The Sengkang Depot has maintenance and train overhaul facilities for trains along the North East Line.

In 2010, the government announced that they would be looking to increase the number of trains on the North East Line by 70% within 5 to 6 years to cater to an expected increase in passenger traffic. The new trains are called Alstom Metropolis C751C.^[5][6] 18 trains of six cars each were purchased and housed in Sengkang Depot, and have been in passenger service since 1 October 2015

This is the only line which uses a pantograph system for collecting power from overhead catenary; all other lines take power from a third rail.

Train Control

The North East Line is equipped with Alstom Urbalis 300 Communications-based train control (CBTC) moving block signalling system on the MASTRIA system with Automatic train control (ATC) under Automatic train operation (ATO) GoA 4 (UTO).^[7] The subsystems consist of Automatic train protection (ATP) to govern train speed, Iconis Automatic Train Supervision (ATS) to track and schedule trains and Smartlock Computer-based interlocking (CBI) system that prevents incorrect signal and track points to be set. 18 trains of six cars each were purchased and housed in Sengkang Depot, and have been in passenger service since 1 October 2015.

Train Data Management System (TDMS) which concentrate and dispatch the rolling stock information with fixed equipment. The IAGO Waveguide communications network has the capability to transmit video and is almost maintenance-free. Base stations are located within the signalling equipment room.

Automatic platform screen doors supplied by Westinghouse provide safety for passengers, offering protection from arriving and departing trains.

Line disruptions

On 15 March 2012, more than 117,000 commuters were affected during a peak hour train breakdown between Dhoby Ghaut and HarbourFront, caused by faulty overhead power cables at the tunnel of the Outram Park that had snapped. A second problem was discovered relating to electricity insulation, delaying the service further. Train services resumed at 4.35 pm after nearly 10 hours of disruption making it the third breakdown in 4 months.^[8][9][10] Subsequently, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) intends to impose financial penalties amounting to S$400,000 on SBS Transit for the train service disruption along the North East Line on 15 March 2012.^[11]

On 13 October 2015, train service was disrupted between Farrer Park and Hougang for more than half an hour due to a power fault. It was triggered by a malfunction of a component in the electrical switchgear at a substation which caused the main circuit breaker to trip. As an interim measure, SBS Transit has increased the protection setting of the circuit breaker to cater for the projected maximum load of the network.

On 26 October 2015, about 41,000 commuters were affected during morning peak hour when a power fault crippled the whole line from Punggol to Harbourfront stations. This is the first time that both the north- and south-bound service are affected which resulted in the mobilization of about 100 free shuttle buses across the NEL. The Alstom Metropolis C751C train was returning to the Sengkang Depot when the driver saw sparks from above the train and stopped the train at a stretch where the mainline and depot catenary system wires overlap. This resulted in arching between the wires of the mainline and the depot. This caused the catenary system wires to melt and eventually snap. As a precautionary measure, SBS Transit has marked non-stopping areas at all overlapping zones and reduced electrical voltage difference between the catenary system wires at the overlap point, in case trains stop at this stretch.^[12]

See also

• List of driverless trains

External links

• North East Line
• North East Line (SBS Transit)

References

Rail transport in Singapore
Overview	History Nicoll Highway collapse Major disruptions Stations Fares and ticketing EZ-Link NETS CEPAS Facilities STARiS Safety Security Public Transport Security Command
MRT Lines	Current  NSL  North South  EWL  East West  NEL  North East  CCL  Circle  DTL  Downtown Under construction  TEL  Thomson-East Coast Future  JRL  Jurong Region  CRL  Cross Island Defunct ■ Branch
LRT Lines	Current  BPLRT  Bukit Panjang  SKLRT  Sengkang  PGLRT  Punggol
Other Lines	Current Sentosa Express Changi Airport Skytrain Defunct Jurong Bird Park Panorail Sentosa Monorail
Rolling stock	Current (MRT) C151 C151A C651 C751A C751B C751C C830 C830C C951 Current (LRT) C801 C801A C810 C810A Other Lines Hitachi Monorail Crystal Mover (Skytrain) Future C151B CT251 C151C Defunct Adtranz C-100
Depots	Current Bishan Changi Gali Batu Kim Chuan Sengkang Ulu Pandan Ten Mile Junction Under construction Tuas Mandai
Companies	ComfortDelGro SBS Transit SMRT Corporation SMRT Trains

Railway lines in Singapore
Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)	NSL  North South  EWL  East West  NEL  North East  CCL  Circle  DTL  Downtown  TEL  Thomson-East Coast  JRL  Jurong Region  CRL  Cross Island
Light Rail Transit (LRT)	BPLRT  Bukit Panjang  SKLRT  Sengkang  PGLRT  Punggol
International	Intercity North-South KTM Singapore-Johor RTS Kuala Lumpur–Singapore High Speed Rail
Other lines	Changi Airport Skytrain CAAS Sentosa Express SDC
Defunct lines	Jurong BirdPark Panorail WRS Sentosa Monorail SDC
Operators are denoted in brackets, planned or under construction lines in italics

Urban Rail Transit in Southeast Asia
Indonesia	Jabodetabek Commuter Line Jakarta Kota-Bogor Jatinegara-Bogor Tanah Abang-Maja Jakarta Kota-Bekasi Duri-Tangerang Jakarta Kota-Tanjung Priok Surabaya Commuter Line Jakarta MRT  M1   M2  Jakarta LRT  L1   L2   L3  Palembang LRT Bandung LRT Surabaya LRT Kualanamu Railink Soekarno-Hatta Raillink Halim Perdanakusuma Raillink Minangkabau Railink Jakarta–Bandung HSR
Malaysia	KTM Komuter  1  Seremban  2  Port Klang  10  Skypark KTM Komuter Northern  1  Padang Rengas  2  Padang Besar Rapid KL  3  Ampang  4  Sri Petaling  5  Kelana Jaya  8  KL Monorail  9  SBK  11  Bandar Utama-Klang  12  SSP  13  Circle ERL  6  KLIA Express  7  KLIA Transit KTM ETS Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR RTS Link
Myanmar	Yangon Circular Railway Yangon Tram
Philippines	Manila LRT  LRT1  Line 1  LRT2  Line 2  LRT4  Line 4  LRT6  Line 6 Manila MRT  MRT3  Line 3  MRT7  Line 7  MRT9  Line 9  PNR  Metro South Commuter Line Metro Manila Subway North South Commuter Rail
Singapore	Singapore MRT  NSL  North South  EWL  East West  NEL  North East  CCL  Circle  DTL  Downtown  TEL  Thomson-East Coast  JRL  Jurong Region  CRL  Cross Island Singapore LRT  BPLRT  Bukit Panjang  SKLRT  Sengkang  PGLRT  Punggol Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR RTS Link
Thailand	Bangkok Mass Transit BTS  BTS  Sukhumvit  BTS  Silom MRT  MRT  Blue  MRT  Purple  MRT  Orange  MRT  Pink  MRT  Yellow BMA  BMA  Light Blue  BMA  Grey Line  BMA  Gold Line SRT SRTET  ARL  SA City Line SRT Red Lines  SRT  Light Red  SRT  Dark Red SRT Commuter      Lopburi Line      Kaeng Khoi Line      Prachinburi Line      Ratchaburi Line      Suphan Buri Line SRT High Speed Railways Bangkok-Chiang Mai Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima Bangkok-Hua Hin Bangkok-Rayong KKTT Khon Kaen LRT PKCD Phuket LRT
Vietnam	Hanoi Metro Ho Chi Minh City Metro
Note: Under construction & planned lines are in Italics