North-South Line stations to shut earlier to allow sleeper replacement

SINGAPORE — The second phase of the sleeper replacement programme on the North-South Line (NSL) is set to begin next month, keeping the replacement project for SMRT’s North-South-East-West Lines on track for completion by 2016.

This means selected stations on the line are set to close earlier to facilitate the works.

The nine stations, including Woodlands, Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Batok and Jurong East, will close at 12.30am from Sundays to Thursdays, between Nov 2 and March 30 next year, except on the eve of public holidays.

Together, these stations account for more than 47,000 sleepers along the North-South Line that need to be replaced.

At the same time, MRT stations from Ang Mo Kio to Sembawang that have been affected by an early closure during Phase 1 will resume normal hours from Nov 1.

SMRT said the early closures on weekday nights would enable it to deploy machinery more efficiently to accelerate replacement work.

“It will also contribute to quicker implementation of other key projects such as re-signalling and third rail replacement,” said the public transport operator yesterday.

For Phase 2, SMRT has advised commuters who board trains after 11.15pm on the North-South Line to plan their journeys and consider alternative transport arrangements, such as bus services, to get to their final destination.

To help plan their journeys, the operator said commuters can refer to the Land Transport Authority’s Public Transport@SG site at www.publictransport.sg.

As of Sept 28, 59 per cent of the sleepers along the North-South Line have been replaced.

In December 2011, two major train breakdowns on the North-South Line eventually led the public transport operator to implement the sleeper replacement programme in November 2012.

Concrete sleepers have been used to replace timber ones because they are sturdier and have twice the lifespan.