Guide to know about the Bukit Panjang LRT

The Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (BPLRT) is a light rail line that runs through Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang and serves residential areas. The 7.8-kilometer network, Singapore’s first completely automated and driverless train system, debuted in November 1999. The route uses single-car, double-car configurations of Alstom’s (formerly Bombardier) APM 100 rubber-tired automated people movers and guideway technology. 

With stations located in the Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang neighborhoods and connections to the heavy-rail North-South Line and Downtown Lines, the Bukit Panjang LRT Line get created to bring the MRT network closer to residents. Additionally, it completes the two estates’ current trunk and feeder bus routes. To allow renovation work, the BPLRT will shut down early each day at 11:30 pm starting on January 13, 2019. To accommodate the shift in operation hours, bus services 920, 922, 973, and 974 get extended until around 1:00 am. Additionally, starting in December 2019, Service A (via Senja) will only run during weekday peak hours, except on public holidays (Start of Service – 9.00 am & 5.00 pm – 8.00 pm).

Rolling stock:

The Bukit Panjang LRT utilizes rolling stock made by Bombardier that is comparable to that used by the Changi Airport Skytrain up until 2006. In 1999, the C801 trainsets, which have a turquoise livery, received their first 19 trainsets. The C801A designation gets given to 13 more trainsets in 2014, each sporting the SMRT pixel livery and a slightly different external style. Each one is 12.8 meters long.These trains, also known as automated people movers, are driven by a central guideway, a power rail, and rubber tires to reduce operation noise in built-up regions. They run with a similar model in single-car and double-car configurations (C801 and C801A trainsets are not cross-coupled). As part of the Bukit Panjang LRT Line Overhaul, 19 Bombardier Innovia APM 300 trains get purchased under contract number C801B. These trains will take the place of the first generation C801 trains and use the Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) signaling system.

Train Services:

The BPLRT has two routes it uses to get about, called Service A and B. Both Services A and B leave from Choa Chu Kang, and once they get to Bukit Panjang station, Service A will make a clockwise loop through the estate by way of Senja station, while Service B will counterclockwise loop by way of Petir station. At Bukit Panjang, they will join and continue until Choa Chu Kang, where they will end. As of Sunday, December, Service A (through Senja) will no longer be available during off-peak hours. Service B (through Peter) will be all day. Service A (via Senja) will only be accessible on weekdays during the busiest hours. Service C was an extra service that ran from Ten Mile Junction station to Bukit Panjang loop and back again. Service A circled the Bukit Panjang estate in a clockwise motion every 20 minutes.