The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has ordered 18 trains - six more than previously planned - for the North East Line (NEL) worth $S 234.9m and another 16 trains for the Circle Line at a cost of $S 134m. The extra NEL trains will increase peak capacity by about 70%, while those for the Circle Line will boost capacity during peak periods by around 40%.
The driverless Metropolis trains, which are an updated version of rolling stock already supplied by Alstom for these two lines, will be manufactured in China at two Alstom plants in Shanghai. Delivery of both sets of trains will start in 2015.
SMRT has awarded a $S 195m contract to Thales to resignal the North South East West Line. When the work is completed in 2016 headways will be cut from 120 to 100 seconds, boosting capacity by 20%. In addition, LTA has placed a $S 40.3m contract with Thales for signalling for the Tuas West extension.
