Joo Koon – Bukit Gombak Parallel Bus Service

The Joo Koon – Bukit Gombak Parallel Bus Service (PBS) is a rail replacement service plying between Joo Koon and Bukit Gombak via Jurong East.

The route was last activated to operate on Sunday mornings from 05 June 2016 to 30 October 2016, when the first train timings for 13 North South & East West Line stations were pushed back to 7:00 am to facilitate more time for track maintenance and renewal work.


The Bus Parallel Service served the following MRT Stations:

Route:


^ Enlarge the map by clicking on the View Larger Map icon at the top right corner

Joo Koon – Bukit Gombak Bus Parallel Service
Direction 1 – Towards Bukit Gombak
Direction 2 – Towards Joo Koon
  • Joo Koon Circle
    – Joo Koon Stn  EW29 
  • International Road (Express)
  • Pioneer Road North (Express)
  • Jurong West Street 63
    – Block 649A  EW28 
  • Jurong West Street 64 (Express)
  • Boon Lay Way
    – Boon Lay Station  EW27 
    – Opp Lakeside Station  EW26 
    – Opp Chinese Garden Station  EW25 
  • Jurong East Central (Express)
  • Jurong Gateway Rd
    – Jurong East Temporary Int
    (Berth 3)  NS1  EW24 
  • Boon Lay Way (Express)
  • Jurong East Central (Express)
  • Bukit Batok Avenue 1 (Express)
  • Bukit Batok Central
    – Bukit Batok Int (Berth 3)  NS2 
  • Bukit Batok West Avenue 2 (Express)
  • Bukit Batok West Avenue 5
    – Opp Bukit Gombak Station  NS3 
  • Bukit Batok West Avenue 5
    – Bukit Gombak Station  NS3 
  • Bukit Batok West Avenue 2 (Express)
  • Bukit Batok Central
    – Bukit Batok Int (Berth 4)  NS2 
  • Bukit Batok Avenue 1 (Express)
  • Jurong East Central (Express)
  • Jurong Gateway Rd
    – Jurong East Temporary Int
    (Berth 1)  NS1  EW24 
  • Boon Lay Way
    – Chinese Garden Station  EW25 
    – Lakeside Station  EW26 
    – Opp Boon Lay Station  EW27 
  • Jurong West Street 64 (Express)
  • Jurong West Street 63
    – Block 651A  EW28 
  • Pioneer Road North (Express)
  • International Road (Express)
  • Joo Koon Circle
    – Joo Koon Stn  EW29 
Technical Information
Route Joo Koon Circle Bukit Gombak West Avenue 5
Passes Through Pioneer MRT, Boon Lay MRT, Lakeside MRT, Chinese Garden MRT, Jurong East MRT, Bukit Batok MRT
Route Length ~14.8km
Travelling Time Around 35 minutes
Fares “Commensurate with the train distance travelled”
Train, bus and hybrid concession passes will be accepted, and distance fare rules will apply.
Operator Information
Current Operator SMRT Buses
Current Fleet Any SMRT Bus
Departure Times
Sundays:
0530hrs – 0700hrs from Joo Koon and Bukit Gombak
In Detail:
First Bus: Departs Joo Koon, Bukit Gombak at 0530hrs
+ Intermediate trips from Boon Lay, Jurong East & Bukit Batok in both directions, at 0530hrs (Total: 8 buses)
Last Bus: Departs Joo Koon, Bukit Gombak at 0700hrs (Total: 2 buses)
Frequency 10 mins, subject to crowds and traffic conditions

History of Activation

To speed up track renewal and maintenance works, train services between Joo Koon and Queenstown on the East West Line, and between Jurong East and Bukit Gombak on the North South Line, commenced at 7:00am on Sundays from 5 June 2016 to 30 October 2016.

A total of 13 NSL and EWL stations were affected by the delayed train service start times. Northbound services from Bukit Gombak and Eastbound services from Queenstown were not affected. Circle Line services from Buona Vista were also not affected.

Affected stations were:

Route Poster
Route Poster

As such, the Parallel Bus Service was a rail replacement service serving commuters along the Joo Koon – Jurong East and Jurong East – Bukit Gombak stretch on Sunday mornings. Commuters are advised to locate alternative travel options between Jurong East and Queenstown which already have regular bus services operating parallel to the East-West Line.

  • First train timings on Sundays for each of the 13 affected MRT stations can be found here.
  • A list of regular bus services available near the 13 affected MRT stations can be found here.

The closures (and accompanying replacement bus service) were initially planned to be operational only until 11 December 2016. However, as works were completed ahead of schedule, no further closures were planned after 6 Nov 2017, making 30 Oct 2016 the last day of bus operations.

Bus Fares:

Charges regular distance fare based on the distance between MRT Stations by rail. Train, bus and hybrid concession passes are accepted, and distance fare rules apply.


Operator History:
  • 05 Jun 2016 – 30 Oct 2016: SMRT Buses Ltd
History:
  • 2016 (05 Jun): Launched as a temporary Parallel Bus Service between Joo Koon and Bukit Gombak, only running on Sunday mornings. Scheduled for withdrawal on 18 Dec 2016, with the completion of rail-related works at affected stations.
  • 2016 (24 Oct): Normal train service announced to resume from 06 Nov 2016. Last day of operations to be on 30 Oct 2016.
  • 2016 (30 Oct): Last day of operations; service discontinued.
Gallery

External Links & References:

Back to Bus Services
Back to Rail Bridging Services
Back to Bus Articles

2 thoughts on “Joo Koon – Bukit Gombak Parallel Bus Service

  • 17 May 2016 at 5:45 PM
    Permalink

    Please start at joo koon int this service wiĺl be the first smrt bus to go to jk int man a24 only and stop at the second boarding berth fo boarding and please extend to chua chu kang as bt gombak mrt has limite d bus at cck int the bus berth please dceiced yourself hop e you make the changes

    Reply
    • 26 June 2016 at 11:01 AM
      Permalink

      If the Tuas Extension opens within this period, it should have been Tuas Link – Bukit Gombak Parallel Bus Service, as the four stations would have been closed along with Joo Koon. Besides MAN A24, SMRT could also consider double-decker buses Alexander Dennis Enviro500 or MAN A95.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Teng Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *