2023 Year in Review

With 2023 coming to an end, we take a look back at major milestones to have happened across Singapore’s public transport industry.

New Electric Buses

At the Committee of Supply 2022, the Government announced that 1 in 2 public buses will be electric by 2030. This bold electrification target has set the stage for a rapid intake of electric buses in the next few years.

In November 2023, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) awarded a tender for 360 new electric single-deck buses for roughly S$166.4 million (with an option for up to 60 more); the largest order for electric buses to date.

These new buses will progressively enter service from December 2024. The LTA also awarded separate tenders for electric bus chargers to be installed at Gali Batu, Sengkang West and East Coast Bus Depots worth S$46.1 million.

Electric Bus Demonstrators

In addition to new bus purchases, several 3-door electric demonstrator buses have entered revenue service trials with local public bus operators, namely:

• Volvo BZL – SC Neustar City (SG4007T)
• Ankai G9 (SG4009M)
• Zhongtong LCK6126EVG (SG4010H)
• FTBCI FBC6120BRS7 (SG4012C)

In addition, the BYD B12A03 has also been sighted in preparation for revenue service, registered SG4013A.

New & Withdrawn Bus Services

In February 2023, peak-hour services LCS1 and LCS2 were introduced to serve the industrial areas of Loyang and Changi.

September 2023 saw the introduction of Feeder Service 230 at Toa Payoh, serving Toa Payoh East. Also in September, Bus Services 944 and 160M were renumbered to 992 and 993 respectively.

Later in December 2023, Bus Service 870 was introduced, connecting Jurong Town Hall and Tengah.

In addition, Short Trip Services 2B, 5A, 5B, 9B, 102A, 102B, 163B, 856A, 856B, 870A and 992A were introduced. Terminating Trip 92T was introduced to indicate trips of Bus Service 92/92M terminating at Ghim Moh Terminal via Mount Sinai.

Withdrawn bus services were 2A, 92A, 92B, 162M and 900A. Bus Service 167, initially slated for withdrawal in December, was reduced to 30-minute intervals after the LTA backtracked on its decision to withdraw the route ‘for now’.

Also, 2023 saw the brief resumption of late-night bus services, with Private Bus Operator A&S Transit operating two Night Bus Services between January and June.

• NS-1 (City to Ang Mo Kio / Hougang / Sengkang / Punggol)
• NS-2 (City to Yishun / Sembawang / Woodlands)

Bus route introductions and withdrawals by month (Click to expand)

Bus Route amendments

The following bus route amendments were carried out in 2023:

As part of TEL3 Bus Rationalisation route amendments, the LTA also intended to withdraw Bus Service 167 in December. However, public controversy over the planned route amendments led to LTA backtracking on its decision to withdraw Bus Service 167. The route currently operates at 30-minute intervals.

In addition, operating hours and trips were adjusted for the following bus services:

The LTA also made changes to the operating hours of Bus Service 170X in the 2nd half of 2023 without issuing a press release.

New & Extended Contract Terms for Bus Packages

The LTA called a tender for the Seletar Bus Package in October 2023. This is the second competitive tender term for the Seletar Bus Package under the Bus Contracting Model, which is currently awarded to SBS Transit until 2025, and covers bus routes mainly from Yishun and Ang Mo Kio.

Negotiated Contracts for the Woodlands Bus Package & Choa Chu Kang-Bukit Panjang Bus Packages were revealed to have been extended by 3 years till 2026.

New Bus Interchanges

In November 2023, Jurong Town Hall Bus Interchange was opened, serving Bus Services 78/A, 160/A and 870/A.

Fare Increase

The Public Transport Fare Review 2023 saw an overall 7.0% increase in bus and train fares that came into effect on 23 December 2023. Adult card fares for buses and trains were increased by 10–11 cents. This was the largest increase in public transport fares to date.

In addition, the Travel Smart Journeys scheme was relaunched in March. The scheme was used to incentivise commuters to travel on Bus Services 43e, 654, 660, 666, 671 and 672.

Retirement of old buses

September 2023 saw the full retirement of Volvo B9TL (CDGE) buses. A total of 200 buses were bought in 2006 by SBS Transit (SBST), making them the first wheelchair-accessible public buses in Singapore.

One decommissioned bus, SBS7376X, was preserved at the ITE College West for educational purposes, branded as a Bus Engineering Lab.

In addition, a decommissioned Volvo B10BLE (CNG) bus (SBS2989K) resides at Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s Integrated Care Hub, which opened this year. This bus is used for patient rehabilitation.

Bus Miscellaneous

The LTA issued construction tenders for two new multi-storey bus depots—Pasir Panjang Bus Depot and Lorong Halus Bus Depot—both due for completion in 2029.

LTA also announced plans to refurbish around 630 public buses and to upgrade the current bus ticketing and fleet management systems on buses. As part of this upgrade, both the existing NOBE Bus Fare Console and Trapeze CFMS Driver Display Unit will be substituted with a new unified hardware display.

In addition, bus operations continue to retrofit Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) on buses, and some buses have also been installed with next-generation Electronic Road Pricing (ERP 2.0) hardware. SBS Transit also rolled out a handbrake alert device on its buses, which emits an audio alert when the driver’s seat is vacated without engaging the handbrake.

LTA also completed the rollout of new Passenger Information Display System (PIDS) panels this year. Between 2021 and 2023, these panels (known as PIDS@Stop) were installed at 310 bus stops across Singapore, providing bus arrival timings, landmarks, and other travel advisories. The LTA also mandated large “number only” bus displays on public buses, where the enlarged bus service number is displayed to benfit the visually impaired.

In the field of Autonomous buses, ST Engineering announced in early 2023 that it had discontinued autonomous bus development efforts in late 2022, citing the ‘significant’ financial resources required. Start-up MooVita commenced autonomous bus trials at Ngee Ann Polytechnic in January. Chinese start-up WeRide made rapid progress in Singapore, with the WeRide Robobus undergoing road trials at one-north.

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New Rail Test Centre

The first phase of the Singapore Rail Test Centre opened in 2023, with a high-speed test track capable of dynamic testing of up to 100km/h. As of 2023, Alstom Metropolis C851E trains for the Circle Line are being tested at SRTC.

The facility, which will be fully opened in 2025, will be used to test rolling stock and rail subsystems for the Singapore MRT network and free up engineering hours on active rail lines.

New Rail Lines

Construction of the Jurong Region Line (JRL) and Cross Island Line (CRL) Phase I both officially commenced in January with a groundbreaking ceremony held at Tengah and Bright Hill respectively.

The 27-km JRL is slated to open in three stages from 2027 to 2029 and significantly improve connectivity in the western part of Singapore, while the 29-km CRL Phase I (Aviation Park–Bright Hill) will open in 2030 and eventually connect Singapore’s eastern, western and north-eastern areas.

For the 7.3-km CRL Punggol Extension (Pasir Ris–Punggol), construction commenced in October with a groundbreaking ceremony held at Riviera. Full completion of the CPe is due in 2032.

For the 15-km Cross Island Line Phase 2 (Turf City–Jurong Lake District), construction also commenced on a 5 km tunnel linking Sin Ming and Turf City, passing underneath the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. Civil engineering contracts for other stations along the Cross Island Line Phase 2 were also partially awarded. Full completion of Phase 2 is due in 2032.

For the RTS Link linking Woodlands North (Singapore) and Bukit Chagar (Malaysia), the LTA commemorated the installation of pile caps in the Straits of Johor, which provide the foundations for viaduct piers. The line is on track to open in 2026. [Link]

New Stations

In July, the LTA announced NS3A Brickland Station, which will be built between Bukit Gombak and Choa Chu Kang. Construction will start in 2024 and the station is projected to open in 2034.

New Trains

The Alstom Movia R151 train entered passenger service on 4 June 2023 on the East West Line. Ten of these trains entered service in 2023.

A total of 106 such R151 trains were ordered to replace the first three generations of rolling stock on the NSEWL (C151, C651, and C751B). These trains come with a modern Train Control & Management System (TCMS) with provisions for condition-monitoring features.

In addition, Alstom Metropolis C851E trains entered passenger service on 28 July 2023 on the North East Line. Six of these trains were ordered to increase capacity on the NEL, ahead of the 1.6-km extension to Punggol Coast station opening in 2024.

As for new rolling stock, CRL’s first batch of trains was awarded to CRRC Qingdao Sifang in June 2023, under Contract CR151, for $589 million. 44 six-car trains were ordered, with a Long Term Service Support provision, and an option to procure up to 11 additional trains. CBTC signalling on these trains will be provided by Siemens, and deliveries will commence in 2027.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) also announced in May 2023 an additional order for 8 two-car trains for the Sengkang and Punggol LRT lines. Previously in February 2022, 17 two-car trains were awarded to MHI under Contract 810D, for a new total of 25 two-car trains.

Rail upgrading

The LTA announced good progress with the upgrading of the NSEWL’s six core systems. Replacements of sleepers and the third rail were completed in 2016 and 2017 respectively, and CBTC resignalling was completed in 2018. Upgrades to the power supply and track circuit are ongoing, and several of the new R151 trains entered service this year.

Starting in July, Downtown Line trains with upgraded Dynamic Route Map Display (DRMD) entered service, with new LCD screens above doors offering better readability. LTA aims to replace all trains by 2025. [Link]

As part of the Bukit Panjang LRT Overhaul, the BPLRT’s Operations Control Centre was migrated to an interim OCC on 1 October 2023, to allow the existing OCC to be upgraded. A full-day closure of the BPLRT was made to facilitate the move.

In December, SMRT also announced a Bishan Depot Upgrading Project in cooperation with LTA and CRRC Sifang, aimed at improving efficiencies through automation and digital solutions. [Link] Thales also signed a contract with LTA in December to supply advanced railway interlocking solutions to Bishan Depot and Ulu Pandan Depot. [Link]

Rail tendering

In 2023, the LTA called tenders to appoint operators for the upcoming JRL and CRL. The tender is limited to existing rail operators in Singapore – SMRT Trains and SBS Transit Rail – with foreign operators allowed to participate only as minority partners of joint ventures. [Link]

Retirement of trains

Decommissioning of the first-generation Bukit Panjang LRT trains, the Bombardier Innovia APM 100 (C801), began in November 2023.

Decommissioning of existing NSEWL trains, the C151, C651 and C751B, are ongoing. A decommissioned C751B train car, Car 3320, was moved to ITE College West and installed within the ITE Rail Engineering Hub. Several other C751B train cars were also delivered to SAFTI City.

Rail Miscellaneous

Hyundai Rotem J151 trains, destined to enter service in 2027, were also spotted in South Korea undergoing testing before delivery to Singapore.

In October, SMRT Trains rolled out melodic chimes on selected trains and stations in NSEWL and CCL as part of a three-month pilot. [Link]

Project Information Centres for the JRL and CRL Phase 1 were also opened to the public in 2023, located at Boon Lay and Hougang respectively.

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Miscellaneous

Decommissioned buses to Resort rooms

The Bus Resort opened its doors to guests on 1 December 2023. The bus-themed resort development in Changi Village has 20 retired Scania K230UB buses formerly operated by SBS Transit, converted to resort rooms.

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