[Defunct] Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot (SMRT)

SMRT Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot was a former bus depot located within the Yio Chu Kang industrial area which supported bus operations mainly around Yio Chu Kang, Yishun, Sembawang, Marina Centre and various SMRT bus routes extending east of Singapore.

Formerly owned and operated by SMRT Buses Ltd, the depot should not be confused with SBS Transit’s Ang Mo Kio Depot.

The Depot

Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot (commonly abbreviated AMDEP) occupies a relatively small plot of land along Ang Mo Kio Street 64, within the Yio Chu Kang industrial estate north of Yio Chu Kang MRT Station and Yio Chu Kang Sports Hall. For most of its operational lifespan, the depot supported bus operations mainly around Yio Chu Kang, Yishun, Sembawang, Marina Centre and various SMRT bus routes extending east of Singapore. It was also the former headquarters of SMRT Buses.

The depot premises contained a multi-storey administration building, bus refuelling and washing facilities, bus parking lots, and a vehicle workshop for light maintenance work. More major bus repairs are typically done at Woodlands Depot. A combined vehicular entrance and exit leads to Ang Mo Kio Street 64. Despite the Depot’s official address being along Ang Mo Kio Street 62, that vehicle entrance is no longer in regular use and appears to be for emergency access only.

The bus park is small in capacity, and as a result, SMRT frequently relied on the overnight parking of buses at nearby bus interchanges like Yishun. To prepare for the introduction of double-deck buses sometime in 2014, shelters above the bus parking lots had to be raised.

The depot also houses an SMRT Automotive Services maintenance facility, which services SMRT Taxis among other vehicles.

Incidents featured in the media

On 6 June 2021, SMRT technician Thin Soon Fatt, 43, was killed while his co-worker Tan Kaek Seng, 44, was injured when a BYD C6 Bus (understood to be PC8561P) fell on them whilst working under the bus in a workshop at SMRT’s Ang Mo Kio bus depot. This was due to one of two car jacks supporting the bus giving way.

Retirement & Closure

As part of the implementation of the Bus Contracting Model starting from 2016, newer bus depots are owned by the Government and leased out to bus operators who have won their respective bus package contracts. In the case of SMRT’s Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot, its existing bus routes around Yishun and Sembawang were absorbed into the Seletar and Sembawang-Yishun bus packages, which were based out of the newly-built Seletar Depot and Mandai Depot, and awarded to SBS Transit and Tower Transit respectively.

The Seletar and Sembawang-Yishun bus packages commenced on March 2018 and September 2021 respectively, leaving SMRT Buses without the scale of bus operations needed to keep Ang Mo Kio Depot open. Its only other bus route—Bus Service 110—was also transferred to Woodlands Depot in early September 2021, leaving no further day-to-day bus operations at Ang Mo Kio Depot by the end of September 2021. Still, the depot was used for the garaging of several LTA Storage Buses and presumably by SMRT Automotive Services, with commercial vehicles spotted within depot premises.

Demolition

As a hint to its potential future demolition, SMRT published an Expression of Interest for tender QX021-025 for “Proposed office fitting-out works at Woodlands Bus Depot and demolition and reinstatement works at Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot” on 7 September 2021.

Ang Mo Kio Depot was formally closed in February 2022, with the transfer of the remaining LTA Storage Buses to Bulim Bus Depot.

Depot Fleet:

Ang Mo Kio Depot housed the following models of buses prior to the commencement of the Sembawang-Yishun Bus Package by Tower Transit.

Single Deck Buses

• BYD C6
• MAN A22
• Mercedes-Benz Citaro
• Mercedes-Benz OC500LE 
• Volvo B5LH

Articulated Buses

• MAN NG363F (A24)

Double Decker Buses

• Alexander Dennis Enviro500
• MAN A95

Future Plans

SMRT published an Expression of Interest for tender QX021-025 for “Proposed office fitting-out works at Woodlands Bus Depot and demolition and reinstatement works at Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot” on 7 September 2021.

In February 2022, the depot was closed following the transfer of the remaining buses garaged to LTA Storage at Bulim Bus Depot.

The corporate HQ address for SMRT Buses Ltd was also changed to 2 Tanjong Katong Road, #08-01, Plq3, Singapore 437161.

Demolition Works (Jun 2022):

Gallery:

External Links & References:

• SMRT worker killed, another injured on Sunday when car jack supporting bus gives way – The Straits Times
• SMRT worker crushed by bus: Motor workshops say safeguards needed when lifting vehicles for repairs – The Straits Times

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