Early Closures along the North East Line (NEL) will be conducted on selected Fridays & Saturdays in April & May 2021. This is to accelerate replacement works to be carried out on the insulators of the overhead catenary system (OCS), which supplies power to the trains. This will help bring forward the replacement works for completion by May 2021 and enhance the reliability of train services for commuters.
The Early Closure on 7 & 8 May 2021 has been cancelled as the replacement of insulators for the Overhead Power System was completed ahead of schedule.
Further background to Power Fault (Click to expand)Several weeks before, on 28 March 2021, a power fault disrupted train services for over three hours. This was traced to a damaged segment of the Overhead Catenary System at Buangkok station.
According to SBS Transit, the fault was similar to one that had occurred in February 2020, where the insulator was a two-piece design that had fractured causing it to fail. Following that incident, a new single-piece insulator design was tested, and full replacement works started only in September 2020 after delays caused by COVID-19.
SBS Transit said following the March 2021 incident that it had replaced about 30% of the 112 insulators so far, and it would be accelerating the replacement of the remaining insulators targeted for completion in June 2021, instead of September 2021 as originally planned.
A revised completion date of May 2021 was announced in April, contained within press release materials for the NEL Early Closure.
Affected MRT Stations & Dates
| Dates | NEL Stations Affected by Early Closure at 11:00pm |
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As a result, train services on the North East Line will be unavailable along the following sectors during the Early Closure at 11pm:
- NE12CC13 Serangoon — NE17PTC Punggol
(9, 10, 16 & 17 April 2021)
- NE1CC29 HarbourFront — NE6NS24CC1 Dhoby Ghaut
(23 & 24 April 2021;7 & 8 May 2021)
Train services between the remaining sections of the NEL will operate at longer intervals of 9 minutes from 11pm on affected days:
- NE1CC29 HarbourFront — NE12CC13 Serangoon
(9, 10, 16 & 17 April 2021)
- NE6NS24CC1 Dhoby Ghaut — NE17PTC Punggol
(23 & 24 April 2021;7 & 8 May 2021)
Last Train Timings at Affected Stations
April 2021 — Early Closure between Serangoon — Punggol
Last Train Timings (Click to expand)| Station | Last Train to HarbourFront |
| NE17PTC Punggol | 2301 |
| NE16STC Sengkang | 2303 |
| NE15 Buangkok | 2305 |
| NE14 Hougang | 2308 |
| NE13 Kovan | 2310 |
| NE12CC13 Serangoon | 0015 |
| NE11 Woodleigh | 0017 |
| NE10 Potong Pasir | 0019 |
| NE9 Boon Keng | 0021 |
| NE8 Farrer Park | 0023 |
| NE7DT12 Little India | 0025 |
| NE6NS24CC1 Dhoby Ghaut | 0027 |
| NE5 Clarke Quay | 0029 |
| NE4DT19 Chinatown | 0031 |
| NE3EW16 Outram Park | 0033 |
| NE1CC29 HarbourFront | – |
Northbound towards (7) Punggol
| Station | Last Train to Punggol |
Last Train to Serangoon |
| NE1CC29 HarbourFront | 2239 | 2356 |
| NE3EW16 Outram Park | 2242 | 2358 |
| NE4DT19 Chinatown | 2243 | 0000 |
| NE5 Clarke Quay | 2245 | 0002 |
| NE6NS24CC1 Dhoby Ghaut | 2248 | 0004 |
| NE7DT12 Little India | 2250 | 0006 |
| NE8 Farrer Park | 2252 | 0008 |
| NE9 Boon Keng | 2254 | 0010 |
| NE10 Potong Pasir | 2256 | 0013 |
| NE11 Woodleigh | 2258 | 0015 |
| NE12CC13 Serangoon | 2301 | — |
| NE13 Kovan | 2303 | — |
| NE14 Hougang | 2305 | — |
| NE15 Buangkok | 2308 | — |
| NE16STC Sengkang | 2310 | — |
| NE17PTC Punggol | — | — |
April & May 2021 — Early Closure between HarbourFront — Dhoby Ghaut
Last Train Timings (Click to expand)Southbound towards (6) HarbourFront
| Station | Last Train to HarbourFront |
Last Train to Dhoby Ghaut |
| NE17PTC Punggol | 2235 | 2332 |
| NE16STC Sengkang | 2237 | 2334 |
| NE15 Buangkok | 2239 | 2336 |
| NE14 Hougang | 2241 | 2338 |
| NE13 Kovan | 2244 | 2340 |
| NE12CC13 Serangoon | 2246 | 2343 |
| NE11 Woodleigh | 2249 | 2345 |
| NE10 Potong Pasir | 2250 | 2347 |
| NE9 Boon Keng | 2253 | 2350 |
| NE8 Farrer Park | 2255 | 2352 |
| NE7DT12 Little India | 2257 | 2354 |
| NE6NS24CC1 Dhoby Ghaut | 2259 | — |
| NE5 Clarke Quay | 2301 | — |
| NE4DT19 Chinatown | 2303 | — |
| NE3EW16 Outram Park | 2302 | — |
| NE1CC29 HarbourFront | – | — |
Northbound towards (7) Punggol
| Station | Last Train to Punggol |
| NE1CC29 HarbourFront | 2302 |
| NE3EW16 Outram Park | 2305 |
| NE4DT19 Chinatown | 2307 |
| NE5 Clarke Quay | 2309 |
| NE6NS24CC1 Dhoby Ghaut | 0036 |
| NE7DT12 Little India | 0037 |
| NE8 Farrer Park | 0039 |
| NE9 Boon Keng | 0041 |
| NE10 Potong Pasir | 0043 |
| NE11 Woodleigh | 0045 |
| NE12CC13 Serangoon | 0048 |
| NE13 Kovan | 0051 |
| NE14 Hougang | 0054 |
| NE15 Buangkok | 0056 |
| NE16STC Sengkang | 0058 |
| NE17PTC Punggol | — |
Extended Train Operating Hours
During periods of Early Closure, operating hours of the opened sector of the North East Line, Sengkang LRT and Punggol LRT will be extended.
April 2021 — Early Closure between Serangoon — Punggol
- Last train timing on the North East Line from NE12CC13 Serangoon to NE1CC29 HarbourFront will be extended to 12:15am.
- Sengkang LRT services on the East and West Loop will be extended to depart Sengkang at 1:10am.
- Punggol LRT services on the East and West Loop will be extended to depart Punggol at 1:15am.
April & May 2021 — Early Closure between HarbourFront — Dhoby Ghaut
- Last train timing on the North East Line from NE6NS24CC1 Dhoby Ghaut to NE17PTC Punggol will be extended to 12:36am.
- Sengkang LRT services on the East and West Loop will be extended to depart Sengkang at 1:03am.
- Punggol LRT services on the East and West Loop will be extended to depart Punggol at 1:05am.
Shuttle Bus Services
Shuttle 21 will be provided throughout the duration of the early closure between Serangoon — Punggol, while Shuttle 22 will be provided throughout the duration of the early closure between HarbourFront — Dhoby Ghaut.
Fares for the Shuttle Bus Services are equivalent to the distance travelled by train.
| Shuttle | Operating Dates | MRT Stations Served |
| Shuttle 21 | 9, 10, 16 & 17 April 2021 | Serangoon, Kovan, Hougang, Buangkok, Sengkang, Punggol |
| Shuttle 22 | 23 & 24 April 2021 |
HarbourFront, Outram Park, Chinatown, Clarke Quay, Dhoby Ghaut |
Extended Bus Operating Hours
On days of Early Closure, residential bus services will be extended to allow commuters to connect from the Shuttle Bus Services.
Extended bus operating hours only during Early Closure between Serangoon — Punggol in April 2021:
- Hougang Central Bus Interchange
Service 325 – Last bus at 12:50am - Punggol Temporary Bus Interchange
(9 & 10 April only) Service 83 – Last bus at 1:15am
(16 & 17 April) Service 83T – Last bus at 1:15am
Service 382G – Last bus at 1:15am
Service 386 – Last bus at 1:15am
Extended bus operating hours only during Early Closure between HarbourFront — Dhoby Ghaut in April & May 2021:
- Serangoon Bus Interchange
Service 315 – Last bus at 1:00am - Hougang Central Bus Interchange
Service 325 – Last bus at 1:05am - Punggol Temporary Bus Interchange
Service 83T – Last bus at 1:10am
Service 382G – Last bus at 1:10am
Service 386 – Last bus at 1:10am
Other Early Closures / Late Openings in 2021
- Early Closure, Late Opening of Thomson-East Coast Line (July 2020 – April 2021)
- Full Sunday Closure of East West Line (Mar – May 2021)
See Also:
External Links & References:
- Early closure of the NEL stations on four Fridays and Saturdays in April and May 2021 – SBS Transit
- Extension of Operating Hours – Early closures of NEL (Apr 2021) – Go-Ahead Singapore
- Extension of Operating Hours – Early closures of NEL (Apr and May 2021) – Go-Ahead Singapore
- SBS Transit Ltd Facebook Post