Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub

Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub (or WITH) is located at Woodlands Town Centre, serving the Woodlands, Marsiling, and Admiralty regions. Nearby amenities include the Causeway Point Shopping Mall, Woods Square, Woodlands Civic Centre, and Woodlands Regional Library.

The interchange is the eleventh Integrated Transport Hub (ITH) in Singapore; referring to air-conditioned bus interchanges integrated with MRT stations and commercial developments. Although the interchange first opened in 1996 as Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange, it was closed between 2016-2021 for extensive upgrading works, during which it was replaced by Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange.

Rail connections are offered via Woodlands station along the North South Line (NSL) and Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL).

The interchange opened on 13 June 2021. All bus services at Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange shifted over to the new interchange, except Services 925, 950, 961 & 965 and their respective route variants, which remained at the old interchange.


Details:
Name Woodlands Bus Interchange | 兀兰巴士转换站
Address (Level B1) 30 Woodlands Avenue 2, Singapore 738343
BCM Route Package Woodlands Bus Package
Anchor Operator SMRT Buses
Bus Routes 14 (SMRT Buses)
2 (SBS Transit)
7 (Tower Transit)
Berths 14 Boarding Berths, 2 Alighting Berths
Rail Connection NS9TE2 Woodlands

Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub (WITH) is an underground bus interchange in Woodlands. Connecting with Woodlands MRT Station along the North South Line and Thomson-East Coast Line, the interchange is a key transport node for commuters, allowing for convenient transfers between the rail network and the many bus services at the interchange.

Opened on 13 June 2021, Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub is the eleventh Integrated Transport Hub (ITH) to be opened in Singapore. Built underneath the elevated NSL Woodlands MRT Station, the space-saving design was intended to free up valuable space around Woodlands Regional Centre for future development.

At 41,500 sq m, Woodlands ITH is the largest ITH in Singapore. The underground interchange has two pairs of access ramps for vehicular entry/exit; the West exit leads to Woodlands Avenue 3 and 5, while the East exit leads to Woodlands Avenue 2 and 7. The open-air bus park is located at the west end of the interchange, partially underneath the North South Line viaducts.

The basement passenger concourse is located underneath the elevated NSL station and fully air-conditioned. Access is offered from street level via lifts, escalators and staircases from ground level.

Unlike some of the Integrated Transport Hubs constructed before it, Woodlands ITH benefits from full-height glass walls separating the passenger concourse from the bus park. This maximizes the amount of natural lighting within the interchange and allows commuters to easily observe buses moving around the interchange.

Introduction Video:

 

Bus Services List:
Service Berth Destination Remarks
161 B10 Hougang Central
168 B10 Bedok
169 B2 Ang Mo Kio
169A B2 Yishun Avenue 2 (Opp Yishun Stn) Short Trip Service
169B B2 Woodlands Avenue 8 (Bef W’lands Ind Pk E3) Short Trip Service
178 B13 Boon Lay
178A B13 Woodlands Road (Kranji Stn) Short Trip Service
187 B9 Boon Lay
856 B11 Yishun
856A B11 Woodlands Centre Road (W’lands Train Checkpt) Short Trip Service
858 B1 ↺ Changi Airport
858A B1 Yishun Avenue 2 (Opp Yishun Stn) Short Trip Service
900 B4 ↺ Woodlands Avenue 1
901 B5 ↺ Woodlands Avenue 6
901M B5 ↺ Woodlands Avenue 7
902 B2 Woodlands Avenue 9 (Republic Poly) Weekday Morning Peak Hours during Republic Polytechnic School Term only
903 B4 ↺ Woodlands Centre Road
903M B4 ↺ Marsiling Lane Weekdays Morning & Evening Peak hours only
904 B5 ↺ Woodlands Crescent
911 / 911T
B6 ↺ Woodlands Avenue 2
B12 ↺ Woodlands Centre Road
911A
B12 Woodlands Street 13 (Blk 146) Weekdays Evening Peak hours only
912 / 912A B7 ↺ Woodlands Avenue 7
912 / 912B B12 ↺ Woodlands Centre Road
912M B12 ↺ Woodlands Street 41 Weekdays Morning & Evening Peak Hours only
913 / 913T B3 ↺ Woodlands Circle
B13 ↺ Woodlands Avenue 3
913M B13 ↺ Woodlands Street 13
960 B14 Marina Centre
960e B14 Marina Centre Express Bus Service
962 B6 ↺ Admiralty Street
963 B9 HarbourFront
963e B9 HarbourFront Express Bus Service
Weekday Morning Peak Hours only
964 B3 ↺ Woodlands Link
966 B11 ↺ Marine Parade Road
966A
B11 Marine Parade Road (Opp Parkway Parade) Short Trip Service
969 B2 Tampines

Notes:

Bus services 925950961 & 965 and their respective route variants will continue to operate from Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange:

In the event of an MRT service disruption affecting NSL Woodlands station, the boarding point for North South Line Free Bridging Bus services is also at Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange.

Berth Allocation:
Berth Services
A1 A2 For Alighting
B1 858/858A
B2 169/169A/169B, 902, 969
B3 913 (Wdl Circle), 964
B4 900, 903/903M
B5 901/901M, 904
B6 911 (Wdl Ave 2), 962
B7 912 (Wdl Ave 7), 912A
A3 A4 For Alighting
B8
B9 187, 963/963e
B10 161, 168
B11 856/856A, 966/966A
B12 911 (Wdl Ctr Rd)/911A, 912 (Wdl Ctr Rd)/912B/912M
B13 178/178A, 913 (Wdl Ave 3), 913M
B14 960, 960e

The berth allocation is such that Berths 1 to 7 will depart towards the East exit, and Berths 8 to 14 depart towards the West exit, which means that buses do not have to turn back after picking up passengers. The only exceptions are Service 161 and 168 which depart at the east exit but are located at Berth 10.


Facilities:

  • SMRT WeCare Concierge
  • SMRT WeCare Room
  • Priority Queue Zone Seats
  • Bus Boarding Assistance Panel
  • Dementia Go-to Point
  • Heart Zone
  • Tactile paving & NaviLens App for Navigation Assistance
  • Information panels & Bus departure timing screen
  • Passenger Service Offices (SMRT Buses & Tower Transit)
  • NTWU Canteen
  • Nursing Room
  • SMRT Happy Toilets
  • SimplyGo Kiosk (in SimplyGo Lobby)
  • Top Up Kiosk
  • Heritage Walkway

WITH was not launched with a service guide rack. Instead, QR codes were affixed to bus service berths that linked to TransitLink’s website for bus service information.


Interchange History

History of Bus Interchanges & Terminals in Woodlands (Click to expand)
1970s & 1980s: Growth of Marsiling estate

The history of bus termini in Woodlands started in the 1970s, in tandem with the construction of Woodlands New Town and the first Housing & Development Board (HDB) estates in Marsiling. Roadside bus termini were known to have existed at the time included:

  • Marsiling Avenue (outside Marsiling Sch). The road has since been expunged; site of present-day HDB Marsiling Grove. Served by Bus Service 208.
  • Marsiling Drive (outside Blk 1). Served by Bus Service 180 and 182.
  • Rotherham Gate (H.M. Naval Dockyard). Served by Bus Service 160 in the early 1970s. Present-day Admiralty Road West (near Woodlands Causeway).

A centralised bus terminal was opened sometime around 1976 to serve the new HDB estate. Marsiling Bus Terminal was built off Admiralty Road, next to Block 19 and 20 where neighbourhood shops and the hawker centre were located. This terminal was also referred to as Admiralty Road Terminal and Woodlands Bus Terminal by bus literature at the time.

With the opening of Woodlands Town Centre next to Woodlands Checkpoint, Woodlands Bus Interchange was opened on 29 November 1981 to serve the new regional centre, which contained shops, eateries and a cinema, and was frequented by cross-border workers. The interchange featured 17 berths, and started with five bus services (169, 178, 181, 204, 208).

The bus interchange was planned and built by Singapore Bus Service (SBS), but ownership was taken over by the Government in 1983, and later transferred to the newly-formed Trans-Island Bus Service (TIBS), which gradually took over bus routes in Woodlands in stages between Apr-Oct 1983. Most bus routes were shifted from Marsiling Ter to Woodlands Int, with only a handful remaining at Marsiling, most notably Services 950, 951 and 952, which went to Shenton Way, Jurong and Marina Centre respectively.

1996 onwards: Relocation to Woodlands Regional Centre

When the Government announced plans to extend the North-South Line MRT from Yishun to Choa Chu Kang via Woodlands, there were accelerated plans to relocate and develop a new town centre for Woodlands, to be located at Woodlands Square.

Built at a cost of $34 million, the Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange was built underneath the elevated Woodlands MRT Station, with station facilities occupying the ground floor. This space-maximizing design was the first of its kind in Singapore and could accommodate both articulated and double-deck buses. It opened on 4 February 1996, and Woodlands MRT Station opened less than a week later, on 10 February 1996.

The reorganization of bus routes in Woodlands that accompanied the opening of Woodlands Regional Int led to the disuse of Marsiling Ter, with bus services being extended to the new interchange or withdrawn. As for Woodlands Int, Bus Service 901 remained at Woodlands Int for several more months until its withdrawal on 14 July 1996. Woodlands Int also continued to be used by Bus Service 900, 902 & 904 (later renumbered Intratown 911, 912 & 913 in December 1996) as a looping point, referred to as Woodlands Checkpoint Terminal from bus literature, until 23 March 2003 when the three Intratown services were made to loop at Woodlands Centre Road instead, skipping Woodlands Checkpoint Ter.

While Marsiling Ter was fully demolished, Woodlands Int was used as a car and bus park until late 2017, when the entire Woodlands Town Centre was closed and eventually torn down.

2016: Upgrading to Integrated Transport Hub (ITH)

With the construction of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) and a new underground station underneath Woodlands Regional Interchange, the existing interchange had to be closed to facilitate the extensive addition and alteration works, which included a conversion to a fully-air-conditioned concourse, underground linkway to the TEL station, and an expansion of the bus park to accommodate more bus parking.

In 2016, Woodlands Regional Int was closed, with bus operations relocated to a newly-built Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange north of the existing site. Contract T221 for the construction of the temporary interchange was awarded to JS Metal Pte. Ltd. on 17 Mar 2014, at a sum of S$12,650,000.00. The temporary interchange opened on 12 March 2016, with all bus services relocated there.

The upgraded interchange was renamed to Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub and opened on 13 June 2021, with all bus services except Services 925/925M, 950, 961/961M & 965/965A/965T being shifted over.

Construction

With the construction of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) entrance and exit for Woodlands MRT Station underneath Woodlands Regional Interchange, addition & alteration works were required to be carried out to the old Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange. As such, a temporary bus interchange was constructed nearby to facilitate these works, which opened on 12 March 2016. All existing bus services were moved to the temporary bus interchange.

Contract PT247Upgrading of Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange was awarded to CCECC Singapore Pte Ltd at a sum of S$21,567,800.00 on 26 Dec 2017.

According to CCECC, the scope of works comprises “the design and construction A&A works to Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange (Concourse, Bus Parking Area, Driveway, Annex Building and Plantrooms Building), New M&E Plantrooms Building and Expansion of New Bus Parking Area inclusive of demolition, decommissioning works for all existing facilities and services, site clearance, electrical works, Air-conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation System (ACMV), Fire Protection System, Escalator system, Lift system, Building Management System (BMS), automated screen doors with air curtains, retaining wall (CBP) and reinstatement of all associated works.”

Scope of Modification Works

The extensive upgrading work included the following observable changes:

  • Conversion of the existing bus interchange concourse into an air-conditioned facility, with full-height glass panels and automatic doors at bus alighting and boarding berths
  • Southward extension of passenger concourse & driveway to accommodate TEL escalator and lift, protruding into existing driveway
  • Removal of old U-turn lanes at both ends of the interchange to accommodate expanded interchange concourse
  • Narrowing of bus park driveway to accommodate larger kerb (facilitating wheelchair boarding)
  • New row of reverse-parking lots within bus park
  • Reduced number of parking lots within existing parking area (under MRT viaduct) to increase distance between parking lots
  • Relocation of NTWU canteen from bus park building to interchange concourse

Heritage Wall
Heritage wall at Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub

The Heritage Wall features a mock-up of a Mercedes-Benz O405G (Hispano Habit) bus, bearing the registration TIB1238H. The since-retired articulated bus was a common sight on Woodlands feeder bus services for the past decade.

Also featured are brief write-ups of five bus termini that have served Woodlands over the years, namely Marsiling Bus Terminal, Woodlands Bus Interchange, Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange, Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange, and Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub.

Heritage Corner

The Heritage Corner exhibits various SMRT and TIBS-related mementoes that document Singapore’s public bus transformation. Several of the items on display are:

These exhibits are accompanied by a wall poster that documents the evolution of TIBS and SMRT’s bus fleet over the years.

Promotional Bus Wrap & Signage

A promotional bus wrap for the opening of Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub was put up on two buses (SG5781J and SG5828J, both MAN A95 buses) which frequently plied Woodlands feeder services.

In addition, buses also displayed the “Moving WITH you – 13 June” message on the EDS.


Gallery:

More photos on Page 2.

 

More photos on Page 2.


References

Back to Bus Interchanges and Terminals


Continued on Page 2 – Gallery

  • Gallery:
    • Alighting Berths
    • Boarding Berths
    • TEL Link
    • Passenger Facilities
    • Promotional Bus Wrap
    • Construction Progress

48 thoughts on “Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub

  • 27 March 2024 at 4:32 PM
    Permalink

    Should Woodlands ITH extend their bus parking space for bus service 925/M, 961/M and 965/A/T?

    Reply
  • 27 March 2024 at 4:23 PM
    Permalink

    Woodlands ITH
    East Exit:
    Alighting Point A1
    Alighting Point A2
    Boarding Berth B1 – 900/A, 901/M
    Boarding Berth B2 -903/M, 904/A (shorter direction of 904)
    Boarding Berth B3 – 910/T, 911/T (910/T – future feeder)
    Boarding Berth B4 – 913/T, 914/T (914 – 912M, 914T – shorter direction of 914)
    Boarding Berth B5 – 169/A/B, 902
    Boarding Berth B6 – 962/B/C, 965
    Boarding Berth B7 – 912/E *E – East
    West Exit:
    Alighting Point A3
    Alighting Point A4
    Boarding Berth B8 – 961/M, 963/e
    Boarding Berth B9 – 964, 966/A
    Boarding Berth B10 – 161, 168
    Boarding Berth B11 – 856/A, 858/A
    Boarding Berth B12 – 925/A, 960/e,
    Boarding Berth B13 – 178/A, 187
    Boarding Berth B14 – 912/W *W – West
    Woodlands TBI
    Alighting Point A5
    Boarding Berth B15 – 950 * took entire space of B15

    Reply

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