Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 33, 2020

The North South line is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit line in Singapore, operated by SMRT. Coloured red on the rail map, the line is 45 km long and serves 27 stations, 11 of which are underground. The line operates for 19 hours a day, with headways of up to 3 minutes during peak hours and 7 minutes during off-peak hours. It is the first MRT line to be built in Singapore, with the first section from Yio Chu Kang station to Toa Payoh station beginning service on 7 November 1987, followed by an extension southwards to Raffles Place station and northwards to Yishun station. After the southern extension to Marina Bay station in 1989, the North South line was formed and split from the East West line. In the 1990s, the line extended to the north and west connecting to the Branch line through the Woodlands line extension. Since the 2010s, significant improvements have been made on this line, such as the replacement of sleepers, third rail replacement and the introduction of new rolling stock. The North South line is also the first line to have undergone a major re-signalling project, converting it to fully automated operations in 2019. Other recent developments of the line include a new extension to Marina South Pier station and a new infill station, Canberra station. Two more infill stations (Brickland and Sungei Kadut stations) on the line are being planned and are set to be opened in the 2030s.