Opening the Circle Line MRT

Can a train have “new car smell”?

The first day after the official opening, I took an exploratory ride on the Circle Line train. This is the newest train line in Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, owned by Singapore’s Land Transport Authority. Not only are the cars and seats all shiny and new, but it has the same new smell that you get from fresh paint, vinyl, and rubber compounds.

Currently, the Circle Line doesn’t go anywhere, so the stations and trains were not very crowded. There are only a few stations open, and the rest of the 29 stations aren’t scheduled to open any time soon. All the Circle Line currently offers is a shortcut between two existing train lines: it connects the imaginatively named North-East line (the “Red” line on the MRT map) to the North-South line (the “Purple” line on the MRT map).

This short-cut is actually kind of nice, because it allows you to cut across town without having to go all the way into the central business district where the Red and Purple lines cross each other. If you want to cut across town, this is helpful. We live on the Purple line, just one stop away from the Serangoon interchange that connects with the Circle Line. So this shortcut gives us easy access over to the Red line and all the stations along the Red line.



For you train buffs, the rolling stock consists of Alstom Metropolis C830 trains running in three-car formation. The three-car length trains are half the size of the other MRT lines. I thought the short length might be just temporary while they finish construction of all 29 stations and grow the number of daily passengers. But the train stations are only long enough to accommodate three cars, so they really don’t have the option to expand the trains.

Looking out the front window is my favorite part of the Circle Line. Unlike the other MRT lines in Singapore, the first and last cars on the Circle Line have forward and backward looking windows, so you can see where you’re going and where you’re coming from. None of the other three lines allow you so see anywhere but sideways.

Here is the two-minute ride from one station to the next: