In case you weren’t aware (who are we kidding, of course you are), SMRT trains on the North-South and East-West Line (NSEWL) have been running at slower speeds since 2013 due to the sleeper replacement project.
What the project set out to do was basically upgrade Singapore’s oldest rail line. So the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SMRT embarked on replacing the 188,000 wooden sleepers (those slabs of planks in between rails) with modern pre-stressed concrete ones.
During the past couple years, parts of the lines with newly replaced sleepers had to be limited to a maximum speed of 60km/h for safety reasons. Now that the project’s finally done, SMRT will be lifting the speed restrictions in phases across the lines — meaning we’ll be able to travel at normal speeds of up to 80km/h. SMRT Trains managing director Lee Ling Wee expects the speeds on all train lines to resume as usual by March.
And yet, there’s more to be done.
“In the coming months, we will also see the completion of re-signalling works on the North-South Line, and the third rail replacement project,” says LTA Deputy Chief Executive (Infrastructure and Development) Chua Chong Kheng.
“The renewal and upgrade of our oldest rail lines, coupled with the more rigorous maintenance regimes by the operators, will contribute towards more reliable, comfortable, and faster rides for our commuters.”
