Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)
The Mass Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system in Singapore and the island country's principal mode of railway transportation. After two decades of planning the system commenced operations in November 1987 with an initial stretch consisting of five stations. The network has since grown to span the length and breadth of the country's main island – with the exception of the forested core and the rural northwestern region – in accordance with Singapore's aim of developing a comprehensive rail network as the backbone of the country's public transportation system, averaging a daily ridership of 3.49 million in 2025.
The MRT network encompasses approximately of grade-separated route on standard gauge. As of 2024, there are currently 143 operational stations dispersed across six operational lines arrayed in a circle-radial topology. Two more lines and 44 stations are currently under construction, in addition to ongoing extension works on existing lines. In total, this will schedule the network to double in length to about by 2040. Further studies are ongoing on potential new alignments and lines, as well as infill stations in the Land Transport Authority's Land Transport Masterplan 2040. The island-wide heavy rail network interchanges with a series of automated guideway transit networks localised to select suburban towns — collectively known as the Light Rail Transit system — which, along with public buses, complement the mainline by providing a last mile link between MRT stations and HDB public housing estates.
The MRT is the oldest, busiest, and most comprehensive heavy rail metro system in Southeast Asia. Capital expenditure on its rail infrastructure reached a cumulative S$150 billion in 2021, making the network one of the world's costliest on both a per-kilometre and absolute basis. The system operates under a semi-nationalised hybrid regulatory framework. Construction and procurement are overseen by the Land Transport Authority, a statutory board of the government, which grants operating concessions to the for-profit operators SMRT and SBS Transit. SMRT is a state-owned enterprise under Temasek, while SBS Transit is owned by the public company ComfortDelGro. These operators are responsible for asset maintenance on their respective lines, and also run bus services, facilitating operational synchronicity and the horizontal integration of the broader public transportation network.
The MRT is fully automated and has an extensive driverless rapid transit system. Asset renewal works are periodically carried out to modernise the network and ensure its continued reliability; all stations feature platform screen doors, Wi-Fi connectivity, lifts, climate control, and accessibility provisions, among others. Much of the early network is elevated above ground on concrete viaducts, with a small portion running at-grade; newer lines are largely subterranean, incorporating several of the lengthiest continuous subway tunnel sections in the world. A number of underground stations double as purpose-built air raid shelters under the operational authority of the Singapore Civil Defence Force ; these stations incorporate deep-level station boxes cast with hardened concrete and blast doors fashioned out of reinforced steel to withstand conventional aerial and chemical ordnance.
History
Planning and inception
The origins of the Mass Rapid Transit were derived from a forecast by the country's planners back in 1967 which stated the need for a rail-based urban transport system by 1992.In 1972, a study was conducted by the American firms Wilbur Smith and Associates, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Tudor, and Bechtel, which was accounted for by the World Bank on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme. The study was undertaken for eight years, including the phases of the study in 1974 and 1977. In 1979, to prepare the third phase of the study, Halcrow, a British firm, was appointed to craft the system; meanwhile, a third phase of the study was published in 1981.
However, opposition from the government on the feasibility of the MRT from prominent ministers, among them Finance Minister Goh Keng Swee and Trades and Industry Minister Tony Tan, nearly shuttered the programme on financial grounds and concerns of jobs saturation in the construction industry. Dr Goh instead endorsed the idea of an all-bus system recommended by Harvard University specialists, who argued this would reduce the cost by 50% compared to the proposed MRT system. Public opinion was split on the matter: several expressed concerns about the high cost while others were more focused on increasing the standard of living. Following a debate on whether a bus-only system would be more cost-effective, Communications Minister Ong Teng Cheong came to the conclusion that an all-bus system would be inadequate, as it would have to compete for road space in a land-scarce country. Ong was an architect and town planner by training and through his perseverance and dedication became the main figure behind the initial construction of the system.
An MRT System Designs Option Study was also conducted to refine the technical details and the recommended measures for the MRT system - these include:
- Third rail is to standardise with many metros in the world instead of overhead rail in many railways of the world and MTR.
- Mandatory to have platform screen doors for safety and ventilation reasons, starting from underground stations and later on extended to elevated and surface stations.
Construction begins
Singapore's MRT infrastructure is built, operated, and managed in accordance with a hybridised quasi-nationalised regulatory framework called the New Rail Financing Framework, in which the lines are constructed and the assets owned by the Land Transport Authority, a statutory board of the Government of Singapore.The network was planned to be constructed and opened in stages, even as plans had already indicated the decision for two main arterial lines. The North–South Line was given priority because it passed through the Central Area that has a high demand for public transport. De Leuw Cather was appointed to undertake a two-year contract for consultancy in November 1982. The Mass Rapid Transit Corporation —later renamed SMRT Corporation—was established on 14 October 1983 and took over the roles and responsibilities of the former provisional Mass Rapid Transit Authority. On 7 November 1987, the first section of the North–South Line started operations, consisting of five stations over six kilometres. Within a year, 20 more stations had been added to the network and a direct service existed between Yishun and Lakeside stations, linking up Central Singapore to Jurong in the west by the end of 1988. The direct service was eventually split into the North–South and East–West Lines after the latter's completion of the eastern sector to Tanah Merah station. By the end of 1990, the Branch line has further linked Choa Chu Kang to the network while the inauguration of Boon Lay station on 6 July 1990 marked the completion of the initial system two years ahead of schedule.
Subsequent expansions
The MRT has been continuously expanded ever since. On 10 February 1996, a S$1.2 billion expansion of the North–South Line into Woodlands was completed, merging the Branch Line into the North–South Line and joining Yishun and Choa Chu Kang stations. The concept of having rail lines that bring people almost directly to their homes led to the introduction of the Light Rail Transit lines connecting with the MRT network. On 6 November 1999, the first LRT trains on the Bukit Panjang LRT went into operation. The Expo and Changi Airport stations were opened on 10 January 2001 and 8 February 2002 respectively.The very first infill station of the MRT network to be built on an existing line, Dover station opened on 18 October 2001. The second infill station, Canberra station opened on 2 November 2019. The third, as well as the first underground infill station, Hume opened on 28 February 2025.
The North East Line, the first line operated by SBS Transit, opened on 20 June 2003, is one of the first fully automated heavy rail lines in the world. On 15 January 2006, after intense two-and-a-half years lobbying by the public, Buangkok station was opened, followed by Woodleigh station much later on 20 June 2011. The line's extension to Punggol Coast was opened on 10 December 2024. The Boon Lay Extension of the East–West Line, consisting of Pioneer and Joo Koon stations, opened on 28 February 2009.
The Circle Line opened in four stages with Stage 3 on 28 May 2009, Stages 1 and 2 on 17 April 2010, Stages 4 and 5 on 8 October 2011 and the Marina Bay Extension on 14 January 2012. Stage 1 of Downtown Line opened on 22 December 2013 with its official opening made on 21 December 2013 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Stage 2 opened on 27 December 2015, after being officially opened on 26 December by Prime Minister Lee. The Tuas West Extension of the East–West Line, consisting of Gul Circle, Tuas Crescent, Tuas West Road, and Tuas Link stations, opened on 18 June 2017. Stage 3, the final stage of the Downtown Line, opened on 21 October 2017 with its official opening made on 20 October 2017 by Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan. Stage 1 of the Thomson–East Coast Line opened on 31 January 2020. Stage 2 of the Thomson–East Coast Line opened on 28 August 2021, extending the line from Woodlands South to Caldecott. Stage 3 of the Thomson–East Coast Line opened on 13 November 2022, extending the line from Caldecott to Gardens by the Bay. On 23 June 2024, the line was extended eastwards terminating at Bayshore.