Last Updated on 2018-08-03 , 5:43 pm

Time for our favourite topic of the day again: SMRT.

Nope, not to bash on them.

Because to be fair, SMRT isn’t really giving Singaporeans a huge amount of trouble this year. Despite the fact that, you know, it’s now July.

So yeah, SMRT KPI this year? A++.

And it’s mostly due to the maintenance work that’s being carried out on our railway tracks every night.

And that directly leads us to the topic of this article.

The early closure and late opening of SMRT stations

When it comes to track maintenance, SMRT engineers have very short hours to work with during normal days.

But with the change in operating hours of MRT stations, engineers have more time to access and work on the rails.

Which helps speed up rail renewal works and enhance rail reliability.

Westies, We’ve Got Bad News For You

For the month of August & July, westies are going to be incredibly inconvenienced. That’s if you’re an early morning riser and needs the MRT to travel out of the area.

Seven stations along the East-West Line (EWL), together with three stations along the North-South Line (NSL) will be closing earlier on some Fridays and Saturdays, and open later on some Saturdays and Sundays, from August to September.

And these stations are in the western part of Singapore.

Seven stations along the East-West Line (EWL) and three stations along the North-South Line (NSL) will close earlier on some Fridays and Saturdays and open later on some Saturdays and Sundays from August to September to facilitate rail maintenance.

The remaining train stations along both lines will operate as per usual.

Stations That Will Be Affected:

East-West Line (EWL)

• Pioneer
• Boon Lay
• Lakeside
• Chinese Garden
• Jurong East
• Clementi
• Dover

North-South Line (NSL)

• Jurong East
• Bukit Batok
• Bukit Gombak

Affected train stations to close early at around 11 pm and open late at around 8 am

Except for the weekends of 10-12 Aug, 17-19 Aug and 14-16 Sep, the early closure and late opening of the MRT stations will take place.

So if you happen to be at the NDP 2018 preview, remember to keep a close eye on your watches, yeah?

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But that doesn’t mean you’re trapped in your areas like Katniss Aberdeen at District 13 in Hunger Games.

SMRT buses will ply the route of the MRT tracks and bring passengers to the closest operating MRT stations.

They’ll be picking passengers up from selected bus stops nearest to the affected MRT stations.

Shuttle bus 2 will travel between Buona Vista and Joo Koon while Shuttle bus 4 will be travelling between Choa Chu Kang and Jurong East.

And for those who want a faster journey, you can board Express 5 at Boon Lay which will bring you to Buona Vista at 5.15 am and 5.30 am.

And from Buona Vista, the bus picks passengers up at 6 am and 6.15 am.

One thing to note is that SMRT reminds all affected passengers to plan extra buffer time when they’re taking the shuttle buses.

One Last Thing To Know: Bi-directional trains

Before I leave you to ruminate over the new and improved SMRT, here’s one more thing you have to know.

During the affected stations’ downtime, the train service between Buona Vista and Queenstown MRT stations will be bi-directional. In simpler terms, a loop.

So when you take the train to Queenstown, and your destination is Bugis, you’d have to change trains at Queenstown to get to your destination.

But better leave your house early if you’re in these areas because intervals between trains can be as high as 12 minutes.

You can find the exact opening and closing time of your train station here.

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