Green & Red MRT Lines Will Have New High-Tech & Slick-Looking Trains from 2024

In case you didn’t know, the Green (East-West Line) and Red (North-South Line) MRT routes might be older than you: when they opened back in 1987, they were then considered one line.

Things happened and now, our MRT map looks like this:

Or something like that lah.

The 32-year-old lines have gone through extensive upgrades and maintenance, and the trains have been changed twice: once in 1995 and another in 2000.

And now, it’s time for some new trains.

Green & Red MRT Lines Will Have New High-Tech & Slick-Looking Trains from 2024

Come 2024, the two oldest MRT lines will replace 40 of their trains—and all of these trains have been in service for at least 20 years.

They’ll be replaced with new trains from Canadian rail manufacturer Bombardier, and they cost S$337.8 million.

Before you go, “Hey, the money can be put to better use, like helping cats that’ve contracted COVID-19,” hold your horses: Bombardier was previously awarded a contract in July 2018 to supply LTA with 66 new trains to replace the 1st generation (Kawasaki) trains that have served the NSEWL since it first opened in 1987.

19 trains that had been in service in 1995 would be replaced, while 21 train that had brought us from Jurong to Pasir Ris since 2000 would be replaced.

The new trains will be assembled at Bombardier’s facility in Changchun, China, with parts and features sourced from around the world, including Sweden, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Features of New Trains

Other than looking much slicker than the older trains…

… the new trains will also be equipped with an integrated suite of condition monitoring features that facilitate the timely detection of emerging faults. This will allow the rail operator to make more efficient use of maintenance resources to pre-emptively address potential faults before they affect commuter service.

As for us commuters, there would be many commuter-friendly features such as more open spaces for strollers and wheelchair users, train-borne gap fillers for safer boarding and alighting, as well as refreshed LCD screens displaying train travel information.

Old Trains to Become a Café?

LTA isn’t going to put the old trains up for bid in eBay.

Instead, LTA is in discussions with various public and private sector organisations to repurpose some of the trains for education, heritage, training and even recreational purposes.

Parties interested in acquiring these retired trains can email LTA at [email protected] for more information. Like, I don’t know, having a café within a train?

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