SINGAPORE – The Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) will end train services one hour earlier at 10.30pm from Thursdays to Sundays, from Nov 14 to Oct 31, 2025.

       The early end to train services is to facilitate the upgrading of the BPLRT’s signalling system, and the testing of the new and retrofitted light-rail vehicles, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operator SMRT said on Nov 1.

       Train services will run as per normal and will not end earlier on public holidays, they added.

       The announcement comes on the heels of two recent service disruptions on the network.

       On Oct 22, train service stalled for about five hours between Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang LRT stations from about 5.20pm due to a faulty second-generation train.

       More than a month earlier, on Sept 5, train service between Bukit Panjang and Senja LRT stations were suspended due to a signalling fault.

       The 25-year-old BPLRT network, which has had a long history of reliability issues, is in the midst of a multi-year asset renewal programme to improve the reliability of its operations.

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       The renewal includes the refurbishment of the signalling system, and other upgrades such as improvements to the operations control centre and power rail replacement.

       Canadian engineering firm Bombardier, which supplied the original system in 1999, was awarded a $344 million contract in 2018 to overhaul it.

       Works to upgrade the existing signalling system on the BPLRT to a new communications-based train control system that better controls train speeds – similar to that used on MRT lines – have been carried out progressively since 2022, noted LTA and SMRT.

       They added that the intensive testing – to fully integrate the signalling system with trackside equipment – can be done only after service hours, and the duration required for testing exceeds the typical available engineering hours.

       Of the 19 new BPLRT vehicles that are being brought in to replace first-generation ones, four have been in passenger service since Aug 1, with one currently being tested and another arriving by the end of 2024.

       At the same time, five of the 13 second-generation LRT vehicles have been upgraded to date, with the sixth slated to complete its revamp in early November.

       Testing also needs to be done with the upgraded and new vehicles as they all progressively enter passenger service by the end of 2025, said LTA and SMRT.

       LTA said it is targeting to complete the full renewal programme by the end of 2026, and cautioned that additional extended engineering hours may be needed as the works continue.

       The completion of the renewal programme has been delayed by two years from 2024 to 2026, due to a manpower shortage and supply chain disruptions arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.

       Affected commuters travelling after 10.30pm can take existing bus services serving Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang, including services 67, 171, 920, 922, 960, 963, 972, 972M, 973, 974 and 976.

       LTA added that it will monitor ridership levels for these services, and adjust bus frequencies if required.