LTA, SMRT add 29 more trains to North-South and East-West Lines

There will be 198 trains in the NSEWL fleet by 2019.

The Land Transport Authority and rail operator SMRT Corporation today revealed that 29 new trains will be added to the North-South and East-West Lines to further boost its capacity and meet higher ridership demand.

The new trains are expected to arrive progressively between 2016 and 2019. Apart from easing crowding along the more heavily-utilised stretches of the NSEWL, the bigger train fleet will also allow more trains to undergo critical maintenance works and older trains to be upgraded as part of the ongoing programme to upgrade the NSEWL’s signalling system.

The additional 70 trains in total will also meet the higher ridership needs of an expanded MRT network, when the Tuas West Extension on the East-West Line and the Canberra station on the North-South Line open.

Together with the procurement of 41 trains earlier announced by LTA and SMRT in March 2013, these 29 new trains will bring the NSEWL fleet to 198, or a 40% increase from the current fleet, by 2019.