Bukit Panjang LRT

The Bukit Panjang LRT line (BPLRT) is a 7.6-kilometre (4.7 mi) automated guideway transit line in the residential town of Bukit Panjang, Singapore. The BPLRT is the only LRT line operated by SMRT Trains. As the name suggests, it serves 13 stations in the neighbourhood of Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang.

The line is the first LRT line in Singapore, and was opened on 6 November 1999 by then Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Tony Tan who later became Singapore's 7th President. As an elevated people mover system, it is fully automated. The line uses Innovia APM 100 C801 and C801A rolling stock supplied by Bombardier, running in a two-car formation.

History
The idea of Bukit Panjang LRT was first pitched in 1991 before the government announced (in 1994) that it would pilot the system there. Two years later, in 1996, construction began for the Bukit Panjang LRT, along which a few changes were distinguished from the MRT lines:


 * It became the first (and at the time, the only) line with a fully automated train with no drivers (driverless trains would later become a prominent role starting from North East Line in 2003)
 * There are 13 stations, a loop will be formed between stations for Bukit Panjang
 * There was an integrated development at Ten Mile Junction, comprising a station, depot and shopping centre. The station was decommissioned in 2019.

The LRT was planned to run above ground to avoid the road safety issues of trams, and because to avoid obstructing the KTM railway tracks, according to Low Seow Chay. Recalling "terrible" traffic jams at the junction of Woodlands Road and Choa Chu Kang Road during the early 90s, he explained: "The Bukit Panjang residents had trouble accessing Choa Chu Kang and bus interchange including towards the city due to the poor traffic flow." The KJE was opened in 1994, diverting most of the heavy traffic and solving the problem. He also asked for a dedicated bus viaduct to be built to relieve congestion, but the request was rejected since LRT became the only main option.

Back in 1994, then-Transport Minister Mah Bow Tan, told Parliament of the need for "efficient and affordable" public transport, and that the potential of LRT as an internal feeder service was being studied. There are other intentions of the LRT to replace all the feeder buses. Today, residents have LRT and few feeder bus services.

The project, which was contracted to Adtranz, Keppel Corporation and Gammon Construction, was completed on 6 November 1999.

On 5 August 1997, the Land Transport Authority awarded SMRT a licence to operate the LRT due to its experience with the MRT system.

On 10 December 2010, Ten Mile Junction closed due to retrofitting of station, and reopened on 30 December 2011; however, due to the low demand, on 13 January 2019, the LRT station became the first-ever operational train station in Singapore to be permanently closed. Due to this, LRT Service C, which ran from Ten Mile Junction to loop via Senja, ceased operations.