Downtown Line: The First Experience

Posted by: Elgin Chong; Emmanuel Phua

Arriving On Time: Downtown Line trains are quick and smooth, being able to adhere to the stipulated journey time. Photo credit: Elgin Chong

Yes, we were there; Downtown Line 1’s open house! We wanted to experience the new trains and stations to get a feel of how it will be like to take the Downtown Line in future, and here’s our experience.

First things first; you might want to prepare yourself for the cold air-conditioners in the stations and trains because they are really new! The moment we entered the station in Chinatown, we were greeted by a huge crowd as well as an energetic performance by some old folks singing traditional Singaporean folk songs. After snapping some pictures, we immediately headed to the basement to have our first ever experience on a Downtown Line train!

For a start, we found the Downtown Line very accessible because 4 out of 6 stations are interchanges which connect commuters from the Downtown Line to East-West or Circle Line. We boarded the train at Chinatown all the way to Bugis which had a stipulated journey time of 9 minutes; and that was EXACTLY how long it took! Impressive. 

So, based on our journey, here are a few things you might notice:

Better queue lines

For a start, the new queue line designs for all six stations are different. At Telok Ayer and Promenade stations, the queue line design will be drawn parallel to the platform screen doors to show commuters clearly where they should queue. For the other four stations, it will feature a modified version of the existing queue marking that are found at other MRT stations. The key change is that they will come with a bigger ‘funnel’ for commuters to facilitate smoother entry and exiting of trains. It’s still early to comment because when we went for the open house on 7 Dec, we didn’t see a huge crowd, so when the real thing comes, we’ll know whether these queue lines are effective or not.

Out of the way: The new queue lines are designed to prevent people from blocking commuters alighting from the train. Photo credit: Elgin Chong

Reserved seats are easily distinguishable

Instead of having seats with the exact same design as other seats, the new trains now make use of different designs to distinguish reserved seats from the normal ones. Personally, we don’t think having new designs would work because it is still up to people to decide whether they want to give up their seats or not. However, according to Mr Chia Choon Poh, director of LTA, having seats of a different colour would make people think twice about sitting on them. Well, guess that we will only see when the Downtown Line launches officially on 22 Dec, won’t we?

A Bright Difference: LTA is taking a more colourful approach in distinguishing reserved seats from the normal ones. Photo credit: Elgin Chong

Ambient music in the background

Yep, you saw it right! Music in the background! Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? According to LTA, the music serves to ‘enhance the travel experience among commuters’. But when we were there, we could barely hear the music because it was overwhelmed by the train noise. We could only hear the music only when the train stopped, so there isn’t much to comment on the music apart from that.

Free rides!

So, that wraps it up; our experience on the Downtown Line! Now, listen to this -- you will get free travel from 22 Dec 2013 to 1 Jan 2014. Yes, you read it correctly! You don’t have to fork out a single cent. Unlimited free trips throughout this festive season. The LTA said that this is to encourage commuters to experience and familiarise themselves with the new 4.3km line. But why don’t make full use of it while you can? Do remember to share your experience with us once you have tried the Downtown Line out!