The Singapore Land Transport Authority has selected Xylem to supply water-handling equipment and services for its new Downtown Line Mass Rapid Transit project. The Downtown Line (DTL) will be the longest underground driverless transit line in Singapore, at 42 kilometers long with 34 stations.
“Singapore has one of the best integrated transportation systems in the world,” says Allan Hendry, Vice President and Regional Director for Xylem Greater Asia. “We are very proud to be part of this latest infrastructure expansion where our products are being utilized in both the construction and operational phase.”
The DTL is scheduled for completion in 2017 in three stages, and will connect the northwestern and eastern regions of Singapore to the Central Business District and Marina Bay. Xylem will supply a wide range of water-handling equipment including Flygt submersible drainage pumps, Lowara eSV booster pump sets, WEDECO Spektron UV disinfection units, and associated level regulators and control panels for the entire pumping systems for stages 2 and 3 of the DTL.
Xylem’s long-standing partnership with the Singapore Land Transport Authority started in 1984. To date, more than 1,000 Flygt submersible pumps, Lowara pump sets, and WEDECO UV systems are working for the country’s transportation infrastructure, including transit lines, train stations, tunnels, and expressways.
According to the Land Transport Authority, the construction of the DTL is one of its most challenging projects, involving traversing through varied ground conditions, undercrossing the Singapore River and excavating near many downtown buildings and roads. Part of the construction includes diverting the Singapore River to make way for the new Fort Canning Station.
To improve Singapore’s already efficient public transportation, the DTL will provide faster travelling times and easier connections for over half a million passengers a day. The line’s new trains are also equipped with innovative brakes that recover kinetic energy every time the train stops and convert it to other uses, which will save approximately 8,000 kilowatt hours per year.
Read more about the Downtown Line.