SINGAPORE — Testing for the new Downtown Line (DTL) trains is almost complete and the first stage of the line is on track for its scheduled year-end opening.

This would be in December, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced yesterday in his National Day Message.

By next month, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will hand over the trains to SBS Transit, the operator of the line, for trial runs, which could take about two months.

On its part, the operator is working with the LTA and its contractors in the testing and commissioning of station equipment, trains and all control systems.

SBS Transit Senior Vice-President (Corporate Communications) Tammy Tan said work procedures are being developed and staff training is ongoing.

To date, it has recruited more than 90 per cent of the staff required for Downtown Line 1 (DTL 1), which will consist of six stations: Chinatown, Telok Ayer, Downtown, Bayfront, Promenade and Bugis.

Since the trains arrived eight months ago, they have been put through their paces with checks on basic functions such as lighting and ventilation and on the communication channels the trains would need to communicate with the stations or the operation control centre.

Nine trains are now being tested, with two more on the way.

The entire system, including the trains and tunnels, will undergo around 800 tests and more than 50 per cent of the checks have been done, according to LTA Deputy Director (Rolling Stock and Depot Equipment) Chia Choon Poh.

“The team has been conducting tests from the operations control centre down to each individual train for the last eight months to test the various functions of the train while the train is in motion,” he said.

The trains are now going through carousel train testing, where normal train operations are replicated.

“There are now four trains running in the six DTL 1 stations, and we observe everything, such as the train stopping accuracy, to the announcements made on the trains,” Mr Chia added.

The DTL trains will come with new features such as perch seats to allow for more passengers on the train and dynamic route maps, which will indicate the direction of travel, the next station and the side the doors will open on.

Stage 1 of the DTL will be 4.3 kilometres long and the entire line will stretch 42km, slated for completion in 2017.