As part of the long-term fleet renewal programme for the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has purchased another 40 new trains from Bombardier Transportation for approximately $337.8 million.

These new trains will arrive in batches starting from 2024 to replace the second generation (Siemens) and third generation (Kawasaki-Nippon Sharyo) trains currently in service on the NSEWL. The new trains will be assembled at Bombardier's facility in Changchun, China, with parts and features sourced from around the world, including Sweden, the U.K., France and Germany.

The new trains will also be equipped with an integrated suite of condition monitoring features that facilitate the timely detection of emerging faults.

This will allow the rail operator to make more efficient use of maintenance resources to pre-emptively address potential faults before they affect commuter service. LTA states that initiatives such as these are central to its efforts and those of the rail operators to continue delivering reliable train services while managing costs.

The new trains are expected to start service starting from 2024. Commuters can also look forward to many commuter-friendly features such as more open spaces for strollers and wheelchair users, train-borne gap fillers for safer boarding and alighting, as well as refreshed LCD screens displaying train travel information.