Talk:Downtown Line

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GA review

Passed. Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 08:17, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

This review is transcluded from Talk:Downtown Line/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 02:16, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

Reviewer: Whyiseverythingalreadyused (talk · contribs) 11:48, 6 March 2026 (UTC)


I intend to review this article as I saw it fresh out of the oven at the WikiProject Singapore page. Hello there, ZKang123 Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 11:48, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

By the way, § Architecture appears to have at least one AI-generated paragraph, according to suggestion mode
Can someone fix it? I don't want this article quick-failed Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 13:34, 6 March 2026 (UTC)
Oh well, I fixed it myself Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 03:09, 7 March 2026 (UTC)

I appreciate your effort to review. However, I felt this article would best also have a second pair of eyes, especially from a more experienced reviewer. I encourage you to actually try review other shorter articles in the meantime. Plus, I don't think the suggestion mode is a reliable AI-detector either.--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 04:28, 7 March 2026 (UTC)

So… are you trying to seek a second opinion or have me removed or something? Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 04:34, 7 March 2026 (UTC)
That's not even my intention at all. I don't wish to remove you as reviewer. I just felt a second pair of eyes would be required for this article which is considerably longer and wider in scope.--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 04:48, 7 March 2026 (UTC)
:) Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 05:37, 7 March 2026 (UTC)
@Whyiseverythingalreadyused, ZKang123 asked me for a second opinion because I've conducted extensive reviews of several of his GAs. Don't worry, you can stay on as the main reviewer. I'll leave some extra comments and will recommend to you whether this should be promoted or not.
I'll begin reviewing this on Tuesday or so. – Epicgenius (talk) 15:04, 8 March 2026 (UTC)
Thanks :) Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 15:10, 8 March 2026 (UTC)
Below is a short review of what I see as the article's degree of compliance with the GA criteria.
  • WP:GANOT § 1: Does the article comply with criterion 1?
    1. a (clarity)?  Yes
    2. b (compliance with five specific MOS guidelines)? Will check later  Yes
  • WP:GANOT § 2: Is it verifiable?
    1. a (list of references presented per the layout style guideline)?  Yes
    2. b (reliable sources cited inline)?  Yes
    3. c (no original research)? Yes... Seloloving, your DTL history map mentions a plan absent in the article for Rochor station interchanging itself; I feel like it may be a stumbling block
      →  Not an issue anymore
    4. d (no plagiarism)?  Done for all sources available online (inclusive of the first two in § Other sources); last source is an offline book that will need to be verified separately
  • WP:GANOT § 3: Is it broad in its coverage?  Yes
  • WP:GANOT § 4: Is it neutral? Yes (by adherence to the prior criteria since it is not CTOP-related or otherwise controversial)
  • WP:GANOT § 5: Is it stable?  Yes
  • WP:GANOT § 6: Is it illustrated appropriately with transparent copyright statuses?  Yes

Pinging Epicgenius and ZKang123; Seloloving is pinged above for his opinions on a certain history map Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 02:01, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

@Whyiseverythingalreadyused, thanks for the update. Before you pass or fail the article, could I kindly ask you to wait another day or so, until I can post some prose suggestions? – Epicgenius (talk) 04:43, 10 March 2026 (UTC)
Sure (I never said "aha pass" lol) Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 05:07, 10 March 2026 (UTC)
(In actuality, I'd kind of like to wait until at least that or until Seloloving arrives, whichever is later) Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 14:06, 10 March 2026 (UTC)
Seloloving will not be answering; he told me off-wiki he has no wish to engage in such talk here. I've also updated the map source.--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 14:12, 10 March 2026 (UTC)
Oh well, that's one condition out Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 14:14, 10 March 2026 (UTC)
Seloloving, if you're somehow seeing this rn, thanks for this (he shouldn't be receiving a ping for this; I used {{np}}) Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 01:43, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
Fair enough ;-) I'll leave feedback soon. – Epicgenius (talk) 14:36, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

EG prose comments

My prose comments are here. Epicgenius (talk) 20:02, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

Lead:

  • Para 1: via a loop around the city centre. - I would say "...making a loop around the city centre." Also, I would specify that this refers to the Central Area, Singapore.
  • Para 2: Despite the insolvency of Alpine Bau, the main contractor for three stations, Stage 2 commenced operations in 2015, followed by Stage 3 in 2017, which spans from Fort Canning to Expo. - I would split these into two sentences (after "commenced operations in 2015"). I would also mention which stations Stage 2 covers.
  • Para 3: At 41.9 kilometres (26.0 mi), the DTL is the longest underground - I would specify that it is the longest such fully-underground line.

Planning:

  • Para 1: The BTL and the northern half of the ERL were subsequently incorporated into the Downtown Line (DTL). - This seems to be mentioned in paragraph 3. Is it necessary to mention here as well?
    • I think so. Otherwise it might be bizzare to readers why the BTL and ERL were raised up here.--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 04:36, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
  • Para 2: Comprising five stations from Milennia (now Promenade) - Are we sure the spelling wasn't "Millenia"? The Promenade MRT station uses both "Millenia" and "Milennia", so I'm not sure what's correct.

Construction:

  • Para 1: Construction of DTL2 officially began with a groundbreaking ceremony at Beauty World station on 3 July 2009. DTL2 tunnelling works began in June 2011. - Do we know why it took nearly two years for tunnelling to begin? I would not ask this question if we were talking about NYC or a similar city, but such a delay seems to be more unusual for Singapore.
    • Well, right now working in the construction industry, I can tell you it takes about two years to dig from the top to bottom. The station I'm working on began work in Dec 2023, but tunnelling would only commence in Jan 2027. However, that would take at most two years.--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 04:36, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
      • That seems fair. I work in a construction-adjacent industry, and a 2-year period for constructing a facility is not uncommon, but I didn't think about the fact that the stations themselves would be excavated first. Epicgenius (talk) 13:24, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
  • Para 2: I would link landed home and probably Shell petrol station, though the latter may not be necessary.
  • Para 4: I would link subsidence.
  • Para 5: Through engagement with the Ministry of Manpower, - What did this "engagement" involve?
  • Para 5: McConnell Dowell South East Asia and SK E&C; (Singapore) - Is that semicolon necessary?

Opening:

  • Para 1: presided by prime minister Lee Hsien Loong - Is the correct wording in Singapore (and British English in general) not "presided over by prime minister Lee Hsien Loong"? Same with para 3, "presided by transport minister Khaw Boon Wan".
  • Para 1: The DTL was hit by a 15-minute disruption on its opening day. - This seems so minor to me that it doesn't really bear mentioning, even considering that Singapore has fewer delays and disruptions than counterparts such as NYC.
    • Keeping that; cos not all openings are smooth sailing.--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 04:36, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
  • Para 2: In July 2016, the LTA reported that daily weekday ridership on the DTL has tripled from 83,000 in October 2015 to 250,000. - This should be "had tripled from 83,000..."
  • Para 3: In August 2020, transport minister Ong Ye Kung disclosed that the DTL's construction costs amounted to S$21 billion. - Conversely, this should be "had amounted to S$21 billion".

Subsequent developments:

  • Para 1: While initially planned to be completed by 2024, transport minister Chee Hong Tat announced on 6 December 2024 that DTL3e would only commence operations in the second half of 2026. - Did this involve any tunnelling or other contracts? You mention this for the firt three stages, so I'm surprised it's not mentioned here.

Service:

  • Para 1: The DTL is a medium-capacity rail line. In June 2025, the DTL recorded 463,000 daily passenger trips. - Could these perhaps be combined?
    • I rather keep them separate. They are separate ideas.--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 04:36, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

Route:

  • Para 2: The line self-intersects between Bencoolen and Jalan Besar. - I'd say "crosses itself", and maybe you can also clarify that there's no physical interchange between the two portions of the line at that point.
  • Para 2: The DTL will be extended to connect with the Thomson–East Coast Line at Sungei Bedok station - Might be good to repeat the date here.

Stations:

  • Eleven stations (eventually twelve upon completion of the Cross Island Line) connect to other MRT/LRT lines. Three interchange stations – Bukit Panjang, Newton and Tampines – operate as out-of-station interchanges, requiring passengers to tap out and re-enter the system to transfer between the lines. - Do the eleven include the three out-of-station interchanges?
    • Yes.--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 04:36, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
      • I would make this a bit more clear. In other parts of the world, out-of-station interchanges may not be counted as real interchanges. Epicgenius (talk) 13:24, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
        • Yeah, I wrote "Three of the interchange stations".--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 13:40, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

Rolling stock; Depot - I will review this tomorrow

Signalling - I will review this tomorrow, but para 3 has a typo: ...modules were developed to suppor UTO. - should be "support"

Rest of article - will review tomorrow

@Whyiseverythingalreadyused and @ZKang123, I'll review the rest tomorrow, but this is what I got so far. – Epicgenius (talk) 20:02, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

@Epicgenius: if the frozen GA is anything to go by, the spelling for the former name of Promenade should be Millenia and not Milennia Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 02:39, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
Hey ZKang123 did you already implement suggestion 1 for planning? I don't find any mentions of the merge in the third paragraph Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 02:41, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
"I would not ask this question if we were talking about NYC or a similar city, but such a delay seems to be more unusual for Singapore."
No idea; on the other hand, the government does have a reputation for opacity among foreign political scholars Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 03:43, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
@Whyiseverythingalreadyused:Thanks for some of the edits, but I prefer to go over them myself first.--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 04:36, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
@Epicgenius @ZKang123 I just reviewed § Signalling and it appears to be way too expansive (compare the signalling subsection on the GA-reviewed version of the NSL article) Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 06:35, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
@Whyiseverythingalreadyused and @ZKang123, for the Signalling section, I wouldn't say it's too expansive, just a bit more detailed than the NSL. Maybe there's more details available about the DTL since it's newer.
Aside from that, though, the fourth paragraph of the Signalling section seems to talk about train reliability, not signalling (From 2021 to 2024, the DTL was the most reliable MRT line by mean kilometres between failures (MKBF)). – Epicgenius (talk) 13:21, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
Yeah I managed to retrieve the journal article (and paid some money for it) to uncover more details, otherwise it would just be one paragraph. Also, the North East Line has quite some documentation of the signalling too. As for the reliability, I added that there because reliability is still linked to signalling. But I can shift it to network and services if you feel that's the more appropriate section.--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 13:40, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
Rolling stock:
  • Para 1: The DTL's rolling stock consists of a fleet of 92 three-car trains - Do we really need "a fleet of", or is "The DTL's rolling stock consists of 92 three-car trains" sufficient?
  • Para 1: in Changchun, with design work done in a Bombardier engineering centre in Hennigsdorf - I would add the country for Changchun and Hennigsdorf.
    • I thought wikilinking the cities would be sufficient, but alright.--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 00:29, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
  • Para 2: The trains are fully automatic - It's mentioned in the Signalling section that the trains are driverless. One of these may be redundant
    • Well, they are still separate sections and I'm assuming the average Wikipedia reader is dumb and unable to recall all information. The signalling section elaborates how it's automatic.--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 00:29, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
  • Para 2: The train design is intended to improve commuters' comfort and convenience, which include an ergonomic curved seat design and perch seats in the gangway for wider standing space. - Grammatically, this would be incorrect since this would read as "the train design ... which include". Do you mean "...with features which include"
  • Para 2: reducing overall weight and electricity consumption of about 2,000 MWh per year - Since the 2,000 MWh figure refers only to the electricity consumption, I'd say "...reducing overall weight and cutting electricity consumption by about 2,000 MWh per year."
  • Para 4: There is a space between two of the refs, which I'd remove per WP:REFSPACE.
Depot:
  • Para 1: the line's train fleet. - "The line's fleet" seems more concise.
  • Para 3: The Tai Seng Facility Building is two-level underground structure - This should be "a two-level underground structure".
Signalling:
  • Para 2: The Sirius CBTC system ... is configured for driverless Unattended Train Operation (UTO) - Given that the driverless aspect of the line has been mentioned twice, I would be very surprised if it weren't configured for UTO. Perhaps UTO can be mentioned earlier?
  • Para 2: incorporating Doppler radar, axle-mounted tachogenerators and absolute position reference beacon readers - should this be "Doppler radars"?
  • Para 4: I mentioned this above, but the reliability paragraph isn't really part of signalling. I would move it to network and services.
Station facilities:
  • Para 1: Wider fare gates allow easier access for wheelchair users into the station - To avoid people saying "wider than what?", I'd change this to "wide fare gates".
Architecture:
  • Para 1: Stevens station, which has a depth of 34.22 metres (112.3 ft), has a stacked platform arrangement due to limited space constraints by the nearby flyover and canal. - Since you mention this, do the sources say whether the remaining stations have side or island platforms?
  • Para 2: I find this paragraph in general a bit too detailed, since it talks about a single station and should really be in the Bencoolen station article. At most, I'd have two sentences about this station here. The third paragraph does mention specific stations, but only for one or two sentences each, not a whole paragraph.
    • Merged with previous paragraph
Artworks:
  • Para 1: Each artwork must not only be integrated into the station's architecture - The word "must" raises the question, who imposed this restriction? Or is it that the LTA seeks to integrate each artwork into the architecture?
    • Well, not necessarily "must", but it's still key they are integrated into the station's architecture. Changed "must" to "is".--ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 00:29, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
That's all for me. – Epicgenius (talk) 14:40, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
@Epicgenius and @ZKang123: was kinda late here; as to the part about MOS compliance, it complies with the first three and does not relate to the last two
I'm going to the nearest library (well, not exactly near my home) that has the Art-in-Transit book Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 02:28, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
The prose fixes look good. I have no further issues with the prose. – Epicgenius (talk) 03:02, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
@Epicgenius @ZKang123 (again): I reviewed the Art-in-Transit book and everything checks out Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 06:50, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
Now... source spotcheck lol Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 06:54, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
Sources spotchecked:
  1. 3 New Rail Lines in Next 15 Years (original webpage is live)
  2. Government Approves Building Of The Downtown Line (original webpage is dead)
  3. Singapore Plans Fifth Line (original webpage is dead)
  4. 33-station Downtown Line gets go-ahead, will be ready by 2018
  5. Updates on Downtown Line 1 Construction (original webpage is dead)
  6. Downtown Line 2 Tunnelling Works Begin at Beauty World Station (original webpage is dead)
  7. One more station for Downtown Line (original webpage is live)
  8. Key MRT project contractor goes bust (original webpage is dead)
  9. New Downtown Line 2 contractor appointed, entire stage to be ready in mid-2016 (original webpage is dead)
  10. Downtown Line opening marred by disruption at Bayfront Station (is original webpage)
  11. Hume MRT Station on Downtown Line to Open Ahead of Schedule on Feb 28 (original webpage is live)
  12. Two new MRT stations for North–South Line by mid-2030s; potential new rail line being studied as part of Land Transport Master Plan (original webpage is live)
  13. Downtown Line 3 Extension (original webpage is dead)
  14. Siemens-equipped driverless underground metro line in Singapore starts operations for Downtown Line 1 (original webpage is dead)
  15. Art in Transit (original webpage is live)

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Whyiseverythingalreadyused (talk • contribs) 16:08, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

Everything seems to be alright; I'll pass it now Whyiseverythingalreadyused (t · c · he/him) 08:16, 12 March 2026 (UTC)
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Did you know nomination

(
)
  • ... that the Downtown Line in Singapore was initially conceived as three separate projects before being merged in 2007?
Improved to Good Article status by ZKang123 (talk). Number of QPQs required: 2. DYK is currently in unreviewed backlog mode and nominator has 21 past nominations.

ZKang123 (talk · contribs) 00:34, 13 March 2026 (UTC).

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