PROJECT APPLICATION
EXPANSION OF KIM CHUAN DEPOT AS PART OF A LARGER MRT SYSTEM AECOsim Building Designer helps to complete the design within a ght me-frame. Expanding exis ng depot The Kim Chuan Depot, located in Hougang, Singapore, consists of an underground rail depot with a mul -storey bus depot located above it. The depot provides maintenance, stabling, and opera onal facili es for the Mass Rapid Transit’s (MRT) Circle Line. When it officially opened in March 2009, the Kim Chuan Depot was the world’s largest underground depot in its class, with a total area of 11 hectares. It is 800 m long, 160 m wide, and 23 m deep. Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) decided to expand the exis ng Kim Chuan Depot, as part of a larger expansion project to provide addi onal train stabling spaces and maintenance for the MRT system. LTA began planning the expansion project to provide a greener and more inclusive public transporta on system, and u lised AECOsim Building Designer, from Bentley Systems, to streamline the process and complete the design within a ght me-frame.
Part of a larger expansion The expansion of the current Kim Chuan Depot was announced by LTA in tandem with the Circle Line 6 (CCL6)
extension. The 4 km CCL6 will have three sta ons and close the loop for the Circle Line by connec ng Harbour Front Sta on to Marina Bay Sta on. This project is now under construc on and is expected to be completed by July 2026. The CCL6 extension called for the Kim Chuan Depot to be expanded underground to almost double its capacity, from 70 to 133 trains, increasing its dimensions to 1,000 m in length and 160 m in width. The integrated depot will also house 550 buses on the plot of land above the underground train depot and will include washing and refuelling facili es. When all the CCL6 sta ons are finalised, by 2025, the Circle Line will have a total of 33 sta ons, including 12 interchange sta ons with other MRT lines, and an expanded rail network. The rail will provide a direct route between areas in the west and key employment areas in the central business district, as well as upcoming developments in the Marina Bay area. The two main design challenges that the project team faced were the limited meline and the need for crosscollabora on on the integrated design, among mul ple disciplines across disparate loca ons. Team members wanted to ensure that they had enough me to train their modellers on how to model the complicated structure and architectural elements.
AECOsim Building Designer’s interoperability with other designer so ware enabled LTA to deliver the design on me and with lower delivery costs. Image by Bentley Systems. 24
THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER March 2019