MRT, MTR or Metro

It has been more than 20 years since the first MRT train started running along the 65 km route. Then, a MRT study team from Harvard weighed the pro and con of an all-bus sytem and a railbased network before presenting the findings to the government.

In 1982 the government announced the go ahead. Construction works commenced in 1984 and the first phase of the system running from Yio Chu Kang to Toa Payoh opened for service in 1987.

The successful completion of the rail network involved 13 Japanese contractors, namely Takenaka, Kajima, Shimizu, Obayashi, Sato Kogyo and Nishimatsu.

In the early days of construction, Raffle Place station used to be the biggest and deepest, followed by the Dhoby Ghaut in 2003.


The Hongkong MRT system began construction in 1975 and the first train service start in 1979.


The construction of the Bangkok Metro line, known as MRT began in 1996. The first line was opened in 2004.


The Kuala Lumpur Metro began construction in 1993 and opened 1996.


Construction started on September 16, 1997 for the Manila MRTC and began operational in 1999.


Ho Chi Minh City Metro works are due to begin in 2009. Completion of Line 1, which have 11 surface and three sub-surface stations, also related bus stations, is expected in 2014.


Jakarta planned to start the construction of their MRT system in 2010 and operational in 2016.


Sydney is in the world's top 50 urban cities by GDP and yet it is without a metro system.
Construction will start in 2010, with the first metro train running between Castle Hill and Epping in 2015, and the entire line to be fully functional two years later.
Premier Morris Iemma told reporters in 2008 "It will happen because the city needs it,"

Update February 2010:
New premier Kristina Keneally axed the 9km long CBD Metro scheme even though the government had already spent more than A$330 million on the project. Keneally ousted Rees as New South Wales premier in December 2009. Keneally said the metro scheme failed to address Sydney’s real transport needs.

The scrapping of the Metro is a setback to Sydney's bid to become an Asia-Pacific financial hub.