Keretapi Tanah Melayu (Singapore)

Summary
From 1910 to 1984, the KTM network was operated as a department of the Malaysian Government. The KTM (Singapore) was created in December 1984 after the government decided to corporatise its railway department. Until 2007, the KTM owned and operated a network of heavy rail within Singapore. It was also a land developer by utilising its property development rights atop and around railway stations and depots. In December 2007, it ceased railway operations, with its business becoming primarily that of earning revenue from being the holder of railway assets. While it continues to own the rail network, the network is operated by the SMRT Corporation Limited under a 50-year service concession, for which the SMRT makes annual payments to KTM.

One major decision was to relocate the large railway workshops, and to allow double-tracking to take place because of the developments of Bukit Panjang, Bukit Timah and Buona Vista in 1970s. At that time the new towns were intended to be constructed to a “balanced design” concept under which employment opportunities as well as people would be relocated from substandard accommodation in the older urban areas, thereby minimising the additional demand on the transport network. As later became apparent, however, while people were moved in their hundreds of thousands to live outside the city, the major centres of employment and of leisure activities remained in the urban areas, leading to an even greater dependence on the railway to support a rapidly increasing daily commuter flow.

This exercise was completed by the early 1980s and on 16 July 1985 the use of diesel-hauled trains ceased for domestic passenger services.