Two years later, SMRT Corporation inaugurated 21 additional stations. Although the stations and trains were operational at this time, the official inauguration of this line was actually in March of 1988, with the opening of 15 stations. In November 7th, 1987, the first line was inaugurated with only five stations, which had a six km long railway. The system was built in stages, beginning with the North South Line. In 1983, the firm called SMRT Corporation began the construction of the Singapore Metro, which was renamed as MRT (Mass Rapid Transit). Therefore, the Singaporean government took the decision of building a system of mass transportation. The Singaporean government did a survey during the 70s, and noticed the rapid increase in the number of tourists for such a small territory. However, it receives approximately 10 million tourists each year.
The country’s population is barely over five million people. It also has a strong influence on the region. Nowadays, Singapore has the busiest harbors in the world in terms of commerce.
