SINGAPORE : The 23-year-old Sentosa Monorail is going to make
its last journey next Tuesday.
In its place will be a S$140 million express train project, which
will connect Sentosa to the Harbour Front MRT station within 6
minutes.
Rosminah Aziz says the monorail is her second home.
She has been driving it since the very first day of its operations
and she says she will miss the experience dearly.
She said, "The best part in my life....when the guest come back one
year later and they look(ed) for me and they still remember me....I
feel very sad you know, three-quarters of my life I have been
driving the monorail...I'm meeting a lot of people."
In its place - a state of the art express train system which is
Sentosa's biggest infrastructure investment since 1972.
The air-conditioned train will depart from Harbour Front MRT
station every three minutes.
Its first stop will be Sentosa Station, where passengers can
connect to a network of buses.
The next stop will be the Merlion Station, next to the Merlion
Statue.
And finally - Palawan Station - which will stand next to the
beach.
And it takes just six minutes for the 4.3 kilometre journey.
Construction is already 70 percent complete.
The Sentosa Express will start running in November next year and
will be able to carry up to 8,000 passengers an hour.
In the meantime, Sentosa will have added bus services to cater to
visitors.
The island is currently undergoing a S$3 billion rejuvenation
project to update its appeal.
The island hopes to attract 8 million visitors annually by 2012. -
CNA