SINGAPORE : The Nicoll Highway Circle Line station and tunnels
will be relocated following the tragic collapse of the road last
April.
With this re-alignment, Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong said
Stage 1 of the Circle Line is expected to be completed by
2010.
He was speaking to reporters at the opening of the Punggol Light
Rail Transit system on Saturday.
The Nicoll Highway Circle Line station and tunnels will be built a
hundred metres from their original site, nearer to the Kallang
River.
The change is to avoid possible problems during construction.
Mr Yeo said, "At the collapse site, there's a lot of debris,
there's a lot of steel and lots of obstruction, so I think if they
try to tunnel through there, if slightly, that runs into a lot of
difficulties. Better start on a new site where everything is
clear."
Mr Yeo added that any extra cost incurred from the re-alignment
project will be borne by the contractor and the insurance
company.
"The accident is something which not our fault, therefore the
contractor and insurance have to pay for other rebuilding on the
current line, of if they prefer new alignment, they can build on
new alignment, we will provide the site to them," said Mr
Yeo.
The Land Transport Authority will provide more details next
week.
And as for Punggol residents, their new LRT service is up and
running; while the SengKang West loop is also ready, providing an
integrated rail network in the north eastern part of
Singapore.
The average daily ridership for NEL and the Sengkang LRT has also
increased steadily.
Last month, the average daily ridership for NEL was 195,000
and 18,000 for SengKang LRT - up from 175,000 and 6,000
respectively when they were first launched.
Next, the LTA will be extending the East West Line from Boon Lay
station into the Jurong Industrial Estate.
Construction is expected to start later this year and it is
expected to be completed in 2009. - CNA