Channel NewsAsia - Saturday,
January 26
MRT network
length to double by 2020; two new lines to be
built
SINGAPORE: In a massive new investment, the government will pump in
another S$20 billion on new rail lines and extensions islandwide,
Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced Friday.
This is over and above the S$20 billion the government has already
committed for the ongoing Boon Lay extension, the Circle Line and
the Downtown Line.
Mr Lim said the new and extended lines will go to places as diverse
as Marine Parade and even Tuas.
The rail update is the second in a series of three major policy
announcements in a sweeping review of the land transport network. A
bus system overhaul was announced last week.
When the plans come to fruition in 2020, there will be one MRT
station within five minutes walk in the city, in a network that
will become denser than Tokyos.
Outside the city, more areas will be served by highspeed
MRT.
There are currently 138 kilometres of rail lines. By 2020,
authorities hope to double the network length and expect it to
carry three times as many journeys, from todays 1.4 million a day
to 4.6 million in 2020.
Two new lines will be built.
The Thomson Line, to be ready by 2018, will run from Marina Bay
through the Central Business District, all the way up to Ang Mo Kio
and Woodlands. It will connect to another new Line, the Eastern
Region Line, at Marina Bay.
The Eastern Region Line, to be ready by 2020, will serve areas such
as Siglap and Marine Parade.
Existing lines will also be extended.
The NorthSouth Line will be extended one kilometre south to serve
the Marina Bay area developments while the EastWest Line will be
extended another 14 kilometres west into Tuas.
To avoid long waiting time and crowded trains, there will be 93
additional train trips during the morning and evening peaks.
The authorities will also add more trains and improve the
infrastructure over the next four years to reduce waiting time from
the current 2.54 minutes to two minutes at busy stations during
peak periods.
"When all this is done, what will we have? We hope we would have
transformed the public transport system... And by doing so,
Singaporeans will indeed consider the public transport system as
their other car," said the transport minister.
Completion dates of the various lines are also being
fastforwarded. Part of the Circle Line which was due to open from
2010 onwards, will now open in mid2009. Completion of the Downtown
Line will also be brought forward by two years to 2016.
Mr Lim made the announcement when he visited Kim Chuan Depot on
Friday morning. CNA/ir/ac
