Just to contribute our part where we can and share a bit of
market news with all the fellow drivers here, though we dont think
this would affect us in particular too much since we would be in
for a short transition compared to your Full Time career. You're
welcomed nonetheless.
Thomson Line to open from 2019 with 22
stations
SINGAPORE: Singapore's sixth rail network -- the
Thomson Line (TSL) -- will open from 2019, instead of the
indicative timeline of 2018 announced in the Land Transport Master
Plan.
Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew, who gave an update on the
Thomson Line on Wednesday, said the change in timeline is to
accommodate some adjustments made to the original plan.
Under the final rail alignment plan of the Land Transport Authority
(LTA), the TSL will be longer and have more stations.
It will be 30 kilometres long -- 3 kilometres longer than envisaged
-- and have 22 stations, four more than originally planned.
One of them is Springleaf station, sited in Nee Soon Group
Representation Constituency (GRC).
Ms Lee Bee Wah, an MP for the area, said: "Springleaf, most of the
residents there, they are living in the private estate, landed
properties, as well as some condominiums. So this station will be
able to serve all these residents."
Another two stations are Woodlands North and Woodlands South in
Sembawang GRC.
Ms Ellen Lee, an MP for the area, said: "It (TSL) will facilitate
transfer, especially within the estate itself and it will solve the
crunch that my residents feel whenever they take the MRT and when
they take the buses."
TSL will run from Woodlands in the north to Marina Bay in the south
and is expected to be built at an estimated cost of around S$18
billion.
It is expected to have a daily ridership of 400,000
commuters.
Six of the 22 stations will be interchanges, enabling commuters to
reach their destinations in the shortest possible time.
For example, a resident of Sin Ming travelling to Republic
Polytechnic in Woodlands will halve his or her commute time from 50
minutes to 25 minutes.
Another at Woodlands Regional Centre heading to Marina Barrage will
take 55 minutes instead of 70.
With six interchange stations, the TSL will connect to all existing
lines and the future Downtown Line (DTL).
"All in, about 160,000 households will be within 10- to 12-minute
walk from one of these stations. So you will have an additional
option. Instead of having to take a feeder bus or find a way to get
to one of the stations on the North-South Line, these 160,000
households can choose to walk to one of the Thomson Line's stations
as an alternative," said Mr Lui.
TSL will connect to the North-South Line at Woodlands and Orchard
stations.
Caldecott Station will connect to the Circle Line.
Residents of the Bukit Timah stretch can change trains at the
future DTL Stevens Station to connect to the TSL.
The Outram Park Station will connect the TSL to the East-West Line
and North-East Line, while the Marina Bay Station will connect the
TSL to the North-South Line and Circle Line.
TSL will open in three stages from the north to the south.
Phase One, which will have three stations from Woodlands North to
Woodlands South, will open in 2019.
Phase Two will be ready in 2020, with stations from Springleaf to
Caldecott.
The final stretch of 13 stations from Mount Pleasant to Gardens by
the Bay will open in 2021.
When fully operational, an estimated 60,000 households will be
within 400 metres of one of the TSL stations.
The line, which will be fully underground, will run on a four-car
instead of a three-car system.
Mr Lui said this will give it additional capacity to cope with any
increase in long-term demand.
He was speaking during a visit to Telok Ayer Station of Downtown
Line One, which will open by the end of next year.
Mr Lui also said: "During the construction phase (of the TSL),
there will inevitably be a certain amount of inconvenience, noise
pollution. We will try our best to minimise this as much as
possible. We will of course want to engage the residents, dialogue
with them, find ways to meet as much as possible some of the points
that they raise."
LTA, Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and the Urban Redevelopment
Authority (URA) said in a joint statement that while all efforts
have been made to minimise land acquisition, the government will
acquire four full lots.
They include Pearl's Centre in Eu Tong Sen Street, a post office
along Upper Thomson Road and two landed properties along Stevens
Road and Robin Close.
Pearl's Centre will be affected by the construction of the TSL as a
tunnel will run under part of the building.
To optimise land use around the future TSL station at Outram Park,
Pearl's Centre will be acquired and integrated with the adjoining
state land for a high-density mixed-use development.
Five other part lots will also be acquired but will not affect the
main building structure.
The SLA gazetted the land affected by acquisition on
Wednesday.
