Singaporean expansion of MRT leads to disruption

Singapore has a population of around 5 million, which is important when placing the MRT in context, it has a daily ridership of 2 million, giving it a commuter penetration of at least 40%, which does not take into account the fact that not all 5 million Singaporeans commute on a daily basis or use public transport.

This is all part of the LTA’s plans to make the Singapore railway network the predominant form of transport in the country. The railway is already the backbone of the public transport system and is made up of four lines which span 130 kilometers and service 79 stations. In addition to the MRT, there is also the Light Rail Transit System (LRT), which link the MRT network to Singapore’s public housing estates.

The four current lines in operation are due to be complemented by three additional lines (Downtown, Thomson and Eastern Region Line), which will add 140 kilometers of track to the system, and will see 64 existing and newly built stations serviced. These expansions plans have gathered speed in recent years, but were already in the planning and proposed stages as far back as the 1990s.

In the early years of the MRT Singapore news media has reported that the government wanted to make the system the most expansive and used public transport mode in Singapore, but it was not until the 1996 publication of the white-paper “A World Class Land Transport System” that the expansion plans gathered real momentum.

Among the expansion plans are the Circle Line, which is largely built already with 16 stations operational and the other 15 in different stages of construction and testing on its 35.7 kilometer length. The line is the nerve-center of the system, forming a circle round the CBD and allows the other three lines to branch outwards into greater Singapore and surrounding areas.

The three new lines will be introduced in stages with the final stage of the Eastern Region Line to be completed in 2020, by which point it is envisioned that the daily ridership on the system will have increased to 4.6 million, according to government reports published by Singapore news media.

In addition some of the existing rail lines, such as the North South Line are being extensively upgraded and expanded to service additional parts of Singapore, while enabling greater capacity at the same time. The Jurong East Modification Project is part of this and is one of the major projects taking place in 2010 and 2011.

According to Singapore news media, the project has caused extensive disruption on the line, which was the first rail line to be opened in 1987. Around 400,000 commuters are being delayed due to the construction and expansion project, which is tabled for completion in early 2011.

One kilometer of track is being added to the line, which will extend the line to the new International Cruise Terminal in Marina Bay and a new station (Marina Pier Station) will be built there as part of that development, while Jurong East is seeing additional tracks added to the station in order to reduce waiting time for trains from 4.5 minutes to 2.5 minutes. Capacity will also be enhanced by around 15%.

Due to station closures along the line, however, the project has caused much hassle for daily commuters and lead to heavy criticism of the Land Transport Authority, but the LTA is now holding a number of meetings in and around Jurong East, a town of about 100,000 people, in order to inform them of upcoming closures and disruption in order for alternative plans to be made and to make the public aware of forthcoming disruption.

Around 600 homes in the area were visited and 100,000 fliers were printed as part of the communication drive, it has been suggested to Singapore news media that this may be a new strategy to be employed by the LTA throughout the next decade or so of major expansion to the country’s railway system.

Long-term plans call for a MRT system that contains more than 500 kilometers of track, connecting every settlement and town in Singapore, making it bigger than the Underground in London and the biggest mass transit system of its kind in Southeast Asia.