Change in measuring viability means greater connectivity for island
TWO weeks ago, Parliament approved a profound change to the way rail projects are built and financed here.

The amendment allows new MRT lines to be built as long as the entire network remains commercially viable. This is a stark departure from a longstanding principle that each new line had to be independently viable before it could be built.

The change was necessary. As new lines are added to the network, there is a good chance these will span corridors that yield lower commuter traffic than the mature lines. Under the old rules, these may take longer to build – if at all.

With the change, there is a better prospect of a new line being built to service less populated areas, as long as it enhances the overall connectivity of Singapore. For instance, a line may extend to an area like Seletar. Or you could have one that links two such areas, such as Punggol to Woodlands.

Lest readers get their hopes up, I should add that such lines, while possible, are unlikely to be up in the near future. This is because there is a long pipeline of rail projects scheduled for delivery first.

Over the next 10 years or so, there will be one new MRT line completed almost every year. Just to recap, the planned schedule is as follows:

2011 – Circle Line Stages 4 and 5

2012 – Circle Line Marina Bay Extension

2013 – Downtown Line Stage 1

2014 – North-South Line Marina Bay Extension

2015 – East-West Line Tuas Extension; and Downtown Line Stage 2

2017 – Downtown Line Stage 3

2018 – Thomson Line

2020 – Eastern Region Line

Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport Lim Wee Kiak noted of the schedule: ‘This should be the fastest rate that Singapore has seen so far… We can’t be compared to giants like China and India, who have the manpower, resources and land to execute huge infrastructure projects at a faster pace.’

Given finite resources, delivering lines at a faster rate would be taxing, chaotic and potentially unsafe. The timeline thus finely balances budgetry considerations with engineering constraints. On a per capita basis, Singapore’s rail investment – a whopping $60 billion over the next 10 years – is indeed unrivalled.

But some readers may recall that previous plans had called for earlier deliveries.

Back in the mid-1990s, then Communications Minister Mah Bow Tan suggested that the Land Transport Authority deliver an average of one rail project a year. His successor Yeo Cheow Tong raised the long-term target for Singapore’s rail coverage – from 160km of lines to 540km – by 2030.

Had Singapore proceeded as planned, the first two stages of the Downtown Line may be near completion today. And the cost of construction might have been substantially lower.

Unfortunately, a few crises derailed plans: the Asian financial crisis in 1998, the dot.com bubble burst of 2000, the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, and the Sars outbreak in 2003.

There was also the collapse of the Circle Line’s Nicoll Highway station site in 2004, which delayed the rail programme.

But now, it looks like plans are getting back on track, following an aggressive development schedule announced by Transport Minister Raymond Lim in 2008.

By 2020, Singapore’s rail network will double in length to 280km. Rail density will rise from 31km per million residents, to 51km per million – comparable to current standards in New York and London, where commuters in town need walk only five minutes to a station.

Building costs have gone up, but the commitment to invest in transport infrastructure remains unwavering. This is crucial, as daily trips by public transport are expected to exceed 10 million by 2020 – up from under six million today.

But what about beyond 2020? Will the rail network expand to 540km by 2030, as announced by former transport minister Yeo in Parliament in 2000?

The figure does not seem very feasible, as it would mean doubling 2020′s system in 10 years. In any case, there may be no point in constantly adding to a vast network, since investing in infrastructure cannot be the end-all solution to ever rising urban transport demand.

If land use policies and travel patterns do not evolve, even the fastest-growing MRT network will not be enough to transport a fast-growing population. People from newer lines would still need to link to the mature lines which reach the traditional residential and commercial hubs – causing a crunch no systemic upgrade can relieve.

In the long run, Singapore may need to ‘unbundle’ its central business district. Some recommendations made by the Economic Strategies Committee – such as moving the Tanjong Pagar port to Tuas – could show the way.

In the meantime, Singapore also needs to keep an eye on emerging transport trends and technologies. After all, the metropolitan rail system, while efficient, has been around for about 140 years. Something superior could come along.

A Shenzhen company showcased a ‘straddling bus’ concept recently. The enormous bus takes up to 1,200 passengers, straddles a two-lane road, and is raised so that faster-moving vehicles can pass under it.

A few European cities are experimenting with Personal Rapid Transit, a system of pod-like carriages linked to a sophisticated computer program that matches vehicle deployment with commuter load.

The former is said to almost rival the subway and is much cheaper to build, while the latter has been described as ‘taxis on tracks’.

But alternatives have to be studied carefully to see what works here, lest we end up with a lacklustre system like the LRT. With operators today beset by low ridership that no one foresaw or could quite explain, it does not look likely that a new LRT line will be built.

Meanwhile, delivering the slew of new lines from now till 2020 will be a titanic task. For the man in the street, there will be traffic diversions, noise and dust for years on end. These are inevitable with construction projects as massive and long-drawn as MRT projects.

But the payoffs when the lines are ready will surely be worth the trouble.

Source: Straits Times, 2 Sep 2010

Line part of forked Tuas extension from East-West line

THE MRT will be extended to the Second Link by 2015.

The Straits Times understands the line will be part of the East-West Line’s forked Tuas extension – a 14km above-ground stretch on which work could start in the second half of next year, and be completed in 2015.

The branch leading to the Second Link will be completed first, with the other branch leading to the factories in Tuas South to follow, said sources.

Engineering drawings done last year show the line continuing westwards from Joo Koon station towards the Second Link, with four stops along the way.

The plans call for a rail viaduct rising 20m above ground, about twice the height of current elevated MRT tracks. This, an MRT first, will take the track above the Ayer Rajah Expressway/Pan-Island Expressway intersection.

At some point, the rail viaduct will run along a road viaduct – another first.

The Transport Ministry said alignment of the extension has not been finalised, but confirmed that a stop will be sited near the Second Link.

It ruled out extending the East-West line to Johor from the Second Link station.

Plans for a cross-border metro extension, to be ready in 2018, were announced in May by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

But observers say that because plans are for the extension to stop at Tanjung Puteri in Johor Baru, the line across is likely to be launched from the Woodlands station, not the Second Link.

Industry watchers said having an MRT line to the Second Link is crucial, even if it is not extended across the border.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, said the Second Link station offers commuters an alternative if the Causeway checkpoint gets too crowded.

For Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) spokesman Robin Goh, having an MRT station at the Second Link – and as soon as 2015 – may well translate into more Malaysian customers visiting the resort, principally, its casino.

He said a station there will attract more free-and-independent travellers, who now make up about half of the visitors to RWS. As it is, 20 to 30 bus-loads of Malaysians now go there on an average weekday, ‘and a bit more on weekends’, he said.

Sources said the Second Link stop could also be a train depot for future MRT lines that connect to the East-West line’s western tip.

Transport researcher Lee Der Horng of the National University of Singapore said, however, that to maximise the potential of a station at the Second Link, it will be critical to provide connectivity on both sides, ‘so travellers will not end up in the middle of nowhere’.

On this front, a bus terminal for cross-border services could possibly be sited near the Second Link station.

Mr Sebastian Yap, the spokesman for the Executive Bus Agencies Association, said talks on moving the interstate bus terminal in Lavender Street have been going on for years now.

The recent announcement to set up a Downtown Line station in Jalan Besar has given added impetus to move the bus terminal out, given that the urban development around the station will need to be maximised.

But Mr Yap thinks Tuas is not the ideal new location.

Saying the association preferred Boon Lay, he said: ‘A good terminal service is all about connectivity. Besides the MRT, we need taxis as well as public buses.’

Those working in Tuas are thrilled at the prospect of an MRT extension there.

Mr Mike Leong, a 30-year-old Malaysian who works at Daimler’s logistics centre in Tuas and spends four hours each work day travelling between home in Johor’s Gelang Patah and his workplace, is looking forward to a shorter commute.

Packed buses ferrying Malaysians enter Singapore via the Second Link daily and head for the Jurong East MRT station, from where company buses pick them up and drive them westwards again to Tuas. It is a circuitous trip which Mr Leong thinks ‘wastes a lot of time’.

Raffles Country Club vice-president Lek Seow Yam said an MRT extension to Tuas would make it easier for businesses there to fill positions.

He said: ‘It can be difficult to find people who want to work in Tuas because of the distance. An MRT line would also encourage more people to patronise the F&B places there.’

NUS’ Dr Lee suggested that the Tuas extension could include Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

‘If we can provide an airport extension, I see no reason why the MRT cannot be extended to NTU,’ he added.

Source: Straits Times, 27 Aug 2010

HOME buyers have snapped up eight units at Waterfront Key and six at Waterfront Gold in the Bedok Reservoir area in the days since last week’s news that an MRT station will be built nearby.

Developer Frasers Centrepoint Homes said the units have been sold since the Government announced details of Stage 3 of the MRT Downtown Line last Friday.

The firm will also officially launch Waterfront Gold this Saturday.

Waterfront Gold, Waterfront Key and the fully sold Waterfront Waves are near the planned Bedok Reservoir station on the newest stage of the Downtown Line.

Experts say projects near this line should experience stronger demand, as with other projects located near MRT stations.

Stage 3 of the Downtown Line stretches from Singapore Expo in the east to Liang Court in River Valley in the south. A total of 16 stops are planned, including Tampines East, Upper Changi, Kampong Ubi and Kaki Bukit.

Ms Christine Sun, senior manager at Savills Research & Consultancy, noted that quite a number of MRT stations on this line are located within commercial and industrial areas, particularly in the North-east and Eastern regions.

This line will boost transport links to suburban commercial sites in Ubi, Kaki Bukit, MacPherson and Singapore Expo, she said.

The Paya Lebar Industrial Park, where 15ha are to be developed under the Masterplan 2008, will be a definite beneficiary.

Ms Sun said more businesses may relocate their offices from the city fringes and downtown areas to the park, and a positive impact on industrial property prices in these areas can be expected.

Residential properties near the Bedok Reservoir, Tampines, Pasir Ris and Upper Changi areas could see higher demand down the road, she added.

Residents in these areas will be able to transfer to the East-West Line stations via the new Downtown Line instead of using bus transfers, she said.

‘For now, owner-occupiers may show more interest than investors in the projects near the new Downtown Line because these are mostly suburban areas.’

Also, the timeframe for the completion of the Downtown Line may be too long for some investors, she said.

Savills Residential director Phylicia Ang concurred that new and existing residential projects near the upcoming Downtown Line should attract demand but said not all investors will be eager to jump in now.

They will have to wait a few years for the line to be ready in order to reap the benefits, she said.

Price is also a key factor as developers and individual sellers may raise their prices, she said.

Stage 3 of the Downtown Line is scheduled for completion in 2017.

Source: Straits Times, 25 Aug 2010

MPs give their take on future lines, now that planners are looking beyond just viability

Ideas have emerged on future MRT lines in Singapore, and none is considered far-fetched any more.

Building a second and larger Circle Line, or a northern coastal line through Punggol? What about an MRT line across the sea to Pulau Ubin?

Transport planners can now consider such ideas even if the proposed lines pass through quiet estates and are not viable on their own – so long as the whole MRT network benefits from these new connections.

The Government made clear its change in thinking on future MRT lines last Monday, and MPs gave The Sunday Times their ideas on where the tracks could lead.

The chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Transport, Dr Lim Wee

Kiak, favours a second Circle Line that connects stations in the outer parts of existing lines, say, from Yishun to Sengkang.

Passengers now have to take the North-South Line from Yishun station to Bishan interchange, hop on the Circle Line to Serangoon interchange, then take the North-East Line to Sengkang.

‘The London system is almost like a grid, while ours will be more like a web with circles that radiate from the centre,’ said Dr Lim, an MP for Sembawang GRC.

His deputy chairman, Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, suggests joining stations in Ang Mo Kio (North-South Line), Hougang (North-East Line) and Bedok (East-West Line) with an MRT line.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) had itself provided for a larger Circle Line in its 2001 Concept Plan, to link regional centres in Tampines, Woodlands and Jurong East.

A review of the 2001 plan, to be done every 10 years, is scheduled to be completed next year.

Why not also build an MRT line to islands like Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong, suggested Dr Faishal, an MP for Marine Parade GRC.

Suggestions of other new MRT lines have also circulated on the Internet in recent years.

In 2005, for instance, a Raffles Institution student created a map of the MRT network and added

possible future lines based on URA master plans and National Library archives, among other sources.

He envisaged, among others, a North Coast Line from Woodlands to Changi, through Punggol and Pasir Ris stations.

That may not be far off the mark.

The 2001 Concept Plan had almost the same line, except it started from Sembawang instead of Woodlands.

A 2003 Land Transport Authority book, Getting There, also said Punggol station was designated an interchange between the North-East Line and a future line known as the North Shore Line.

A 40m by 40m box was built directly below the station to accommodate a future station on the North Shore Line.

Underpinning the Government’s change in thinking is its assessment that MRT lines built after 2020 will be mainly underground and could take longer to become profitable on their own if they have to pass through less mature estates with low ridership.

But the spin-offs to the whole rail network could be huge, and transport planners are now better able to project such benefits after two decades of operating the MRT.

Transport GPC member Charles Chong, an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, said the new policy will benefit new towns, as it takes time to build up a critical mass of passengers.

‘It is a chicken-and-egg situation. People do not move into an area if the infrastructure is not developed,’ he said.

Source: Sunday Times, 23 Aug 2010

THE opening of MRT stations along the Downtown Line in Phase 2, which connects Bukit Panjang to Rochor, would result in property prices surging – especially in areas on the outskirts of Singapore, said property agents.

Seven out of 10 property agents my paper spoke to said that the cash-over-valuation (COV) amount for Housing Board flats in Bukit Panjang has increased by at least 10 per cent in the past year, with its MRT station slated to open in 2015. Estate agent Jenny Lee, 33, said COVs have almost doubled in the past year, from $25,000 – an amount similar to those of flats in nearby areas such as Choa Chu Kang – to its current $40,000.

The highest COV request she has recently seen for the area was a staggering $120,000, for a five-room flat.

She said: “Bukit Panjang used to be an area that we would encourage people with a lower budget to consider, as prices were relatively cheaper.

“People used to think it’s out of the way. It has become a hot spot now, with the upcoming MRT station.”

Another property agent, Mr Timothy Goh, 47, said that owners now expect a COV of at least $30,000 and are more insistent on getting it.

He explained: “It is harder to negotiate for a lower COV as owners know that the value of their apartments is going to rise. They are not in a hurry to sell the place.

In fact, some are playing a waiting game up even more.” Mrs Ng Siew Chai, 47, who owns an HDB flat located five minutes’ walk from the upcoming Bukit Panjang MRT station, said she has been receiving flyers from property agents wanting to help sell her home.

She has turned down all of them, and plans to wait for a few more years. “I have no plans to sell the flat but I’ll definitely monitor the market. If the price goes high enough, who knows?” she said.

Prices for properties that will soon have an MRT station nearby have generally gone up, with the most significant hikes found in areas that were previously considered inaccessible to those who rely on public transport, said property agent Sylvia Teo, 37.

For example, she has not noticed an increase in clients asking for private property in places such as Cashew and Hillview, even though the Downtown Line will pass through the vicinity.

In contrast, the Bukit Panjang HDB estate is now a boom town for property agents, buyers and sellers. Madam Teo said she now gets more than 20 clients a month asking for apartments in the area, compared to about five a month in the past.

She added that residents in nearby Bukit Timah usually own cars and do not benefit as much from the construction of a new MRT line. Those eyeing properties in Bukit Panjang are mostly after HDB homes and rely more heavily on public transport, she said.

“That’s probably why those with foresight will try to purchase a property in this ‘up-and-coming’ area, before more people swoop in,” she said.

Source: my paper, 23 Aug 2010

THE Downtown Line will be longer, and is expected to cost more. The Land Transport Authority yesterday announced the alignment of the final phase of the Downtown Line, which will have one more station than originally planned.

The fully underground 21-kilometre stretch, called DTL3, will have 16 stations, between Chinatown station and the Expo. It will pass through residential estates in Bedok and Tampines and industrial estates at Kallang Bahru and Ubi. There will be three interchange stations – at MacPherson, Tampines and the Expo – linking DTL3 to the Circle Line and the East-West Line.

The 16 stations on DTL3 include one at Jalan Besar that was not in the original plan. Transport Minister Raymond Lim said that it was added ‘to meet the needs of workers commuting to and from the nearby industrial estates and other future developments in the area’.

‘Companies operating there, as well as at the nearby Ubi and Kaki Bukit industrial estates, that have to hire buses to ferry workers to and from nearby MRT stations, will be able to save on the cost of hiring private transport when the DTL3 is opened,’ he said.

Mr Lim, who is also Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, said that DTL3 is expected to be completed in 2017 and ‘serve half a million people daily’. The first two phases of the Downtown Line are expected to be completed in 2013 and 2015 respectively.

‘The government remains committed to expanding our public transport infrastructure and will roll out more lines such as the Tuas extension to the East-West line, the Thomson Line and the Eastern Region Line,’ Mr Lim said.

The budget for the entire Downtown Line is expected to exceed the original $12 billion target. However, the final cost will only be known later as tender for Phase 3 will only be called by the end of the year.

Source: Business Times, 21 Aug 2010

It will be in Jalan Besar; Stage 3 serving the east to be completed by 2017

STAGE 3 of the MRT Downtown Line, connecting the eastern suburbs of Changi, Tampines, Bedok and MacPherson to the Marina Bay downtown area, will be 21km long and have 16 stations.

This makes it 2km longer and gives it one station more than originally planned.

Stage 3 of the Downtown Line will offer commuters in parts of the island now unserved by the rail network an alternative transport choice.

‘For instance, a person living in Tampines and working in the Kaki Bukit industrial estate will take half the time to get to work,’ said Transport Minister Raymond Lim yesterday, adding that his 25-minute journey by bus today will be cut down to just 10 minutes by train.

Someone living near Bedok Reservoir heading for Chinatown will need only 35 minutes to get there, compared with 50 minutes today, added Mr Lim as he announced the long-awaited alignment of the third and final stage of the Downtown Line.

Tampines resident Francis Tan, 49, said: ‘This is great. I can go almost anywhere in Singapore.’

The line stretches from Singapore Expo in the east to Liang Court in River Valley in the south. Stops will include Tampines East, Bedok Town Park, Kampong Ubi, Kaki Bukit and Kallang Bahru.

It will wind through some of the busiest parts of the city, including Sungei Road and Bencoolen Street.

The extra station will be in Jalan Besar.

‘This was added to meet the needs of workers commuting to and from the nearby industrial estates and other future developments in the area,’ said Mr Lim during his visit to the soon-to-open one-north station on the Circle Line.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the original $12 billion budget for the whole Downtown Line – all 42km and 34 stations of it – will be busted, but it would not say by how much.

Stage 1 of the Downtown Line is in the city area; Stage 2 goes to Bukit Panjang, via Bukit Timah.

With Stage 3 now a slightly bigger project, it will take longer to complete – 2017 instead of 2016, said Mr Lim.

Stage 3 will cost more to build as a result, given that construction costs have risen sharply since plans for the Downtown Line were unveiled in 2007.

The later year of completion, however, is still earlier than the 2018 deadline first set three years ago.

Asked whether the longer duration of works will also push back the deadlines of future projects such as the Thomson and Eastern Region lines, the LTA said it has to finish preparatory works and engineering studies for a clearer picture of the completion dates of the other lines.

Downtown Line Stage 3 will have three interchanges: MacPherson station, which connects to the Circle Line, and the Tampines and Expo stations, which connect to the East-West Line.

The Straits Times understands that the River Valley station could be an interchange that hooks up with the Thomson Line, currently slated to be up by 2018.

Tenders for Downtown Line Stage 3 contracts will start going out later this month, and physical works are expected to commence in the middle of next year.

Construction will involve some property acquisitions – a Shell station in Upper Changi Road East, two parking lots in Bencoolen House, part of a food court in Peony Mansion, vacant spaces behind Kaki Bukit Techpark and Techview Building, as well as a vacant plot next to Plaza By The Park.

Fifteen landed houses in Merpati Road and Jalan Anggerek in MacPherson will be acquired; the space, with an adjacent tract of state land, will be redeveloped into high-density housing.

Mr Lim, in an update on the Circle Line, said it is on track to be fully open next year.

The remaining two stages – from Marymount to HarbourFront via Holland Village, one-north and Botanic Gardens – are near completion.

An LTA spokesman said the stations are expected to receive their Temporary Occupation Permits later this year. Testing and commissioning works will start in the following months.

Source: Straits Times, 21 Aug 2010

A day after more details of the Downtown Line were announced, observers are already predicting a hike in property prices in those areas.

Residents of Tampines and Bedok can expect five more stations serving their estates. And Jalan Besar will see a new station as well.

Homes around the Downtown Line linking Singapore Expo in the east to Bukit Panjang in the north-west are likely to see property prices shoot up.

Like many other train stations around Singapore, amenities like malls and shops will soon sprout around the area, serving residents and commuters.

One property expert estimates that HDB flat prices may rise between 5 and 15 per cent over the next seven years, while private condominiums could command a premium of about 10 to 20 per cent.

“Based on past experience, we foresee that the rise may break into two different phases – one is immediately after the announcement which may happen these few days; the other one could be just before the completion of the MRT station,” said Steven Tan, executive director of OrangeTee.

Cash-over-Valuation (COV) for HDB flats could also go up.

“For example, if the average COV is about $30,000 to $40,000, after the announcement, the COV may go up to $50,000 to $60,000 (for the HDB flat around the vicinity),” said Tan.

Existing stores are also looking forward to the new lines.

But they too worry about a spike in rentals.

“(There’ll) be more competition because (there’ll be) a bigger crowd, so business will be boom,” said one retailer at Tampines Central near Tampines MRT.

When completed, the Downtown Line will facilitate direct travel from the northwest and east of Singapore to the Central Business District (CBD) and Marina Bay.

The line is projected to see a daily ridership of more than half a million people when fully operational by 2017.

Source: Channel News Asia, 21 Aug 2010

ANOTHER 11 MRT stations on the new Circle Line will open in the first half of next year, cutting the travel time for commuters between the east and the north as well as north-east parts of the island.

The timeframe was announced yesterday by Transport Minister Raymond Lim.

These stations, which stretch from Dhoby Ghaut to Bartley via Paya Lebar, will spare MRT commuters the extra journey they now must make through the city centre before reaching their destination.

Also, these stops will bring the MRT for the first time to residents in estates such as Mountbatten and MacPherson.
Their opening adds to the five already in operation and marks the completion of 16 of the 29 stations on the Circle Line.

It will ease crowding on existing lines and encourage more people to take public transport, an outcome that is in line with a government masterplan to reduce travelling times and avoid road congestion.

In making the announcement, Mr Lim said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will give the actual date closer to the opening of the stations.

Meanwhile, tests are being done ‘to ensure the system is reliable and safe before they open it to the public’, he added.

Mr Lim was speaking at a dialogue with about 500 Bukit Panjang residents after a ministerial visit to the single-seat ward helmed by Dr Teo Ho Pin.

Commuters like bank officer Kenny Ng, 27, who lives near Lorong Chuan station, welcomed the improved connectivity, saying ‘going down to town will be much easier and faster’.

By June, a train journey from Bishan to Paya Lebar, for instance, will take 17min instead of the 33min to 35min now.

This is because the journey will bypass the city centre and not require a transfer.

Of the remaining 13 stations on the Circle Line, Mr Lim said 12, from Marymount to Harbourfront, will open in 2011.

The final one, Bukit Brown off Andrew Road, is a future station that will not open until more residents move into the area.

Mr Lim’s update on the Circle Line comes a day after LTA announced the easing of the rules of the off-peak car scheme to encourage more motorists to opt for these red-plated cars.

The new rules include allowing these cars, from end-January next year, to be on the road all day on Saturdays, instead of the current restriction: before 7am and after 3pm.

Changes to bus routes are also in the works.

Yesterday, Mr Lim said that from next month, LTA will consult ‘on a systematic basis’ the advisers and grassroots leaders in all constituencies for ways to improve bus routes in their respective areas.

It hopes to complete the feedback-gathering exercise by March.

At present, LTA works with public transport operators in an ongoing – but rather ad hoc – manner to improve the bus network.

However, operators SBS Transit and SMRT have the final say on any refinements.

This will change.

The new feedback effort will pave the way for the LTA to take over the planning of the bus routes from the operators.

Mr Lim also said the consultation exercise was a better move than an overhaul of the existing system, which he stressed was ‘a good and fairly comprehensive one’.

He added: ‘Our aim is to benefit as many commuters as possible, while maintaining the overall financial viability of the bus system.’

During his walkabout, Mr Lim distributed ComCare meal vouchers to needy residents and opened a Senior Wellness Centre at Bukit Panjang Community Club.

The centre for elderly folk has exercise machines and massage chairs and organises activities, such as brisk walking and subsidised health screenings.

Mr Lim also took a short ride on the Bukit Panjang LRT, noting that trains were arriving at four-minute intervals.

‘I hope it’s much shorter at peak hours,’ he quipped to an SMRT official, who swiftly replied that the intervals then are 21/2 minutes.

Source: Straits Times, 31 Aug 2009

ELDERLY residents at Nee Soon South are getting a leg-up with Khatib MRT station now fully equipped with barrier-free access facilities.

Work began in January this year on two new ramps, a covered shelter connecting the 20-year-old station to the nearest bus stop in Yishun Avenue 2, as well as an additional drop-off point.
The refurbishments cost $2 million.

Many of the estate’s residents have to walk through Khatib station to get to the nearest overhead bridge or the pedestrian crossing.

For the estate’s elderly folk, who make up more than half of the approximately 50,000 residents, climbing the stairs to get to the station was no mean feat.

One resident, Madam Wong Lay See, cheered when the station was outfitted with ramps. The 85-year-old walks through the station to get to the market every day.

Said her son, who is in his 50s and wanted to be known only as Mr Foo: ‘We’ve been waiting for this. It makes a lot of difference for my mum because it’s now more convenient and safe for her.’
The station, which has only one lift from the station floor to the train platform, was built in 1988. Before enhancements were made, there was only a ramp to the nearest taxi stand.

Madam Woon Eng Say said the new facilities would benefit not only the elderly, but also those with children. ‘I found it a struggle to pull my nephew’s stroller up the stairs on my own,’ said the 49-year-old, who baby-sits her nephew.

Member of Parliament for Ang Mo Kio GRC Lee Bee Wah told reporters yesterday that residents had asked for the facilities many times.

Already, more than half of the flats in the Nee Soon South division are outfitted with barrier-free access facilities.

Ms Lee, who is also adviser to Nee Soon South grassroots organisations, said the next step would be to explore the feasibility of having a lift installed at the overhead bridge spanning Yishun Avenue 2.

The additional features at the Khatib station are part of the Land Transport Authority’s islandwide programme to make pedestrian walkways, access to MRT stations, taxi and bus shelters as well as public roads barrier-free.

The $60 million programme, which began in December 2006, is expected to be completed by the end of next year.

Currently, all MRT stations have at least one entrance fitted with a lift and a barrier-free route.

Source, Straits Times 31 Aug 2009