SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will study the feasibility of constructing a new rail line to serve the developing north and northeastern regions of Singapore.
The new line would supplement the transport network in those areas to serve new and growing developments as well as existing towns which currently do not have direct access to the rail network, LTA said in its Land Transport Master Plan 2040 (LTMP 2040) which was released on Saturday (May 25).
AdvertisementThe proposed line could cover areas such as Woodlands, Sembawang, Sengkang and Serangoon North, as well as Whampoa, Kallang and the Greater Southern Waterfront, LTA added.
As part of the feasibility study, LTA will assess issues such as demand, station locations and how long developing the new line would take. It will also take into account existing and future land use developments along the corridor.
AdvertisementAdvertisement“When completed in phases, the line could serve more than 400,000 households, with commuters in the northern region of Singapore enjoying time savings of up to 40 minutes to the city centre,” said LTA.
It also said that the new line could relieve increasing travel demand along the northeast corridor and strengthen the resilience of the MRT network.
“This would help to make rail a faster, more convenient and reliable transport option for more Singaporeans,” added LTA.
LTA’s deputy chief executive Jeremy Yap said the feasibility study “will begin shortly” and take up to two years to complete.
Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday, Mr Yap added that the study can be extended if necessary and that LTA has no timeline for the completion of the project.
“Building rail lines is a heavy investment. So I think we don’t want to rush things, we want to study it properly because it is billions of dollars once we build a new rail line.
“There’s no time of implementation, but we think that the very fact that we mentioned it within this 2040 masterplan means there is a chance within this window that that line may come about,” said Mr Yap.
IMPORTANCE OF REGIONAL WORKPLACES
One of the goals of LTMP 2040 is to ensure a "45-minute city with 20-minute towns". This means that commuters need only a 45-minute journey to get to work and 20 minutes to reach amenities within residential towns.
Mr Yap explained that a key to achieving that goal is creating more regional employment centres, instead of having workplaces situated mainly in and around the city centre.
Citing the upcoming Punggol Digital District, Jurong Lake District, Jurong Innovation District and Woodlands Regional Centre, he said that they “bring jobs closer to where people live”.
“As we expand the rail network, we will actually bring down the time travelled. I want to reinforce the role of (regional) employment centres. We were fortunate that when we had longer travel distances in the last four years, we still managed to increase the travel speed. It is not always the case.
“That's why it's imperative that we work with land-use agencies and release these employment centres to ensure that we bring jobs closer to where people live. And that will really help us create that 45-minute city around the island,” said Mr Yap.
[h=3]READ: ‘45-minute city, 20-minute towns’: Advisory panel outlines vision for Land Transport Master Plan 2040[/h]The LTMP 2040 report noted that such new employment centres will also be supported by other transport initiatives “to ensure seamless connectivity and easy accessibility to them”.
This includes having more “Transit Priority Corridors” (TPCs) which are dedicated bus lanes and cycling paths for travel in and across towns, with the first example already implemented on Bencoolen Street.
LTA also listed having more Walk-Cycle-Ride transport facilities as another method to achieving its "45-minute city with 20-minute towns" goal.
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The new line would supplement the transport network in those areas to serve new and growing developments as well as existing towns which currently do not have direct access to the rail network, LTA said in its Land Transport Master Plan 2040 (LTMP 2040) which was released on Saturday (May 25).
AdvertisementThe proposed line could cover areas such as Woodlands, Sembawang, Sengkang and Serangoon North, as well as Whampoa, Kallang and the Greater Southern Waterfront, LTA added.
As part of the feasibility study, LTA will assess issues such as demand, station locations and how long developing the new line would take. It will also take into account existing and future land use developments along the corridor.
AdvertisementAdvertisement“When completed in phases, the line could serve more than 400,000 households, with commuters in the northern region of Singapore enjoying time savings of up to 40 minutes to the city centre,” said LTA.
It also said that the new line could relieve increasing travel demand along the northeast corridor and strengthen the resilience of the MRT network.
“This would help to make rail a faster, more convenient and reliable transport option for more Singaporeans,” added LTA.
LTA’s deputy chief executive Jeremy Yap said the feasibility study “will begin shortly” and take up to two years to complete.
Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday, Mr Yap added that the study can be extended if necessary and that LTA has no timeline for the completion of the project.
“Building rail lines is a heavy investment. So I think we don’t want to rush things, we want to study it properly because it is billions of dollars once we build a new rail line.
“There’s no time of implementation, but we think that the very fact that we mentioned it within this 2040 masterplan means there is a chance within this window that that line may come about,” said Mr Yap.
IMPORTANCE OF REGIONAL WORKPLACES
One of the goals of LTMP 2040 is to ensure a "45-minute city with 20-minute towns". This means that commuters need only a 45-minute journey to get to work and 20 minutes to reach amenities within residential towns.
Mr Yap explained that a key to achieving that goal is creating more regional employment centres, instead of having workplaces situated mainly in and around the city centre.
Citing the upcoming Punggol Digital District, Jurong Lake District, Jurong Innovation District and Woodlands Regional Centre, he said that they “bring jobs closer to where people live”.
“As we expand the rail network, we will actually bring down the time travelled. I want to reinforce the role of (regional) employment centres. We were fortunate that when we had longer travel distances in the last four years, we still managed to increase the travel speed. It is not always the case.
“That's why it's imperative that we work with land-use agencies and release these employment centres to ensure that we bring jobs closer to where people live. And that will really help us create that 45-minute city around the island,” said Mr Yap.
[h=3]READ: ‘45-minute city, 20-minute towns’: Advisory panel outlines vision for Land Transport Master Plan 2040[/h]The LTMP 2040 report noted that such new employment centres will also be supported by other transport initiatives “to ensure seamless connectivity and easy accessibility to them”.
This includes having more “Transit Priority Corridors” (TPCs) which are dedicated bus lanes and cycling paths for travel in and across towns, with the first example already implemented on Bencoolen Street.
LTA also listed having more Walk-Cycle-Ride transport facilities as another method to achieving its "45-minute city with 20-minute towns" goal.
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