DARYL CHOO Today Online 26 May 19;
SINGAPORE — A new rail line to connect Singapore’s northeast to its south would not only be possible but a step in the right direction, as it would plug gaps in underserved areas and maybe even rekindle talks about a third link to Johor, transport analysts said.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in its Land Transport Master Plan 2040 on Saturday (May 25), that it is studying the feasibility of a new line that could serve residents in Woodlands, Sembawang, Sengkang, Serangoon North, Whampoa, Kallang and the upcoming Greater Southern Waterfront development.
Speaking to reporters at the launch event, Senior Minister of State for Transport Janil Puthucheary said that the master plan represents the Government's commitment “to deliver the idea of 20-minute towns and 45-minute cities”.
“The key thing that is going to allow us to do that is the expansion in our rail infrastructure,” he added.
If and when the new rail line is completed, it could serve more than 400,000 households, and commuters in the northern region would have their travel time to the city centre cut by 40 minutes, LTA said.
UNDERSERVED AREAS
While the areas identified by the LTA do face a lack of public transport options, transport analysts said there are other neighbourhoods which are also in need.
Punggol is one, said Associate Professor Walter Theseira, who heads the Master of Urban Transport Management programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).
After all, Punggol and Woodlands are two areas identified for developments into future regional centres as alternative business districts in Singapore, he added.
“That would make sure that these two are properly connected by rail.”
Agreeing that Punggol needs greater connectivity, transport consultant Tham Chen Munn said that the many younger families living there contribute to a large proportion of working adults who would need to travel downtown to their offices.
Urban transport expert Park Byung Joon from SUSS added that areas such as Changi in the east could still see more direct connections to the north.
Associate Professor Gopinath Menon from the Nanyang Technological University also identified Loyang as an area that could also be connected to the rail network in the future.
TRAVEL TIME MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIVING CLOSE TO AN MRT
In an earlier Land Transport Master Plan released six years ago, the LTA promised that 80 per cent of households would be within a 10-minute walk from a train station by 2030.
According to LTA surveys conducted in 2016 and 2017, 64 per cent of households are already within that distance.
“But the question is, is that the station that will bring you to where you want to go?” Assoc Prof Park said.
“Singapore’s connectivity should not be measured by how far residents are to the transport network but their average travel time.”
More lines “criss-crossing” throughout Singapore would be one of the answers to lowering the travel time, and when compared to Tokyo and Seoul, rail density here is “still very sparse”, he added.
When asked if more lines would add to space constraints in land-scarce Singapore, he said: “You can always use road infrastructure or dig. Space is not an issue, as long as you put money into it.”
“If the aim is to be a car-lite society with the rail system serving as the backbone of our transport system, then Singapore will need more rail lines,” he added.
NEW RAIL LINE COULD REINVIGORATE THIRD LINK DISCUSSIONS
A third link from Singapore to Johor remains up in the air, but transport analysts said that the new rail line — once confirmed — could possibly reinvigorate discussions between the neighbours.
Considering the proximity of the northeastern regions of Singapore to Johor’s Pasir Gudang, the new rail line could provide “new basis for thinking about the third link” to Malaysia, said Dr Terence Fan, a transport specialist from the Singapore Management University.
The line could even cross through Pulau Ubin, he added.
The Land Transport Master Plan 2040 also revealed that there will be an extension of the Thomson-East Coast line (TEL) to Changi Airport.
This means that when the extension is completed, commuters will be able to travel directly from the airport up the TEL to Woodlands North, where they can transfer to the Singapore-Johor Baru Rapid Transit System Link, if the bilateral project with Malaysia — currently suspended — goes ahead, LTA said in its master plan.
Assoc Prof Menon added that any link with Johor Baru is welcomed, but this would not be as straightforward as building stations in Singapore, and the authorities would also have to consider immigration infrastructure like checkpoints.
Said Mr Tham: “While we have to wait for Malaysia’s decisions for potential connections to Singapore, being future-ready is good planning.”
