Singapore to build $6bn rail network
01 November 2001
Singapore will embark on a $6 billion project spanning 10-15 years to build three rail lines totalling 60 km in length, Communications and IT Minister Yeo Cheow Tong said.
This is reported to be the biggest and most ambitious land transport project to be undertaken in Singapore.
The first is the medium-load Bukit Timah Line stretching from downtown to Bukit Panjang. It will run almost parallel to a route traced by the Pan-Island Expressway and Bukit Timah Expressway. It will alleviate the heavy traffic in the Upper Bukit Timah/Bukit Timah/Dunearn Road corridor and also provide the areas around Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang with a more direct link to the city.
The second is the Eastern Region Line, another medium-load project that loops around the often congested East-West Line. This line will pass residential and commercial sites in Tampines, Bedok, Marine Parade, MacPherson and Kaki Bukit. It will crisscross the Circle Line and will likely share an interchange at Dhoby Ghaut.
Finally, the Jurong Region light rail train (LRT) will link the Nanyang Technological University to the East-West Line. Unlike the two medium-load lines which will be largely underground, the Jurong LRT line will be above ground.
''While the government will try to expedite the completion of these three projects, the actual schedule will depend on the state of the economy, which determines funding availability, and how fast we can complete the engineering and technical studies,'' Yeo said.
When completed by as early as 2012, the three lines are expected to carry over 800,000 commuters a day - almost as many as the one million capacity met by the current 90 km network. By then, Singapore will have 240 km of rail.
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