Plans to Augment LTA's Capabilities Given Expanded Roles

Mr Zaqy Mohamad asked the Minister for Transport (a) what are the plans to augment LTA's capabilities due to its expanded role covering the new bus contracting model, new rail financing framework and the future Singapore-Malaysia high-speed rail; (b) whether there are plans to restructure LTA to better execute its role as a regulator, asset owner and industry developer; and (c) what new capabilities will be put in place to ensure better governance and service delivery of the rail and bus services under the new structure.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: The new public bus and rail financing models, and the future Singapore-KL High Speed Rail, will indeed require new resources and capabilities on the part of the Land Transport Authority.

LTA has increased its headcount steadily since 2013 by about 35%. This growth was largely in engineering and asset management. In the next two years, LTA will add another 900 new engineering positions.

Second, LTA has been tapping the experiences of other jurisdictions. Amongst others, it has been studying the public transport tendering and contract management approaches used in the UK, Sweden, Australia and Germany. It has been in discussions with and conducted visits to the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway, Taipei Metro and London Underground to understand their asset management and maintenance processes. LTA has also established platforms such as the Rail Excellence Advisory Panel and the High Speed Rail International Advisory Panel, so as to be able to discuss the issues directly with experienced practitioners who have faced similar challenges in their work abroad.

Third, LTA has undergone reorganisation to be able to better deliver on its expanded mandate. Four new specialist teams have been formed a rail asset management team, a bus asset management team, a bus service tendering and contract team, and a High Speed Rail group. As the projects progress, in particular as and when there is further agreement with Malaysia on the High Speed Rail, LTA will further restructure and reorganise itself as needed.