Double-car Trains for Sengkang LRT System

Dr Janil Puthucheary asked the Minister for Transport whether LTA would work with SBS Transit to implement double-car trains on the Sengkang LRT system.

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Mrs Josephine Teo (for the Minister for Transport): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the Member for his question. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the operator SBS Transit (SBST) monitor the passenger loading situation on the Sengkang-Punggol LRT (SPLRT) system closely. In recent years, ridership on the SPLRT system has increased, with year-on-year growth of about 10% from 2008 to 2011. Passenger loading levels have consequently also risen, with crowding observed during the morning peak travel at the last station on the Sengkang East loop in the direction of Sengkang Town Centre, where most commuters alight to transfer to the North-East Line.

LTA is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the long-term capacity needed for the SPLRT system. One key aspect of this study was to determine the technical feasibility of converting the current one-car system to a two-car system, to increase the system's capacity in the medium to longer term. LTA is currently in the process of finalising the study and aims to share the findings in a few months' time.

While the study is still ongoing, LTA is concurrently looking at other possible alternatives to mitigate the crowding situation.

In the meantime, SBS Transit has implemented additional capacity enhancement measures, such as the addition of one LRT train to the Sengkang East loop during the morning and evening peak this year, which has resulted in 23 additional daily trips. As a result, commuters have seen waiting times improve from four minutes to three minutes during the peak periods. SBS Transit has also deployed Customer Service Officers (CSOs) at the Sengkang East loop to encourage commuters to consider taking the LRT in the less crowded direction, so as to optimise the system's bi-directional capabilities. One additional train has also been added to Sengkang West, resulting in reduced waiting times.

I would like to assure the Member that LTA will continue to work with SBST to monitor the passenger loading situation on the SPLRT system, and enhance the capacity and service levels where possible.

Dr Janil Puthucheary (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Mr Speaker, Sir, I have a number of supplementary questions for the Minister of State after her very comprehensive reply. Could we have, perhaps, some indication of the time frame for the report of the comprehensive review? The second question I have is – given that there are number of new developments that are five to 10 years behind Sengkang in terms of infrastructure development and maturity as a town – Punggol being as an example – are there lessons learnt from the experience with the LRT system in Sengkang that are going to change the way LTA and the Ministry deal with public transport infrastructure in relation to population growth and development in new towns such as Punggol? Specifically, with respect to the last-mile concept for public transport which often is a friction for people to change their behaviour when a family moves in to a new location and buys a new BTO flat. This is an opportunity for them to reconsider and change their lifestyle with respect to public transport, perhaps. And very often, it is that last mile which is the determining factor. So, have there been lessons learnt from the experience in Sengkang which we will use to change either our operational approach or policy approach? And last question, would the Ministry consider either a structure or incentive system for the private transport operators to make them more likely to service this last mile in a way that our residents are likely to use even if in the short term it loses money?

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Mrs Josephine Teo: I thank the Member for those questions. I will take the easier one first – how long the study will take. It is a comprehensive review and so it will take a few more months. I urge the Member to be patient. He will hear from us as soon as it is practicable.

On the question about last-mile connectivity, I am glad that the Member brought it up because it is a very important criterion in ensuring that as many residents as possible are able to gain access to public transport and find it convenient to use our public transport system. Anecdotally, and also from studies that were done in the past, one of the things that has been identified is that when a station is accessible within 400 metres of walking distance, this has been found to be the most effective in encouraging the use of public transport. Indeed, the LTA is in the process of doing a detailed study on how we can improve last-mile connectivity to make sure that as many residents as possible who may now find that last-mile connectivity is not as good as they would like it to be, can experience enhanced connectivity when they try to access the public transport network through the nearest station to them. This is also a study that is ongoing. What I can assure the Member is that the results will be known quite soon, and we shall be able to share with the public what plans there are to achieve this.

Mr Alex Yam (Chua Chu Kang): I thank the Minister of State for the answer. To Dr Janil's point on the experience of Sengkang LRT and how it can be applied to other areas, I am sure Members would agree that there has been positive feedback from the introduction of the Circle Line. Currently, the Circle Line, to my understanding, operates on a three-car system, compared to six cars for the North South and East West Lines as well as the North East Line. Does the Government intend to make a study on the provision of additional cars and carriages should the demand for the Circle Line increase in the future?

Mrs Josephine Teo: Sir, in response to the Member's question, the design of any particular line takes into consideration many factors, for example, the areas they would serve, the population density of those areas as well as how likely it is to be used by the residents for travel to different parts of the network. When the decision was taken for the Circle Line to be implemented as a three-car system, these factors would already have been taken into consideration, not just for the short term or the median term but also based on the long-term trends and patterns of where people would live. In response to this question, there are no plans to review whether the Circle Line will change from its existing three-car configuration at this point in time.