MASS TRANSIT STUDY (Progress made)

Mr Ong Teng Cheong asked the Minister for Communications what progress has been made in the Mass Transit Study, and whether there is any recommendation made or decision reached on the subject so far.

The Minister for Communications (Mr Yong Nyuk Lin): Mr Speaker, Sir, the long awaited Final Report on Phase I Mass Transit Study has at last been completed and, with your permission, I have earlier on tabled it in this House as a Misc. Paper No. 3 of 1974. This is the Report in Brief, as the actual Final Report is somewhat voluminous with 232 pages and quite technical in character.

The Consultants, Wilbur Smith and Associates, in association with Parsons Brinkerhoff - Tudor-Bechtel who prepared the report for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, in short, the World Bank, as Executing Agency of the United Nations Development Programme and the Government of the Republic of Singapore indicated several reasons which make it vital that any transport policy needed to support the development envisaged for Singapore must provide for a Mass Transit System.

The study examined six alternative systems, viz. (a) an extension of the existing road-based all-bus system on shared rights-of-way; (b) three rail-based systems; and (c) two all-bus mass rapid transit systems incorporating grade-separated busways. Each of these systems was evaluated in terms of operational feasibility, economic costs and benefits and impacts on the community. From the evaluation, the Consultants have recommended a rail-based mass rapid transit 3R system for further detailed study.

Briefly, the recommended system has a total length of 24 miles, of which 10 miles would be underground and the balance at surface or at elevated levels. A total of 31 stations are planned, of which 16 would be underground.

The rail system envisages a network of connections from Jurong in the west through the Central Area to Siglap in the east, with a branch line from the Central area through the Orchard Road corridor, thence to Toa Payoh and ending at Ang Moh Kio to the north.

The estimated cost of the recommended 3R MRT system (according to 1972 prices) is $698 million which, however, does not include the cost of rolling stock or financing costs.

Government has since decided to proceed with further Phase II detailed study of the recommended MRT system in respect of the engineering, economic and financial feasibility and which is expected to be completed, within a period of six months. The objectives for the Phase II study are as follows:

(a) Soils tests along the proposed railway route, with special reference to those sections for which underground construction is recommended;

(b) Updated estimates of construction costs, to an accuracy of approximately 20 per cent;

(c) Analyses and comparisons of fare structures, ridership and revenues for the railway and scheduled bus services;

(d) Updating of costs and benefits for the years 1982 and 1992, and calculations of financial and economic rates of return for alternative investment sequences of the MRT system, having regard to:

(i) the impact of planned highway investment, and

(ii) the proposed short-term measures to promote the efficient use of existing transport facilities.