RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEMS BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Minister for Communications (Mr Mah Bow Tan): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

As I have explained earlier in my speech for the Second Reading of the Land Transport Authority (LTA) Bill, this Bill is to provide for the merger of the MRTC into the LTA.

The existing MRTC Act was enacted in 1983 to establish the Corporation for the construction, regulation and operation of our Mass Rapid Transit System. With the formation of the LTA, the roles and functions of MRTC will be transferred to the new statutory board. This Bill therefore repeals the MRTC Act and re-enacts the provisions governing the regulation and operations of the MRT System as the Rapid Transit Systems Act which will come under the ambit of the LTA.

We have also taken the opportunity to review the provisions of MRTC Act to remove obsolete ones and insert new provisions into the Rapid Transit Systems Act to cover the broader functions of the LTA and to rationalise all legislation coming under its purview.

The words "Mass Rapid Transit" and its acronym "MRT" have over the years become synonymous with the rail system that we are familiar with. In time to come, other forms of transit systems may be introduced, for example, the light rail system or LRT which we are now examining. We have therefore expanded the definition of the term "railway" to give the LTA the flexibility to plan, construct, operate and maintain other types of guided transit systems.

The MRTC Act was enacted on the premise that there would be only one mass rapid transit system in Singapore and one operator of the system. It is intended that the LTA will oversee not only the present heavy rail system, but also other light rail as well as guided transit systems which could be run by other operators. To cater for a multi-system and multi-operator rail or guided transport industry, provisions have therefore been included to allow the Authority to license more than one operator for the various systems.

Provisions relating to claims and compensation under the MRTC have been deleted and re-enacted in the LTA Act. The intention, as I have explained previously, is to broaden the functions of the Compensation Board to include claims made against the LTA arising from road tunnelling works instead of only claims made with respect to railway construction.

Provisions have been made in the Bill for the transfer of the MRTC's existing assets, rights, interests, liabilities and obligations to the LTA. Provisions have also been made to transfer all persons employed by the MRTC to LTA on terms no less favourable than those enjoyed by the employees prior to their transfer.

Other than the above mentioned and other incidental provisions, the Rapid Transit Systems Act essentially incorporates the existing provisions in the MRTC Act governing the regulation and operations of the MRT system.

Finally, Sir, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff and Board Members of MRTC for the hard work and services that they have rendered in the past 12 years since its formation. The board has built the first 67 km of our MRT system. It has ensured its smooth and efficient operations since the first set of trains rolled out in 1987. The job of the LTA is to build upon the good work of the MRTC. The solid foundation laid down by the MRTC in the last 12 years makes the task of LTA that much easier. With MRTC becoming part of the LTA, our people can look forward to a better and more efficient rail transport system.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Mah Bow Tan].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.