S'pore To Spend $20b To Double Rail Network

Source : The Business Times, January 25, 2008

Singapore will invest $20 billion (US$14 billion) to build two new subway lines by 2020 as part of a plan to double the republic's existing rail network, a government minister said on Friday.

The Thomson Line, which will extend northwards from Singapore's new downtown at Marina Bay, will be built by 2018; while the Eastern Region Line, which will link the city-centre to the residential areas along Singapore's east coast, will be ready in 2020, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said in a statement.

'Together with the rail lines now under construction, the new rail lines will double our network from today's 138 kilometres to 278 kilometres in 2020,' Mr Lim said.

'We expect our rail network to carry three times as many journeys, rising from today's 1.4 million a day to 4.6 million in 2020,' he added.

Mr Lim also said that the government will, from February, get subway operators SMRT and ComfortDelGro to run additional train services during the morning and evening peak to reduce congestion.

The authorities also plan to reduce operating licences of rail operators to 10 to 15 years from the current 30 years to drive efficiency and make the companies more accountable.

According to Mr Lim, Singapore's rail density will increase by 60 per cent from 31 to 51 kilometres per million population by 2020.

'Travelling across the city will be a breeze, because we will have a dense network of MRT stations like what we see in London and New York today,' he added. -- REUTERS