RESIDENTS in north-western Singapore now have an idea of how the Downtown Line 2 (DTL2) will run through their part of the island after its rail alignment and station locations were announced yesterday.
The 16.6km second stage of the Downtown Line will provide rail access to the Bukit Timah Corridor.
It comprises one depot and 12 stations, including three interchange stations at Little India, Newton and the Botanic Gardens linking to the North-east Line (NEL), North-south Line (NSL) and Circle Line (CCL) respectively.
The update on DTL2 was given by Minister of Transport Raymond Lim during a site visit to the Circle Line's Esplanade Station yesterday.
According to the Land Transport Authority, DTL2 will offer many connectivity benefits when it is completed in 2015.
One of them is the significant time savings for commuters, said LTA chief executive Yam Ah Mee. 'For example, the current one-hour journey from Bukit Panjang to the city centre will be reduced by a third to approximately 40 minutes,' he said, adding that accessibility to other parts of Singapore will also be improved as commuters can transfer to other MRT lines at the three DTL2 interchange stations. In addition, DTL2 will link them directly to the commercial, residential and entertainment developments in the Marina Bay area.
'DTL2 will support the growth of these new developments, and more importantly, make public transport a more viable commuting choice,' said Mr Yam.
LTA said that land acquisitions for DTL2 will be minimal and limited to a two-storey building at Halifax Road and two strips of land at Upper Bukit Timah Road. The land to be acquired was gazetted yesterday by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).
The government announced its decision to build the $12 billion DTL in three stages on April 27 last year. Since then, LTA has called the tender for the civil construction of DTL1.
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