Shorter waiting times on North-South, East-West MRT lines?

Shorter waiting times on North-South, East-West MRT lines?

Train commuters could be experiencing shorter waiting times and less crowded trains by month's end as five new trains are added to the North-South and East-West lines.

This after the Land Transport Authority announced it will be opening a new platform at the Jurong East MRT station on 27 May.




22 new trains will be added on the North-South, East-West lines by December. (AFP photo)


The platform will allow five new trains to be deployed on the North-South and East-West lines from May. By December, another 17 trains will be added, the LTA said in a statement, making it a total of 22 new trains altogether.

This brings the total number of trains serving the two lines to 128 and increases the carrying capacity on the lines by 15 per cent.

"Commuters can look forward to shorter waiting times of two to three minutes at the busiest stretches, compared to the current 2.5 to 4 minutes," said LTA.

From 27 May, the new platform will be used during the morning peak hours, from 7 am to 9 pm on weekdays, excluding public holidays. When more trains are delivered by December, the platform will also be opened during the evening peak hours.

Other improvements to Jurong East MRT station include an additional entrance, a new passenger drop-off point and 150 new bicycle racks.

LTA chief executive Chew Hock Yong said, "This (Jurong East Modification Project) is a key part of LTA's plans to significantly enhance Singapore's MRT network."

According to the inaugural Journey Experience Index recently released by business research and consulting firm Frost and Sullivan, Singapore ranked 18th in a survey of 23 cities on public and private transport journey experiences.