SINGAPORE — The Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Saturday (May 25) announced a slew of plans to expand the MRT network here, including some new stations, rail line extensions and the commencement of a study for a new rail line.

Two new MRT stations in the northwest, Brickland and Sungei Kadut stations, will be added to the North-South line by mid-2030.

Brickland station will be added between Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Gombak stations, which will better serve residents living in Keat Hong, Bukit Batok West, Pavillion Park and the Brickland district in Tengah town.

Sungei Kadut station will be located between Yew Tee and Kranji stations, serving commuters travelling to and from Choa Chu Kang and the upcoming Sungei Kadut industrial developments such as TimMac, trendspace and the Agri-Food Innovation Park.

Sungei Kadut will be an interchange station, connected also to the Downtown Line by extending that line beyond Bukit Panjang station. This will cut travel time to the downtown area by up to 30 minutes for those living in the north-western region, LTA said.

It will also be conducting a feasibility study to determine the number of stations that could be added between those two stations on the Downtown Line, that is, Sungei Kadut and Bukit Panjang.

The announcements were made at the launch of the Land Transport Master Plan 2040 on Saturday at the library@harbourfront by Senior Minister of State for Transport Janil Puthucheary.

The 64-page report lays out a blueprint for LTA’s plans in the next 20 years to improve the transport system and is produced after consultations with 7,400 respondents, including people in the transport industry, academia and the public.

By 2040, the LTA aims to reduce travel times for all trips to the nearest neighbourhood centre to 20 minutes and for nine in 10 peak-period trips to the city to take 45 minutes or less.

THOMSON-EAST COAST LINE EXTENSION

The Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) will be extended beyond the upcoming Sungei Bedok station to Changi Airport and will serve the future Terminal 5.

Set to be completed by 2040, the stretch between Tanah Merah and Changi Airport, which is currently on the East-West Line, will be converted to the TEL.

This means that when the extension is completed, commuters will be able to travel directly from the airport up the TEL to Woodlands North, where they can transfer to the Singapore-Johor Baru Rapid Transit System Link, if the bilateral project with Malaysia — currently suspended — goes ahead.

A NEW RAIL LINE ON THE CARDS

The LTA also announced a feasibility study to assess whether a new rail line should be built to supplement transport options in the north and northeast regions, and connect these regions to the south.

This line would connect the upcoming Woodlands North Coast residential development to the Greater Southern Waterfront, which takes over the site of the Pasir Panjang and City port terminals, possibly serving residents in Sembawang, Sengkang, Serangoon North, Whampoa and Kallang along the way.

Source: LTA

The study is set to begin sometime soon and will take at least a year to be completed.

If the new line gets the go-ahead, there is a chance it could be operational as soon as 2040.

Measuring roughly 30km, it would also bring the total length of the rail network here close to 400km by the time it is completed.

LTA will assess the demand, station locations and implementation timeline of the line, as well as whether it will be feasible for it to pass through the Lower Seletar Reservoir.

When completed, the line could serve more than 400,000 households and commuters in the northern region would have their travel time to the city centre cut by 40 minutes, the report added.