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MORE trains were sent out yesterday to ease rush-hour crowds, leaving fewer passengers stranded on train platforms.
Some commuters noticed the difference on the first day of the move to run 93 extra train trips a week. They found themselves able to board sooner and noticed that waits were shorter by about half a minute on average.
At Toa Payoh on the North-South line, an extra train came between 8am and 9am; Kallang on the East-West line had two extra that hour.
At Boon Keng on the North-East line, an extra train pulled up between 8am and 8.45am, and an extra trip was added between 6pm and 7pm.
Mr Ashwin K.J., 25, a recruiter bound for Tanjong Pagar from Boon Keng, managed to board the first train that pulled in, instead of having to wait for the next one.
'It was a little faster today, and I got a place to stand. I don't normally get that,' he said.
To Ms Joyce Ng, 33, who was headed to Raffles Place from Toa Payoh, the trains looked less crowded. She got on board the second train instead of the third or fourth as she has usually been doing.
Another group of commuters did not see any difference in their commute.
Mr Peter Liang, 37, who was at Toa Payoh to take a train to Raffles Place, said the trains looked just as crowded.
'I usually take the second train, and it hasn't changed today,' said the engineer, who could not get on board the 8.47am train.
Officers from the Land Transport Authority, SMRT and SBS Transit reported less crowding at the stations, but declined to release figures, saying they were still monitoring the situation.
SMRT, which is running 83 of the 93 extra trips per week on the East-West and North-South lines, said the extra trips aim to bring down the number of passengers per train during peak hours from between 1,300 and 1,400 to 1,200.
Of its 83 extra trips, 44 will be in the morning, and the remaining 39 in the evening, which works out to 16 extra trips each weekday.
SBS Transit, the smaller player, will run the remaining 10 extra trips per week on the North-East line using 37 trains, nine more than it started out with in 2003.
The additional train trips being made are part of an overhaul of the public transport system, which the authorities hope to convince more Singaporeans to use.
Commuters The Straits Times spoke to said more could be done to further ease congestion, such as ensuring passengers move into the centre of carriages to free up space near the doors.
SBS Transit said running the additional trips will cost it over $400,000 a year. Whether these costs will be passed on to commuters remains to be seen.
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