The headway indicator means that commuters should not have to wait longer than prescribed by the Land Transport Authority.

For example, commuters at Yishun station heading to the city should not have to wait more than three minutes for a train during the morning peak-of-peak periods which is usually between 7.45am to 8.30am.

Operators who do not follow these standards can be fined between $10,000 to up to $1 million.

SMRT said that they would have no problems meeting the standards because 'this is what they have been doing all along'.

LTA has also tightened the train passenger load indicator so that only a maximum of 1,600 passengers instead of 1,700 passengers are allowed on each train.

Currently the maximum loading on its trains is about 1,450, said SMRT.

To help reduce congestion on trains, the train operator will modify 10 trains by removing 84 of the 300 seats from the trains. This will create more standing room for passengers.

Transport Minister Raymond Lim made these announcements on Thursday morning after a visit to the Boon Lay extension of the East-West Line.

The two new stations, Pioneer and Joo Koon, are slated to open in February.