SINGAPORE - Two newly-constructed platforms will open at the Choa Chu Kang LRT station on Dec 27, to facilitate the smoother boarding and alighting of passengers.

Train commuters arriving at the station will use the new platforms to alight, reducing the congestion caused when other passengers are trying to get onboard the train from the existing platforms.

Each of the new platforms will have a dedicated staircase and escalator.

"These improvements will help to ease crowding at the existing platform, especially during peak hours," said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Friday (Dec 23).

However, due to space constraints, there are no lifts at the new platforms.

Commuters who need to use the lift, such as wheelchair users, will have to alight at the existing platforms.

The LTA said that signs and directions will be displayed at the stations, as well as in the train cars, so commuters use the right platforms. SMRT staff will also be stationed to assist commuters.

The new platforms are part of a $12-million project, which started in 2013, to enhance the Choa Chu Kang station, which is an LRT and MRT interchange.

Other completed enhancements include additional fare gates at both the LRT and MRT stations, as well as a wider staircase for commuters transferring between the MRT and LRT.

For this, train doors facing the new platforms will open first for seven seconds before doors on the boarding platform open for passengers to get on the train.