Passengers encouraged to take shuttle buses to prepare for Circle Line service adjustments
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- Circle Line faces a three-month period of service adjustments (Jan 17 to April 19) for tunnel strengthening works between Mountbatten, Dakota, and Paya Lebar.
- Authorities encourage commuters to use shuttle buses, deploying 44 double-deckers during each peak period and 500 staff daily, anticipating initial disorientation during service changes.
- Longer MRT closures are expected due to Singapore's ageing network which is over 40 years old for replacement and renewal.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Ahead of the planned tunnelling works between Mountbatten, Dakota and Paya Lebar stations,
During a visit to Serangoon MRT station on the morning of Jan 13, Mr Siow acknowledged that it would not be easy for commuters to make adjustments to their daily schedules for the next three months beginning on Jan 17.
He said he hoped passengers would try out the shuttle bus services to get a sense of whether the alternative transport modes and routes would work for them.
During each morning and evening peak period on weekdays, 44 double-decker buses will be deployed across four shuttle services to run from Serangoon station to Paya Lebar, Tai Seng to Bishan, Tai Seng to Serangoon and between Paya Lebar and Stadium stations.
Mr Yeo Teck Guan, senior group director of public transport at the Land Transport Authority (LTA), told the media during the visit that about 500 more ground staff will be working every day to direct commuters for the period of the service adjustments for the Circle Line (CCL) from Jan 17 to April 19.
Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow (left) looking at the signage informing commuters about the shuttle bus service 37A at Serangoon MRT station on Jan 13.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
The authorities expect the first week of service changes until Jan 24 to be “slightly more disorienting” for passengers, some of whom may still be caught unawares.
Mr Yeo added that within the first week of the roll-out of shuttle bus services on Jan 5, about 6,000 commuters have taken these buses.
During the service adjustments, passengers taking the CCL could face longer waiting times of up to 30 minutes during peak hours
When asked why these works are taking place during a period that coincides with the Chinese New Year, Mr Siow said: “There is no perfect time to do the works.”
He added that the authorities tried their best to schedule the works for a period that was most convenient for commuters, while balancing the need to bring contractors and equipment in for the works.
“The most important thing is to do the works as quickly as we can – to finish them up – and also make it as safe as we can for the workers because this will essentially be an extended period of dangerous works,” noted Mr Siow.
Staff distributing fliers at Serangoon MRT station informing commuters about shuttle bus service 37A on Jan 13.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
The tunnelling works will involve the installation of steel reinforcement plates along a 450m stretch of tunnels linking Mountbatten, Dakota and Paya Lebar stations.
During this time, shuttle trains will run on a single platform at 10-minute intervals connecting Mountbatten, Dakota and Paya Lebar stations, up from the current three-minute frequency.
Commuters queuing to take the shuttle bus service 37A at Serangoon MRT station on Jan 13.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
There will also be slightly longer waits between trains along the entire length of the CCL during these three months.
Train intervals between Mountbatten and Dhoby Ghaut and Marina Bay stations will be longer, from six to 10 minutes.
An average of 480,000 passengers will be affected each day.
LTA said on Jan 13 that preparation for the tunnelling works has been under way since mid-December, including the special modification of equipment and machinery to fit onto the engineering wagons, the relocation of affected utility cables and cable brackets, as well as the cutting of grooves to fit supporting structures that facilitate the installation of steel plates along tunnel walls.
It added that contractors have been undergoing rigorous training on a full-scale tunnel boundary replica at Kim Chuan Depot, to familiarise themselves with the MRT tunnel constraints.
Other preparatory work has been done at the stations, such as the installation of digital displays and printed banners, as well as the stationing of ground staff to remind passengers about the upcoming service adjustments.
Train operators had a taste of how to manage such large-scale adjustments when train services ceased on the East-West Line (EWL) between Bedok and Tampines stations,
On lessons from these service adjustments on the EWL, Mr Lam Sheau Kai, president of SMRT Trains, which operates the CCL, said the operator learnt a lot about crowd management and made some improvements, such as rolling out shuttle bus services earlier to allow passengers to acclimatise to these alternative routes.
An average of 480,000 passengers will be affected each day.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
But Mr Siow noted that every scheduled disruption is different, since different groups of commuters will be affected and the alternative routes to be taken will be different. Given that, it is essential to let commuters know about these service changes ahead of time.
When asked if more of such longer scheduled MRT closures are in the pipeline, the Acting Transport Minister noted that Singapore’s MRT network is more than 40 years old, and there is a need for replacement and renewal works as the system ages.
He said more of such closures are to be expected, adding that they will be carried out with minimal inconvenience caused to commuters.
An international panel of rail experts had also recommended extending scheduled shutdowns of network segments
