Works on Sengkang-Punggol LRT to be done sequentially and carefully, due for completion in Oct: LTA
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The upgrading works are needed to accommodate the expansion of the Sengkang-Punggol LRT depot (top right)..
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
- LTA is undertaking complex, sequential works until Oct 18 to connect new LRT tracks, reducing Sengkang West service to a single loop.
- Officials cited increasing LRT system resilience as reasons for the complex, six-month-long works.
- To aid commuters, the Outer Loop runs with two-car vehicles and shuttle buses serve 6,000 daily. The SPLRT depot expands by 2027.
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SINGAPORE – The ongoing upgrading works on the Sengkang-Punggol LRT (SPLRT) need to be carried out sequentially and carefully, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on May 8, as MPs and residents in the area questioned the duration of the works’ impact on transport service.
Train service on the Sengkang West LRT line is operating on a single loop for six months, from April 19 to Oct 18, to facilitate the upgrading works, which are needed to accommodate the expansion of the LRT depot.
LTA said the first phase of the upgrading involves civil construction works on the LRT tracks and viaduct.
The existing concrete walls lining the sides of the LRT tracks have to be removed via wire-saw cutting, instead of hacking, to minimise noise and increase precision.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
It starts with wire-saw cutting – or the use of a diamond-infused cable loop to cut through materials – to remove existing concrete walls along the tracks that weigh 1 tonne each.
Following that, the viaduct slab – which the LRT tracks sit on – will be manually hacked during the day. Less noisy rebarring works to construct a new connecting slab will take place at night.
A worker demonstrating the hacking of a viaduct slab inside a noise insulator.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Then the existing LRT concrete tracks have to be hacked, and a 140m stretch needs to be realigned to level the heights of the new and existing viaduct slabs.
These works on two new reception tracks near Layar and Tongkang LRT stations are needed to connect an expanded SPLRT depot to the main SPLRT network.
The SPLRT depot will more than triple in size with the completion of expansion works in 2027, to house the new fleet comprising 25 two-car light rail vehicles.
The media was offered a behind-the-scenes look at the worksite near Tongkang station on May 8.
On May 7, Sengkang GRC MP Jamus Lim had asked in Parliament why the reduced SPLRT services would last six months.
In response, Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said the works must be “carefully sequenced and carried out for worker safety”. The system must also be thoroughly inspected and tested before being reopened for service, he added.
Mr Siow was referring to the modification of existing tracks, construction of connections to the new reception tracks, as well as the diversion and replacement of electrical and mechanical systems.
For the duration of the works, there is no service on the Sengkang West Inner Loop, via Cheng Lim station from Sengkang station.
Before regular service resumes in October after the works, passengers can use the Sengkang West Outer Loop via Renjong station, which is running entirely with two-car light rail vehicles.
They can also use a shuttle bus service that operates from Sengkang Bus Interchange on weekdays during peak hours.
Passengers boarding the shuttle bus service, which operates from Sengkang Bus Interchange on weekdays during peak hours – from 6am to 10am, and from 5.30pm to 9.30pm.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
About 6,000 commuters have been taking the shuttle bus services every day, and around 200 staff have been deployed each day to ensure that these buses are running regularly and smoothly, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling.
“The ongoing works are necessary for us to increase the number of reception tracks to make sure that our LRT system becomes more resilient,” Ms Sun, who is also a Punggol GRC MP, told the media on May 8.
In a Facebook post on April 28, Ms Sun said crowd control measures have been put in place at Sengkang LRT station. These include the closure of some escalators at the station to prevent “choke points” and minimise danger posed to commuters.
Passengers are instead guided in one direction before being subsequently dispersed into three separate channels for the shuttle bus service, stairs and escalator up to the LRT level, she added.
