Punggol LRT East, SengKang LRT West loops to start service on Jan 29
SINGAPORE : The wait is over for many Punggol residents - in more ways than one - with the partial opening on January 29 of Singapore's third Light Rapid Transit, the Punggol LRT.
More stations along the SengKang LRT system will also start ferrying passengers.
It is a journey 36-year-old Seah Beng Huat knows well - a comfortable ride on the North-East Line, followed by the long wait for a feeder bus service to take him home.
But all that is set to change.
He moved to Punggol last April and now looks forward to a smooth LRT ride to his door step.
Mr Seah said: "During the peak hour, it is terrible. The bus service here, they do not come frequently and the crowd is terrible, we used to wait about 15 to 20 minutes for every bus."
Over 8,000 rides are expected to ply the Punggol LRT East loop daily, serving about 15,000 residents.
SBS Transit took over the $354 million line from the Land Transport Authority in December last year.
After numerous trial runs, it has decided to phase in the opening of the Punggol LRT with the East loop being the first to go.
But only six stations - Punggol, Cove, Meridian, Coral Edge, Riviera and Kadaloor - will be opened, while the remaining two - Oasis and Damai, along with the West loop stations at less populated areas - will operate at a later date.
Separately, the SengKang West loop will also be up and ready. It is expected to make up to 5,000 rides daily, offering a more convenient mode of transport to 11,000 residents in the western part of the neighbourhood.
It will complement the existing SengKang East loop service, with five additional stations - Thanggam, Fernvale, Layar, Tongkang and Rejong - along the west route.
However, Cheng Lim, Farmway and Kupang stations will only be opened later.
Still, SBS Transit have done enough homework to ride out the kinks.
Mr Ong Boon Leong, Chief Operating Officer of SBS Transit, said: "By and large, the experience we have over the last two years operating the SengKang East Loop and now we are operating a similar system, has given us a lot of confidence in that area, so while it will never be 100 percent from day one, we expect a very high level of reliability.";
The opening of the Punggol East and SengKang West loops will result in some minor changes to the bus network system in these areas.
From March 12, Service number 84 and 371 will be withdrawn, and commuters can expect to save up to 10 minutes if they use the LRT.
Mr Vincent Loh, Director of Service Development at SBS Transit, said: "The other services have less parallel with the LRT, and basically Service 371 and 84, they provide intra-town movement which is what the LRT is supposed to do."
The operating hours for both Punggol East and SengKang West loops will be from 5.20am to 12.35am.
Fares will be pegged to distance, similar to the existing fare structure.
Adult ez-link card fares for the Punggol East loop will be set at 64 cents amd single trip fares using the standard ticket will cost 80 cents.
For the Sengkang West loop, adult ez-link card fares will be 64 cents and single trip fares using the standard tickets will be 80 cents.
Fares for travel beyond the West Loop to the East Loop, will range between 64 cents and 84 cents for adult ez-link card, and between 80 cents and $1 for the standard ticket.