Commuters will have to make alternative travel plans when stretches of the East-West Line and North-South Line are closed for two full Sundays in December, and many want more details from the authorities on how to navigate these service disruptions.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on Tuesday (Nov 21) that from Dec 8 to 31, 17 stations along the East-West Line, from Tiong Bahru to Tuas Link, as well as the Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak stations on the North-South Line, will close earlier on Fridays and Saturdays at 11pm and open later on Saturdays and Sundays at 8am.

To allow for extended engineering work, these stations will be fully closed on two Sundays, Dec 10 and 17. This will help speed up the process to put in place the new signalling system on the line.

Ms Lin Juanhui, 33, an administration executive who travels from her home to the Dover Road area by train to go to church every Sunday, said that the full-day closures would affect commuters preparing for the year-end festivities. “Many churches have events planned for the weekends leading up to Christmas, where they will expect large crowds of attendees. Those not living in the area would have been counting on the MRT (stations to be open).”

On a typical Sunday in December, about 580,000 train trips are made along the selected 19 stations. The reduced hours would affect about 20,000 to 30,000 commuters daily, the LTA said.

Ms Lin would like the authorities to provide details of bus shuttle services promptly, so that affected residents may plan their alternative travelling routes in advance.

Agreeing with this, a resident in the Redhill estate, who gave his name as just CY, suggested that information on the nearest bus services be displayed in the vicinity of each affected station. “As long as I have the information, it is definitely possible to plan alternative routes, even though some may be slightly longer.”

The 28-year-old, who handles administration work, added: “I will probably avoid taking the (free) shuttle bus services (provided by SMRT) as I would expect them to be crowded.”

On social media, people are also voicing out about the inconvenience the closure and shortened hours will cause. Facebook user Soong Kee Jong wants a “contingency plan” during the period. “How to compensate the public for lost quality time, additional travel time and additional transport cost incurred?” he asked.

Others are glad the authorities are taking steps to address the issues bugging the two oldest MRT lines. Mr Quek Boon Peng, for instance, wrote: “Good, resolve (the problems) during this holiday (season) and let’s have a smooth ride this Jan 2018!”

CARPOOL, PRIVATE-HIRE VEHICLES, E-SCOOTER

Ms Joan Pereira, Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar, told TODAY that some inconveniences are inevitable for engineering works to be carried out thoroughly. “Commuters are typically willing to switch to buses or other alternative transport mode, such as carpooling, as long as it still takes them to their destinations (without) too much delay… Some of my residents do, however, work late shifts and on weekends, and their journeys may be impacted as many of them use either Redhill station or Tiong Bahru station, which are both affected,” she said.

Mr Peh Teow Seng, 60, managing director of transport firm Peh Chiong Choon at Tuas Crescent, plans to engage a bus driver to ferry about 30 of his employees who will be affected by the later opening hours on Saturdays. He admitted that finding companies that would provide such “short-term services” may be a challenge.

Commuters interviewed by TODAY said that they would either take the Downtown Line or Circle Line during the period, or use the services of private-hire cars.

Forklift driver Tan Seng Kuan, 32, who lives in Redhill, intends to get around on his electric scooter on the days when there are reduced operation hours. “I already (carry the e-scooter with me) every day. Even while travelling on the MRT, I have it beside me in case there is a breakdown. If the weather is not good, then I have no choice but to take a cab.”

Transport experts told TODAY that the authorities should provide adequate bridging transport services to manage the full-day closures.

Dr Walter Theseira, transport economist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, was “surprised” at the announcement of the full-day closures, though he said that the authorities would not have done this if they could not cope.

“We may not see high traffic volumes on Sunday, but replacing a major urban rail line with bus services is not easy… All eyes will be on whether LTA is able to provide the bus bridging services.”

He commended the authorities for making the announcement in advance, so that commuters may make alternate travel plans.

Dr Park Byung Joon, an urban transport expert from the same university, described the latest news as a “sensible move” to give engineers more time for maintenance. “The working time (that engineers) have on the tracks is very limited… about four-and-a-half hours each day.”

Dr Theseira added that the closures and shortened hours are “a trade-off”. “It might be painful to commuters in the short run, but the hope is that the public would benefit from a much smoother journey in the long term.”

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by Kelly Ng and Cynthia Choo

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