Feature Railways and The Environment (part 2) Development of Singapore’s Rapid Transit System and The Environment Tai Chong Chew and Chong Kheng Chua Introduction Figure 1 Singapore’s Rapid Transit System (RTS) Network Singapore has 3.6 million people liv- 2 ing in a total land area of just 646 km , WOODLANDS Woodlands Admiralty Sembawang making it one of the most densely popu- North-South MRT Line (N-S MRT) lated and urbanized countries in the Marslling Yishun Punggol LRT (PG) world. Rapid industrialization and in- Kranji Khatib tensive development have required a corresponding growth in transport in- Bukit Panjang LRT Yio Chu Kang Sengkang LRT (SK) Yew Tee (BP-LRT) Depot Ang Mo Kio frastructure. Roads currently take up Choa Chu Buangkok Kang EAST Bishan about 12% of the total land area, and Hougang Pasir Ris Bukit Gombak Braddell North East further major expansion to cope with Kovan MRT Line Tampines Toa Payoh Changi Serangoon (NEL MRT) Bukit Batok Novena Airport growing transportation needs is not Woodieigh Simel Station WEST Jurong East practical. At the end of 1997, 10% of Boon Lakeside Chinese Interchange Newton Sennett Expo Lay Garden Boon Keng Station Clementi Paya Tanah Merah people in Singapore owned a car. From Orchard Kandang Farrer Kallang Aljunled Labar Bedok JURONG EAST Buona Vista Kerbau Park Somerset Eunos Kembangan � 1981 to 1997, daily trips by car grew Lavenoar Changi Airport Line Commonwealth Dhoby Ghaut Bugis (CAL) from 2.6 million to about 9 million Queenstown Clarke Quay City Hall Interchange East-West MRT Line Redhill People’s Raffles Place (E-W MRT) while the vehicle population grew from Park Interchange Tiong Bahru 402,000 to about 681,000 in the same Marina Bay Tanjong World Trade Outram Pagar The Proposed Marina Line (ML) period. In September 1995, the gov- Centre Park MARINA BAY ernment of Singapore set up the Land Transport Authority (LTA), which merged all the public sector agencies in charge of land transport, previously under different ministries, to spearhead Table 1 Summary of Singapore’s Current and Planned Transit Systems improvements in the land transport sys- MRT In progress tem. in Total Operation BP-LRT CAL NEL-MRT ML SK PG The LTA’s mission is to establish a sus- tainable land transport system provid- Route 83 km 8 km 6 km 20 km 13 km 11 km 13 km 154 km ing commuters with efficient, No. of stations 48 14 2 16 20 14 19 133 comfortable, safe, and convenient rides Cost (S$) 6.3 bn 285 m 850 m 5 bn 1.75 bn 656 m 14.8 bn at affordable prices. A key component end end end end end end To be completed is an effective public transport system. 1999 2001 2002 2004 2002 2004 The strategic thrust is to shift commut- ers towards public transport modes, such as the urban Rapid Transit System (RTS) network and buses. Given the lated corridors, linking the various resi- scarcity of land, the push factor is to Singapore’s Rapid Transit System dential estates to the Central Business develop a comprehensive rapid transit District (CBD). Near and within the network with dedicated rights of way, Figure 1 shows an overview of the city, it runs underground for 19 km, and transporting large numbers of people to existing transit systems and those un- the remaining 64 km is elevated. Dur- their destinations quickly and reliably. der development. ing peak hours, the system operates at This article highlights current develop- The present Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) a 2-minute headway and a scheduled ments in Singapore on rail transit system has a route length of 83 km and speed of 40 km/h, providing efficient projects, which aim to meet the me- 48 stations. Operations started in 1987 transport for commuters. The Wood- dium-term objectives. It also discusses and the daily ridership has risen from lands Line, which opened for revenue the key environmental considerations 300,000 to about 1 million. The MRT service in 1996, highlights the impor- in development of transit systems. runs through Singapore’s heavily popu- tance of integration between different 26 Japan Railway & Transport Review 18 • December 1998 Copyright © 1998 EJRCF. All rights reserved. modes of transport. Woodlands Station, in particular, is a model of such inte- gration. The MRT system is located at the elevated viaduct level, the taxi stands and car drop-off points at ground level, while a bus interchange is located at one level below ground. This allows commuters to change modes easily. This level of integration has been speci- fied for all subsequent rapid transit projects, including the North East MRT Line (NEL) presently under construc- tion. The NEL is a conventional rail system that will run completely underground from the World Trade Centre in the south of Singapore to Punggol, a soon- to-be-developed residential town in the north-east. The NEL will be 20-km long Woodlands MRT Station (LTA) with 16 stations. When completed in 2002, it will link the heavily populated North East corridor to the CBD. Two system is Singapore’s first LRT. It is fully Downtown in Marina South. It will also interchanges with the existing MRT sys- automated and links the relatively new provide better links to other areas tem are planned: at Outram Park Sta- Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang resi- within the CBD and to the existing MRT. tion on the East-West Line, and at dential estates to the Choa Chu Kang It will form part of a larger orbital sys- Dhoby Ghaut Station on the North- Station on the existing MRT. It has a tem around the city. South Line. Great emphasis has been route length of 8 km with 14 stations. These systems represent the LTA’s efforts placed on integration, and the design To optimize land usage, the depot will to build an RTS network in the short- incorporates integrated interchanges be integrated with a commercial-cum- to-medium term. Table 1 gives an over- with future Light Rapid Transit (LRT) sys- residential development. The system view of the current network as well as tems. In addition, the interchange at is expected to be completed by 1999. the network envisaged in 2004. A long- Dhoby Ghaut Station is designed with Stations will be located within 400 m term Strategic RTS plan is being devel- an integrated above-ground commer- of most apartment blocks, making the oped. Currently, in addition to being cial development. This concept opti- system very accessible to residents. the builder and owner of the various mizes the development potential of Other LRTs shortly to commence con- systems, LTA is also the regulator, en- sites above and near MRT stations. struction are the fully automated suring that the systems are operated and Similarly, to optimize land usage, the Sengkang and Punggol LRT lines. Both maintained safely and efficiently. NEL depot will have an over-the-track will serve as feeders to the NEL and will deck to facilitate development of indus- have a total length of 24 km with 33 trial units. stations. They will serve two new Environmental Issues The Changi Airport Line (CAL) is a 6- towns with relatively few physical con- km branch of the existing MRT network, straints, so the stations will be well in- Apart from solving transportation with two additional stations. The tegrated with the neighbourhood needs, an RTS network can offer con- elevated Expo Station will serve the facilities. They are expected to be com- siderable improvements in the quality soon-to-be-completed mega exhibition pleted at the same time as the NEL. of the environment and the quality of centre, while the second station will be In addition to the MRT/LRT systems now life, particularly in a densely populated underground at Changi Airport, serving under construction, feasibility studies area like Singapore. Social costs due Terminal 2 and future Terminal 3. are presently being undertaken for the to air pollution, excessive noise, exploi- The Bukit Panjang Light Rapid Transit Marina Line intended to serve the New tation of land, and traffic accidents are Copyright © 1998 EJRCF. All rights reserved. Japan Railway & Transport Review 18 • December 1998 27 Railways and The Environment (part 2) mary consideration as Singapore pro- ceeds with plans to expand the RTS network, and it is imperative that envi- ronmental issues are considered both in operations and construction. Operations Reducing energy consumption is an im- portant contribution to protecting the environment as well as reducing opera- tional costs. Major design efforts for the various subsystems of the RTS have been implemented as follows based on developments in the railway industry and advancement in technology: Rolling stock • Reduction of vehicle weight by us- ing aluminium bodies Guideway bifurcation at Station A6 on the Bukit Panjang LRT (LTA) • Use of efficient electronic switching devices such as Gate Turn-Off (GTO) much lower with such networks. catenary systems are not allowed for thyristors and Insulated Gate Bipolar In planning Singapore’s RTS, the LTA elevated transit systems. The present MRT Transistors (IGBT) works closely with the Urban Redevel- uses a 750-V dc third rail to power the • Optimization of the train running opment Authority (URA) and Housing trains, while the Bukit Panjang LRT has profile between stations to maximize Development Board (HDB) to ensure 600-V ac side conductors. coasting using the Automatic Train integration with land usage and to iden- Protection of the environment is a pri- Operation system tify and safeguard corridors for future construction. For the existing MRT and those systems under construction, much effort has been taken to ensure that the stations and infrastructure are not visually ob- trusive and that the architecture blends with the environment.