Commuters exiting one MRT station and getting to another station on a separate line on foot will soon be able to skip a second boarding charge, and enjoy the same fare as those who do so at an interchange. Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said on Friday 20th October that a review of distance-based fare transfer rules will be undertaken to facilitate this.
"As our network becomes denser, MRT stations on different lines will be nearer to each other," he said at the opening of Downtown Line 3 (DTL3). "In some instances, commuters may save time by exiting one station, walking over to another station, and transferring to another line."
"Our fare structure currently does not provide for such transfers except at three stations, namely Bukit Panjang, Newton and Tampines stations," he added. Commuters who do so at other stations will incur a second boarding charge. Mr. Khaw said the Public Transport Council (PTC) will review transfer rules in view of this. "I am sure PTC will examine the issue thoroughly, to ensure fairness to commuters and taxpayers," he noted.
In September, the Land Transport Authority said a Walking Train Map will be progressively put up at 19 MRT stations, including Bugis, City Hall, Chinatown, Dhoby Ghaut, Esplanade, Little India and Raffles Place. The map shows the walking time between stations, and should help commuters who decide to do train transfers on foot. It should also help during rail breakdowns.
In his speech, Mr Khaw also called the DTL3 a game changer for those living in the east. "For example, a Bedok Reservoir resident working in the Clarke Quay area will find his journey shortened from 60 minutes to 35 minutes," he said. He noted that the opening of DTL3 marks the completion of the entire 42km Downtown Line, bringing the number of MRT lines in Singapore to five.
At the same time, the capacity of older lines is being raised so as to reduce waiting time and crowdedness on trains as well as on station platforms. When the resignalling project on the North-South and East-West lines is completed some time in 2019, trains will be able to run closer to each other. "This will allow us to add up to six more train trips every hour during peak periods," the minister noted. "To do this, we have bought 57 new trains. Most of these new trains are already here."
More rail projects are in the pipeline, too. The first three stations on the Thomson-East Coast Line will open in 2019. The North-East Line extension will open in 2023, followed by the Jurong Region Line and Circle Line Stage 6 around 2025. The Cross Island Line - the next major heavy rail project - will be up by around 2030. "By then, we would have achieved our goal of eight in 10 households being within a 10-minute walk of a train station," said Mr. Khaw.
