Oral Reply by Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport Chee Hong Tat to Parliamentary Question on Public Transport Capacity in Punggol

Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked the Minister for Transport for growing towns like Punggol where the demand on the LRT system can be very busy during peak times and drop drastically during non-peak times, whether the Ministry will consider supplementing the LRT system with more frequent bus services in the interim, if it is not yet feasible to bring in additional LRT train sets.

Reply by Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport Chee Hong Tat:

1.     The Punggol LRT system operates at maximum capacity during the morning peak period. It is supplemented by 18 bus services that serve all the LRT stations and provide connectivity to the town centre and beyond.

2.     We are increasing public transport capacity in Punggol, in anticipation of new residents moving into the town. LTA recently added frequency to some bus services and is using more double-deck buses. LTA is closely monitoring the situation and will add more bus trips during peak hours if necessary.

3.     From next year, LTA will progressively replace 17 of the existing one-car LRT trains on both Punggol and Sengkang LRT systems with new two-car LRT trains, to increase the overall capacity. The North East Line will also be extended to Punggol Coast next year, with the opening of a new Punggol Coast MRT station.