Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Evaluation of MRT Infrastructure Designs for Robustness in View of Climate Change

Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Transport 

a.     whether MRT infrastructure designs have been evaluated for robustness in view of climate change; 

b.     if so, whether the scenarios considered go beyond the optimistic and median scenarios in terms of severity; and 

c.     to what extent do these evaluations and scenarios consider (i) rising sea levels in the case of underground stations and tunnels and (ii) soil changes and landslide risk in the case of above-ground stations and tracks.

Reply by Minister for Transport S Iswaran:

1.     The design of our MRT infrastructure takes into consideration climate change scenarios such as increases in sea levels, rainfall, ambient temperature, and wind strength. These scenarios are based on findings from the Centre for Climate Research Singapore’s Second National Climate Change Study, which takes reference from the Fifth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Our MRT infrastructure also conforms to the drainage and flood protection requirements set out in PUB’s Code of Practice on Surface Water Drainage for all developments.

2.     In addition, LTA regularly reviews the design of existing infrastructure to ensure that they are on par with international standards and account for the latest scientific evidence on climate change, and may implement additional mitigation measures to improve their resilience if necessary.