Opening Speech by Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance, Mr Chee Hong Tat at the Opening of Punggol Coast MRT Station

Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean and fellow Grassroots Advisers,

Mr Alan Chan, Chairman of LTA,

Mr Bob Tan, Chairman of SBS Transit,

Distinguished Guests, Colleagues,

Sisters and brothers from the Unions,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

1.     Good morning, and thank you for joining us at the opening of Punggol Coast MRT station. This is a joyous occasion, and with your blessings and well wishes, I hope it will be a good start for the festive season. I would also like to thank the students from the Singapore Institute of Technology for their rousing performance to start today’s ceremony on a high note.

2.     Every MRT station we open is eagerly anticipated by our residents and commuters. Each new opening also represents the culmination of almost two decades of effort, from the initial stages of planning and design, to the complex and often challenging construction and tunneling works, and finally the installation and rigorous testing of our rail systems before we open to the public. Like other transport projects such as Tuas Port and Changi Airport Terminal 5, our MRT projects can span multiple terms of Government and also require good coordination across agencies to bring these ideas to fruition. It is a process that demands a lot of hard work, meticulous planning, and the ability to work together as a team to overcome many challenges along the way.

3.     That is why I would like to start my speech by giving a word of thanks to colleagues from LTA, JTC, SBS Transit and our contractors for their efforts and good work in completing this new MRT station, which will benefit Punggol residents and our commuters for many years to come. Thank you very much, everyone.

4.     In October last year, Senior Minister Teo and myself, together with fellow Grassroots Advisers, attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the Cross Island Line - Punggol Extension, which will connect Punggol station to Pasir Ris station via a 15-minute train ride when it opens in 2032.

5.     Punggol residents are looking forward to the Cross Island Line - Punggol Extension. This will tap on the provisions for an interchange with an additional rail line at Punggol MRT station, which were catered for and safeguarded earlier, well before the completion of the North East Line more than 20 years ago. This fact may not be so well-known to the public, but it shows the long-term planning behind our transport infrastructure development. The thinking was to keep open options for the future, because in Singapore we care not only about the current generation but also our future generations, so that when the time came, we could design the connection between the North East Line and the Cross Island Line more easily.

6.     This is how, over the past decades, the Government has progressively and systemically built up Singapore’s infrastructure – we deliver on our plans for the generation of today, while always keeping the next bound of development in mind for our children and our grandchildren. We do this for infrastructure development; we also do this when it comes to safeguarding our reserves and preparing for future challenges such as climate change. 

Investing for the Long Term for our Public Transport Network

7.     Ladies and gentlemen, in fact, our public transport plans for Punggol can be traced back to 1996, as part of the plans for Punggol 21. Besides the North East Line, we built a network of Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines connecting to Punggol and Sengkang MRT stations. 

8.     LTA had just been set up at that time, after a reorganisation involving some Government agencies, and our planners and engineers were exploring innovative ways to serve new housing developments. This is what led to the “butterfly” loops around the Punggol and Sengkang eastern and western sectors, which maximised the coverage of the LRT and provided residents with convenient options to get around the area.

9.     This same resident-centric approach also guided the design of a scalable LRT system. We anticipated the ridership to be lower in the early years when we are looking at these new towns, and hence deployed one-car trains to manage costs. But LTA designed the mechanical, electrical, and signalling systems to be future-ready by being able to support a transition from a one-car train system to a two-car train system, which entered service in 2016 as ridership increased.

10.    LTA has procured 25 new two-car trains for the Sengkang-Punggol LRT, with the first set of new two-car trains having arrived in Singapore last month. We will see these new two-car trains enter into service progressively from the second half of 2025 after rigorous testing, and they will replace all existing one-car trains by mid-2028.

11.    In addition to increasing passenger capacity on the Sengkang-Punggol LRT with the two-car trains, we have added six new trains to the North East Line since 2023. With the opening of Punggol Coast MRT station, the trains can now operate at higher frequency, which means shorter waiting times for commuters, especially during peak hours. Commuters can also look forward to a more comfortable journey on the NEL, as we continue to refurbish our older NEL trains to provide new seats, upgraded flooring, and increased standing capacity.

Public Transport Nodes Catalyse Growth

12.    The North East Line and Sengkang-Punggol LRT have catalysed the growth of the entire North East Region. When the North East Line opened in 2003, not all the stations were as vibrant as they are today. Today, nearly every station along the line is home to a lively town centre. Heartland malls like Punggol Station’s Waterway Point and Sengkang Station’s CompassOne are thriving and buzzing with activities. I have no doubt that, before long, Punggol Coast Station will be just as vibrant, as a hub for residents, staff and students from SIT, as well as workers and entrepreneurs in Punggol Digital District.

13.    As we complete this project, there are many others that are still underway – I mentioned the Cross Island Line at the start of my speech, which will open in phases from 2030. Besides that, works are underway to close the loop of the Circle Line in the first half of 2026, as well as the fifth stage of the Thomson-East Coast Line which will link it to an extended Downtown Line in the East in the second half of 2026. In the West, we are also building the Jurong Region Line, which will open in phases from 2027. The Thomson-East Coast Line will be connected to the RTS Link at Woodlands North station for commuters going to Johor Bahru by end 2026, and will also be extended to Changi Airport together with the opening of Terminal 5 in the mid-2030s.

14.    These projects reflect our firm belief and commitment to Singaporeans that accessible public transport is essential for enhanced connectivity and a more liveable city. Just like what the MRT and LRT have done for Punggol and the North East Region, these upcoming stations and potential future rail lines will serve as anchors for more vibrant towns across Singapore, benefitting many generations of Singaporeans.

Conclusion

15.    Ladies and gentlemen, sisters and brothers, let me conclude my speech. Our shared mission is to bring people from all around our island closer to one another, by making it easier to travel around Singapore – for work, to attend school, and for leisure. Today’s ceremony marks another milestone in this journey. It is also a testament to the dedication of everyone involved – our planners, engineers, architects, and technicians who put in the hard work to build and maintain our rail network, and to keep it safe, reliable and resilient. Thank you for supporting us, and thank you for working with us to keep Singapore moving.

16.    We are also grateful for the strong support from the community – our residents and commuters. Thank you for your understanding and patience, to enable us to achieve a smooth opening of Punggol Coast station together. We hope the station will bring greater convenience and time-savings for our residents and commuters.

17.    Last but not least, I want to give a special word of thanks to our sisters and brothers from the National Transport Workers’ Union and to our public transport workers. It is through your hard work and dedication, day in and day out, that we have a world class public transport system that all of us can be proud of. 

18.    I wish everyone good health and happiness as we celebrate the year-end festive season, and may 2025 be a fruitful and successful year for you and your family! Thank you very much.