SINGAPORE: Travel time between Pasir Ris and Punggol will be halved with the construction of an MRT line extension linking the two towns by 2031.
First announced during the launch of the 2040 Land Transport Master Plan last year, the 7.3km-long Cross Island Line-Punggol Extension will begin construction in 2022.
It will comprise four stations – Punggol, Riviera, Elias and Pasir Ris – with three of the stations serving as interchanges with other lines.
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Pasir Ris will link to the East-West Line as well as the upcoming first phase of the Cross Island Line, while Punggol will link to the North-East Line.
Riviera will connect to the existing station of the same name on the Punggol LRT line.
The Elias station will be located along Pasir Ris Drive 3, and will serve residences in the area as well as workers from the nearby industrial development at Pasir Ris Drive 12.
More than 40,000 households living near the stations will benefit from the new extension, Senior Minister of State for Transport Janil Puthucheary said on Tuesday (Mar 10).
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Dr Janil, who is also a Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, noted the gazetting of the Punggol extension was another step towards the completion of the Cross Island Line, which at 50km will be Singapore's longest fully underground MRT line when completed.
It currently takes between 40 and 45 minutes to travel between Punggol and Pasir Ris by bus, he noted.
"With this extension, we'll cut that down to 20 minutes," he said.
Noting Punggol and Pasir Ris are "geographically quite close to each to each other", Senior Parliamentary Secretary Sun Xueling - who is also an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC - said the shorter commute between the two towns as a result of the extension would "bring a lot of convenience" to residents.
Ms Sun and Dr Janil spoke to the media during a visit to the site of tunnels leading to the future Punggol Coast MRT station – which will serve the upcoming Punggol Digital District when completed in 2023 – together with Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.
(Updated: )
Source: CNA (11 Mar 2020)
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