Circle Line’s daily ridership expected to hit 200,000 with opening of new stations

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20100404/tap-842-circle-lines-daily-ridership-exp-231650b.html



SINGAPORE : Nine more stations along the Circle Line are set to open on April 17.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said this should push up ridership on the line by at least five times.

Nearly 52,000 residents and grassroots leaders got a sneak preview of what is in store at its open house on Sunday. LTA said the top stations visited were Bras Basah, Paya Lebar and the Esplanade.

Residents who have had put up with the inconveniences and disruptions from the construction of the line were the first to check out the nine new stations that will open soon.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Transport, Lim Hwee Hua, said the open house is LTA’s way of saying thanks to the residents and businesses which had put up with the inconveniences.

According to the LTA, with the extension of the Circle Line to include nine more stations from April 17, Singaporeans can expect ridership to reach nearly 200,000 on this line each day.

Also joining the Circle Line will be the Paya Lebar Interchange Station. With that, Singaporeans can now bypass the busy City Hall and Raffles Place interchanges to get into the city and the northern parts of Singapore, like schools in Yishun.

One commuter said: "In the morning, my mum fetches me to school and in the afternoon, I take bus number 39 back home. It takes me 45 minutes. With the train, it will be faster."

Another commented: "On weekends, I take the train and this will be easy for me to get from where I stay at Serangoon and to Suntec and the Esplanade."

The Circle Line has 29 stations.

When fully operational, it is expected to have a ridership of nearly half a million a day.

The first five stations along the Circle Line from Marymount to Bartley stations opened to the public on May 28 last year.

Train ridership along this sector is about 40,000 a day.

The open house was also an occasion for charity work.

Taking to the catwalk in the Circle Line Charity Runway Show were prominent personalities, including Member of Parliament Fatimah Lateef and the LTA’s chief executive, Yam Ah Mee.

The show raised about S$100,000 for the LTA Cares Fund to meet the transport needs of the less fortunate. — CNA/ms