A new platform is being planned for Tanah Merah MRT station which will eventually allow new tracks and more trains to be added - speeding up the journey to and from Changi Airport.
However, the bad news for commuters heading there from the city is that it will take 10 years before it is up and running.
Currently they must change trains at Tanah Merah, where the East-West Line divides for either Pasir Ris or the Expo and the airport. As only one track is available for the latter two destinations, trains going to and from them must wait for the train at the station to depart before entering.
The new platform will allow for two new middle tracks to cater for these services and leave the two outer tracks free for trains travelling between Joo Koon and Pasir Ris.
Although passengers will still have to change trains, their waiting times - which now range between seven and 13 minutes - will be cut, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday. It added that the new train frequencies will be revealed "at a later date".
Announcing the development, it said a tender will be called in 2016. However, the job will not be completed until 2024.
MRT tracks will also be extended to link Tanah Merah station to an upcoming "four-in-one" bus and rail depot, also due in 2024.
Tanah Merah is the second MRT station to have tracks added after Jurong East, which added a platform and a 2.5km-long track under an $800 million project in 2011.
The LTA said it had received feedback from workers at Changi Business Park and the public that waiting times at Tanah Merah are too long.
It said: "With the new platform and additional trains injected into the system, trains can run at shorter intervals."
Commuter traffic in the area is expected to swell, with upcoming residential projects in the area such as Urban Vista and Glades, as well as the completion of the Downtown and Thomson-East Coast MRT lines by 2024.
Some 66 million passengers a year currently pass through Changi Airport but this will rise to around 135 million passengers when its planned Terminal 5 starts operating in the middle of the next decade.
However, the eight-year-long construction work at Tanah Merah is expected to cause a headache for residents. A roughly 1.5km-long stretch of road along New Upper Changi Road will have to be re-aligned to make way for the platform.
The LTA said it will work with contractors to minimise noise and dust, and erect noise barriers and privacy screens to reduce the impact on residents nearby.
Account manager and Tanah Merah resident Russell Tan, 24, fears the traffic will get worse: "It can get quite bad here because some of the roads are narrow."
Technical leader Smeeta Das, 34, who commutes to work at Changi Business Park, hopes the changes will help to cut down waiting time at Tanah Merah.
She said: "Eight years is a long time - I don't know if I'll be working in Singapore still by then!"
This article was published on Aug 26 in The Straits Times.
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