SINGAPORE - Apart from easing crowding along what are also Singapore's most heavily-utilised lines, the bigger train fleet will also allow more trains to undergo maintenance and upgrading works, the Land Transport Authority said.
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Here is the statement from the Land Transport Authority:
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operator SMRT Corporation (SMRT) will be adding another 29 new trains to further boost the capacity of the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL) and to meet higher ridership demand.
Together with the procurement of 41 trains earlier announced by the LTA and SMRT in March 2013, these 29 new trains will bring the NSEWL fleet to 198, or a 40 per cent increase from the current fleet, by 2019.
These new trains are expected to arrive progressively between 2016 and 2019. Apart from easing crowding along the more heavily-utilised stretches of the NSEWL, the bigger train fleet will also allow more trains to undergo critical maintenance works and older trains to be upgraded as part of the ongoing programme to upgrade the NSEWL's signalling system.
The additional 70 trains in total will also meet the higher ridership needs of an expanded MRT network, when the Tuas West Extension on the East-West Line and the Canberra station on the North-South Line open.