SINGAPORE - Free WiFi access is now available at selected platforms of Bishan, Dhoby Ghaut and Outram Park stations, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said today.
In its Rail Report which provides an update on Singapore's MRT network, LTA also revealed that WiFi connection will be available on all platforms at these stations by mid-2015.
Free WiFi access will also be made available at all stations on the North East Line (NEL) and 12 other stations by the end of 2015. The 12 additional stations on the North-South Line (NSL) and East-West Line (EWL) are Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Batok, Buona Vista, Choa Chu Kang, Clementi, Eunos, Jurong East, Khatib, Paya Lebar, Sembawang and Yishun.
This is in addition to Raffles Place, City Hall and Orchard stations, which have already been equipped with free WiFi access from Aug 22 this year.
In the report, LTA also said that more trains will be added to existing MRT lines every year from 2015 to 2019.
The first of 18 new North East Line and 24 new Circle Line trains will be progressively put into service from mid-2015, while 57 new trains will be added to the North-South and East-West Lines from 2016.
Meanwhile, new station entrances, equipped with fare gates and ticketing machines will be constructred at Clementi, Commonwealth and Queenstown MRT stations by the middle of next year. Additional pedetrian link bridges linking the stations to pedestrian pavements will also be built.
Construction will also begin in 2015 on a new platform at Tanah Merah station, which will provide two tracks for trains heading to and from Changi Airport. This will reduce waiting times and enable faster travel to the Expo and Changi Airport stations, and is expected to be completed by 2024.
LTA also said that works to replace timber sleepers with concrete sleepters on the NSL and EWL are on track for completition by mid-2015 and end-2016 respectively. The signalling system on both lines to allow trains to run at shorter intervals will also be complete by 2016 and 2018 respectively.
According to LTA, construction works for the Downtown Line Stage 2 is also close to 90 per cent complete, and on schedule for completion by the first quarter of 2016. Four more stations on the EWL, and the new Canberra station on the NSL will also be added to the existing rail network.
The 31 stations on the new Thomson-East Coast Line will be completed in stages from 2019 to 2024, with work having commenced for service utilities and road diversions and piling works on the line's northern stretch.
With the completion of these upgrades in the coming years, "commuters can look forward to shorter waits and a less crowded and more comfortable journey," LTA concluded.