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SINGAPORE: The opening of a new MRT station that will serve the upcoming Punggol digital district was delayed by a year.
The Punggol Coast Station on the Northeast Line was scheduled to open in 2023, but will now open a year later in 2024.
Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung announced the new opening date on Friday (November 13) during an event marking the completion of tunnel construction work for the Punggol Coast Station.
“The next step is to complete the concrete structure of the station, before conditioning the station, and then we will be ready for passengers in 2024,” he said.
READ: Punggol extension on Cross Island Line to begin construction in 2022
Ong said the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic had caused “some temporary delays” in plans for the extension of Singapore’s rail network, but noted, however, that the country was still on track to have 360 km of rail. by the early 2030s.
It noted that 40 percent of the station’s construction work was completed.
READ: 6 Years in the Making – How the Cross Island Line Direct Route Was Decided
The new station, part of a 1.6 km extension of the Northeast Line, was originally expected to open in 2030 when it was first conceived, but its opening was brought forward to coincide with developments in the area.
Mr. Ong cited the importance of the “interaction” between the Punggol Coast Station and two upcoming developments: the JTC Business Park in the Punggol Digital District and the Singapore Institute of Technology.
“It is when we integrate destiny and connection in a synergistic way that we create new possibilities. We release vitality, we generate new energy,” he said.
“So you look at places like Tokyo Station in Japan, Piccadilly Circus Station in London, or Grand Central Station in New York – these are synonymous with the vibrant and prosperous districts they serve.”
“OPPORTUNITIES IN CRISIS”
Mr. Ong also spoke about using the COVID-19 pandemic to bring about a change in travel habits.
“Being able to seize opportunities in a crisis is the greatest demonstration of resilience,” said the minister.
“The old habits, crushing during rush hours in the morning and at night every day, are neither logical, comfortable, efficient, or very environmentally friendly.”
With passenger volume now at around 70 percent of pre-COVID levels, he said, if and when travel volume resumes, and the same peak hour peaks return, “we would have wasted the crisis.”
He urged employers to adjust work arrangements, such as giving workers options to switch between working from home and in the office. He said this would allow travel habits to evolve and result in a better distribution of passenger traffic during the day.
“This would be a result that we have been yearning for for decades,” Ong said.
