Circle Line draws 40,000

[metalslug]

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_383174.html

Circle Line draws 40,000
Students find new line a time-saver; first shuttle bus rolls out to new station
By Yeo Ghim Lay & Goh Yi Han

It is a faster way to school for these students after part of the Circle Line became operational yesterday. -- PHOTO: LIM CHIN PING FOR THE STRAITS TIMES

NANYANG Junior College (NYJC) student Yeo Xin Yi, 18, got an extra 20 minutes of sleep yesterday morning, with the opening of the Circle Line cutting her daily commute to school.

Xin Yi, who lives in Yishun, used to take a train to Ang Mo Kio and then transfer to a bus to get to school in a 45- minute journey.

She now takes the train to Bishan and hops on a Circle Line train to Lorong Chuan station, at the doorstep of NYJC. 'The train's a lot more convenient compared to the bus,' she said.

She was among hundreds of students from four schools along the Circle Line who switched to the new trains yesterday.

Lorong Chuan, Bartley, Marymount, Serangoon and Bishan are the first five stations to open on the new line. The remaining 24 stations will begin operations from next year onwards.

The first day of operations saw some 40,000 commuters ride the Circle Line.

Besides NYJC, students and staff from Raffles Institution (Junior College), Maris Stella High School and Bartley Secondary School are reaping the benefits of the new line.

Instead of having to walk or take a bus from Bishan or Serangoon MRT stations, they can now take the train directly to school.

'I took less than 15 minutes to get to work today, compared to 40 minutes if I take a bus to Bishan and walk,' said Madam Linda Lai, a senior laboratory officer at RI(JC), who is in her 50s.

The school is also helping to build a covered walkway to link up with the station. This will be ready by the end of the June school holidays, before the new term.

Read the full story in The Straits Times today.

[email protected]

[email protected]




First-day blues for commuters
NANYANG Junior College (NYJC) student Yeo Xin Yi, 18, got an extra 20 minutes of sleep yesterday morning, with the opening of the Circle Line cutting her daily commute to school.
Xin Yi, who lives in Yishun, used to take a train to Ang Mo Kio and then transfer to a bus to get to school in a 45- minute journey.

She now takes the train to Bishan and hops on a Circle Line train to Lorong Chuan station, at the doorstep of NYJC. 'The train's a lot more convenient compared to the bus,' she said.

She was among hundreds of students from four schools along the Circle Line who switched to the new trains yesterday.

Lorong Chuan, Bartley, Marymount, Serangoon and Bishan are the first five stations to open on the new line. The remaining 24 stations will begin operations from next year onwards.

The first day of operations saw some 40,000 commuters ride the Circle Line.

Besides NYJC, students and staff from Raffles Institution (Junior College), Maris Stella High School and Bartley Secondary School are reaping the benefits of the new line.

Instead of having to walk or take a bus from Bishan or Serangoon MRT stations, they can now take the train directly to school.

'I took less than 15 minutes to get to work today, compared to 40 minutes if I take a bus to Bishan and walk,' said Madam Linda Lai, a senior laboratory officer at RI(JC), who is in her 50s.

The school is also helping to build a covered walkway to link up with the station. This will be ready by the end of the June school holidays, before the new term.

Read the full story in The Straits Times today.

[email protected]

[email protected]

http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIMEDIA/pdf/20090528/28_05_2009CircleLine29.pdf

 

[Alamaking]

40,000 passengers on the 1st day only har? lose business liao lor, expect other transport to increase, to subsidize this circle line.

 

[i_am_belle]

heard that on 1st day of operation, there was a technical glitch & service disruption around lunchtime ... passengers on circle line had 2b evacuated ...

i was there to try out the line at around 4pm yesterday ... the toilets at bartley were filthy ... the extra staff they hired were standing around gossiping among themselves instead of keeping a lookout for commuters who might require help ...

but bartley station is just a short walk from SPCA where i can go to view the cute (but sadly unwanted) dogs & cats ... :p

why bt batok/jurong always the last to get public transport improvements ? a train trip from bugis to bt batok (EW line) takes a whole blinking 45 minutes !

 

[tonychat]

wow!!! Lots of self-praise for the work done by the govt. This is what they want to hear and then only show that.

i suggest they put into the headlines of all the newspaper of the whole world and that allow the whole world to do the standing ovation for them. ISn't that better?

 

[johnny333]

but bartley station is just a short walk from SPCA where i can go to view the cute (but sadly unwanted) dogs & cats ... :p

The SPCA was kicked out of their Orchard facility & exiled to their current ulu site with ghosts for neighbours

When you have MRT stations being built in such areas one has to expect other users to subsidise these stations, wait & see fares will go up

 

[mercbenz]

but bartley station is just a short walk from SPCA where i can go to view the cute (but sadly unwanted) dogs & cats ... :p

On the note of SPCA, seen this? http://www.talkingcock.com/html/article.php?sid=2741

Animals in Singapore are expressing worry that rabid religious fanatics might soon attempt to take over the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

 

[i_am_belle]

The SPCA was kicked out of their Orchard facility & exiled to their current ulu site with ghosts for neighbours

When you have MRT stations being built in such areas one has to expect other users to subsidise these stations, wait & see fares will go up

no worries, SPCA gonna be kicked out again, this time to Lim CK (lagi ulu) ... :o

in its place, maybe a retail mall will sprout ? bartley mall ? ... can even predict the tenants - giordano, mac, pasta mania, sakae sushi ...

wahh, u talk abt 'ghosts' at bartley ... imagery came to my mind was 'bidadari' ... 'aljunied columbrium' ... then u talk abt 'other users' ... i had to read it 2x to avoid misunderstandings ...

 

[i_am_belle]

On the note of SPCA, seen this? http://www.talkingcock.com/html/article.php?sid=2741

yup thanx for the article ...

abit off topic, but saw a well-dressed man carrying a maltese as if he was carrying a child ... somehow my eyes fixed on the back of his head & the back of the maltese's head (cute ears) ... going into the SPCA office to surrender the dog ... my heart filled with sadness, and the thot that came to my mind was - he may be carrying this dog like a child but its the last time - he doesnt want it anymore ... :(

 

[po2wq]

...

...

so m-t ...

 

[mercbenz]

so m-t ...

No worries, very soon it'll be packed with FT.

 

[johnny333]

No worries, very soon it'll be packed with FT.

FT are already the #1 users of public transport.

The circle line goes through less dense areas so the issue is whether there will be enought FT to justify the costs of building the line.

I suspect there's not enough FT they had planned on. With the current recession they obviously miscalculated & guess who will end up paying for their 'honest mistake'

 

[DingDong]

No worries, very soon it'll be packed with FT.

Of course, without the FT, all the Sinkee men will become construction workers and their women will become maids or prostitutes in other countries.

FT are essential for S'pore's survival.

 

[i_am_belle]

a recap of Circle Line Stages 1, 2 & 3 ...

wahh, tan chin koo ... and btw the marymount-bartley line is just a small portion of Stage 3 only ...

we in western s'pore take > 1 hour to get to town by bus ...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(News) LTA unveils locations of Downtown Line stage 2 stations

LTA unveils locations of Downtown Line stage 2 stations

THE locations of stations along Downtown Line stage 2, a 16.6km stretch joining residents in Bukit Panjang and Bukit Timah to the city centre, were revealed on Tuesday.

The line, one of half a dozen new rail projects Singapore is embarking on up to 2020, will make stops near schools like Singapore Chinese Girls School, Raffles Girls Primary School, Hwa Chong Institution and National Junior College.

Several residential developments like the Equatorial, Blossomvale as well as the Housing Board heartland of Bukit Panjang will also have stations near them.

Starting from Singapore's downtown is the line's southern-most station of Rochor. North of this is the first of three interchanges, Little India station, which connects the North-east Line.

Next is Newton Interchange, near Singapore's most famous hawker centre; and then Stevens Station, under Stevens Road and a stone's throw from the Raffles Town Club.

After that comes the Botanic Gardens Station, which intersects with the Circle Line.

The line then moves through Singapore's most prestigious residential area, with stops near Duchess Avenue, Sixth Avenue (actually nearer to Fourth) and Blackmore (near King Albert Park).

In the vicinity are the Nissan and BMW showrooms.

From there, the line crosses over to the shop-and-dine hub of Beauty World, where a station will be located.

Stations north of Beauty World are Hillview (near Dairy Farm) and Cashew (near Assumption English School and St Joseph's Church).

Next, the Downtown Line links up with the Bukit Panjang LRT, at the Petir station.

The line terminates at Gali Batu Depot, which is to be sited on part of the Kwong Hou Sua Teochew Cemetery.

In all, there are 12 stations, of which three are interchanges (Little India, Newton and Botanic Gardens). As with the Circle Line, the Land Transport Authority will be asking the public to suggest permanent names for the other nine stations.

Stage 2 of Downtown Line is part of a $12 billion 40km project linking the north-western and eastern parts of Singapore to the new downtown. Major construction will start middle of next year. (ie. now, lor ... this was last yr's article ... )

Stage 1 is where the Integrated Resort, Gardens by the Bay and new financial district are. Stage 3 goes through MacPherson, Bedok Reservoir and Tampines areas to end at the East-West Line's Expo Station.

The LTA, meanwhile, on Tuesday gave another progress report on the Circle Line. Stage 3, linking Bartley to Marymount, is on track to be the first portion of the orbital rail line to be opened in mid-2009.

The five stations along this stretch are expected to attain temporary occupation permits by end of this year.

Overall, about 90 per cent of tunnels of the 33km line are completed, with the rest by early next year.