新加坡西部交通大升级！45分钟内到市中心

议长先生：有请梁文辉先生。

梁文辉先生（非选区议员）：我今天发言的议题是：在新加坡西部实现 2040 年陆路交通发展总蓝图下的 45 分钟城市愿景。议长先生，9月25日至30日期间，地铁东西线在波那维斯达和裕廊东捷运站之间发生大规模故障，这提醒居住在新加坡西部的新加坡人他们对东西线有多么的依赖！

这次为期六天的停运也恰逢小学离校考试（PSLE）和新加坡人口首次超过600万的公告。

就地铁连通性而言，新加坡东部远胜于西部。有三条平行的地铁线将东部与市中心连接起来。即东西线(East-West Line)、滨海市区线( Downtown Line)和汤申-东海岸线(Thomson-East Coast Line)。如果东西线在东部停运，居民将比居住在西部的人拥有更多选择。

另一方面，在为期六天的停运期间，西部的居民在往返市中心工作地点时别无选择，只能乘坐地铁回家。他们要么使用替代地铁的巴士接驳服务，要么忍受长途巴士，例如 174 路或 502 路。因此，许多居民向我抱怨说，在停运的最初几天，他们上下班要花三个多小时。

2019 年，陆路交通管理局 (LTA) 在《2040 年陆路交通发展总蓝图》中制定了一个雄心勃勃的愿景，即让新加坡成为一个 "45 分钟城市"，新加坡人应该在高峰时段完成10次行程中的9次不应超过45 分钟。六天的混乱促使我们思考，即使一切正常运转，2040 年交通发展总蓝图中的所有计划都得以实现，它是否足以让西部居民实现“45 分钟城市”。

政府辩称说，即将建成的裕廊区域线 (JRL) 和跨岛线 (CRL) 将改善西部的连通性。但即使在这两条线路建成后，东西线仍将是西部居民往返新加坡东西部的主要瓶颈。这是因为裕廊区域线 (JRL) 仅连接东西线进行东西向旅行。

新加坡西部并不是某个“Ulu”(马来语，偏僻，鸟不生蛋的地方)腹地。这里拥有人口密集的中心，如裕廊西、新兴的新城镇如登加，以及主要的就业中心裕廊东和大士。现有的城镇，如女皇镇和红山，也将很快重新开发和密集化，裕廊湖区将创造许多新的就业机会。所有这些居民和工作都需要与新加坡其他地区更好地联系在一起。

目前，对于蔡厝港、武吉巴督、先驱或裕廊西的居民来说，如果在莱佛士坊等市中心工作，乘坐公共交通工具45分钟通勤仍然遥不可及。这与东部的情况截然不同，在东部，整个新城镇，如马林百列和勿洛，甚至淡滨尼的部分地区，都可以在45分钟内从市中心到达。

除了市中心，我们还必须加强西部与新加坡其他地区的联系。随着去中心化和工作流动性的提高，西部居民可能会发现自己要到榜鹅数码区或樟宜商业园工作。虽然由于距离太远，45 分钟的通勤时间对他们来说可能永远不可能实现，但我们可以做更多的事情来尽可能减少他们的通勤时间。

今天，我想提出两种方法来改善地铁连通性和公交服务，以减轻西部居民对东西线的依赖，这样我们就可以更接近实现“西部 45 分钟城市”愿景。

第一种方法是通过将裕廊区域线 (JRL) 连接到环线（CCL）和跨岛线 (CRL)  来改善西部的铁路连通性。关于这一点，有两个未经证实的提议。

第一个提议是将裕廊区域线 (JRL)从班丹蓄水池站延伸到环线（CCL）上的虎豹别墅站。这将使登加、武吉巴督西、亚逸拉惹和西海岸的居民只需在虎豹别墅换乘一次，就可以乘坐地铁前往市中心。它还可以让往返新国大的学生受益。这项提议最初由时任交通部长吕德耀于 2015 年提出。后来，在 2022 年，时任交通部长易华仁更新称，可行性研究仍在进行中，尽管这一潜在的延伸似乎已被排除在《2040 年陆路交通发展总蓝图》之外。

第二个提议是建设一个换乘基础设施，将裕廊区域线 (JRL)上的裕廊市政厅站与跨岛线 (CRL)上的裕廊湖区站连接起来。这两个站相距不远，但目前没有计划作为换乘连接。时任部长易华仁在2022年还表示，当局将研究这一点，因为“我们需要在我们的地铁站建立有意义的连接，以提高便利性和弹性。”

这两项延伸裕廊区域线 (JRL)的提议，将大大增加从西部到市中心和新加坡其他地区的地铁连接。我们很高兴，今天上午，徐芳达部长提到交通部将研究这些建议。

改善西部公共交通的第二种方法，是引入城际直达巴士服务网络。与增加铁路连通性相比，这可以相对较快地实施。这些直达服务将不同于现有的快速巴士服务。在整个路线上，它们只会在每个市镇的几个高需求站点停靠，以便乘客更快地在市镇之间往返。它们还将全天双向运行，班次频率较高。现有的在所有站点停靠的路线仍然可以保留，以便将乘客从需求较少的站点运送到需求较高的站点。

应该引入两种类型的直达巴士服务。第一种是连接新加坡不同市镇的长途直达巴士服务。在西部，我们目前有30路和143路服务，它们为德曼花园（Teban Garden）、班丹花园（Pandan Gardens）和西海岸的居民提供重要的城际连接，这些地区目前没有地铁服务到新加坡东部和中部。还有180路和 974 路等服务，将武吉班让与文礼和裕廊西连接起来。

所有这些都是重要的长途城际直达巴士服务，与我们的地铁网络相辅相成，但它们的速度太慢了。基本巴士服务时速约为15公里，约为地铁速度的一半。虽然我们目前有像30e路这样更快的特快巴士，但其中许多只在高峰时段运行。我们需要的是一个直达巴士网络，以快速在市镇之间运送人员。这对于目前没有地铁服务的地区尤为重要。

第二种直达巴士服务是将更偏远的地区更快地连接到主要交通节枢纽和社区中心。这些服务可能类似于陆路交通管理局在《巴士连接增强计划》（Bus Connectivity Enhancement Plan）下推出的“特快接驳”巴士服务。例如，我们应该引入870E路直达巴士服务，将登加与裕廊东地铁连接起来，并引入871E路直达巴士服务，将登加与武吉甘柏地铁和美丽世界地铁连接起来。这些服务将比目前的870和871服务快得多。我们还可以引入连接登加和文礼的巴士服务，这是许多登加居民在我与他们接触期间所要求的。

新加坡前进党 (PSP) 敦促陆路交通管理局认真考虑利用《巴士连接增强计划》作为大胆重塑巴士系统的机会。这应该在国家层面进行，但在西部尤其重要，那里的铁路连接不如东部，但通勤人口正在迅速增加。议长先生，请允许我用普通话发言。

(普通话)：议长先生，上个月，东西线裕廊东站和文礼站之间发生了前所未有的六天大规模中断。这让居住在新加坡西部，尤其是裕廊西、裕廊东和金文泰的新加坡人意识到，他们是多么依赖东西线作为关键的铁路基础设施。

陆路交通管理局在2019年发布的《2040年陆路交通发展总蓝图》中，提出了到2040年新加坡将成为“45分钟城市”的愿景，即高峰时段90%的公共交通行程可以在45分钟内完成。然而，对于西部居民来说，这一愿景目前离现实还很远。

新加坡前进党 (PSP)认为，要让西部居民实现这一愿景，政府应落实目前正在研究的两项有关裕廊区域线 (JRL)的建议。

第一是将裕廊区域线 (JRL)从环线上的班丹蓄水池站延伸至虎豹别墅站。第二是将JRL上的裕廊镇大厦站与CRL上的裕廊湖区站连接起来，形成换乘站。

为了加快西部捷运网络的延伸，我们还建议政府在今年的巴士连接增强计划中加入直达服务，连接岛上的各个地方，让西部居民能够更快地上下班和出行。

我们希望上个月发生的大规模交通中断事故能使政府更加关注西部地区公共交通的不足。

每个新加坡人都应该得到更好的公共交通服务。

（英文）：议长先生，部长先生，总结来看，上个月发生的大规模地铁故障向我们展示了新加坡西部居民对东西线的依赖程度。我们希望政府支持将裕廊区域线 (JRL)与环线（CCL）和 跨岛线 (CRL)连接起来以减少这种依赖的提议。此外，为了更直接地缓解压力并补充新加坡西部欠发达的地铁网络，我们建议政府考虑引入一个跳站巴士服务网络。这应该在国家层面上进行，但它将特别有利于目前非常依赖东西线的西部居民。

新加坡前进党 (PSP)希望最近前所未有的中断，将促使政府对《陆路交通发展总蓝图》和《巴士连接增强计划》下的计划进行彻底审查，以改善新加坡西部的公共交通，同时努力提高整个新加坡的公共交通水平。公共交通需要为新加坡的每个人服务。我们必须更加努力，为所有新加坡人实现“45分钟城市”的愿景。为国家，为人民。

Mr Speaker: Mr Leong Mun Wai

Mr Leong Mun Wai (Non-Constituency Member): Realising the vision of a 45-minute city in the West of Singapore under the Land Transport Master Plan 2040. Mr Speaker, Sir, the massive breakdown on the East-West Line between Buona Vista and Jurong East Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations between 25 and 30 September reminded Singaporeans living in the West of Singapore of how reliant they are on the East-West Line. 

This six-day breakdown also happened to coincide with the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and the announcement that Singapore's population exceeded six million for the first time.

When it comes to rail connectivity, the East side of Singapore is far better than the West side. There are three rail lines running parallel to each other, connecting the East to the Downtown Core. Namely, the East-West Line, Downtown Line and Thomson-East Coast Line. Had the East-West Line failed in the East instead, residents would have more options compared to those living in the West. 

On the other hand, during the six-day disruption, residents in the West who were travelling to and from their workplaces downtown had no alternative option to get them home by MRT. They would either have to use the bus bridging services replacing the MRT or endure long bus rides, such as services 174 or 502. As a result, many residents have complained to me that it took them more than three hours to commute during the initial days of the breakdown.  

In 2019, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has set an ambitious goal in the Land Transport Master Plan 2040 to make Singapore a 45-minute city where Singaporeans should spend no more than 45 minutes to complete nine out of 10 peak-period journeys. The six-day disruption prompted us to ask whether the Master Plan 2040 is sufficient to make a 45-minute city a reality for residents of the West, even if everything is operating normally and all the plans in the Master Plan 2040 come into fruition.

The Government will argue that the upcoming Jurong Region Line (JRL) and Cross Island Line (CRL) will improve connectivity in the West. But even after these two lines are built, the East-West Line will still be a major bottleneck for travel between the East and West of Singapore for residents of the West. This is because the JRL connects only to the East-West Line for east-west travel.

The West of Singapore is not some "ulu" hinterland. It is home to very dense population centres such as Jurong West, upcoming new towns such as Tengah and major employment hubs in Jurong East and Tuas. Existing towns, such as Queenstown and Bukit Merah, will also soon be redeveloped and densified and many new jobs will be created in the Jurong Lake District. All these residents and jobs need to be better connected to the rest of Singapore. 

Currently, for a resident of Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Batok, Pioneer or Jurong West, working somewhere in the Downtown Core, like Raffles Place, a 45-minute commute by public transport to their workplace is still far from reality. This is very different from the East where entire new towns, such as Marine Parade and Bedok and even parts of Tampines, are accessible from the Downtown Core within 45 minutes.

And on top of the Downtown Core, we must also strengthen connections from the West to other parts of Singapore. With decentralisation and greater job mobility, residents of the West could find themselves working in the Punggol Digital District or Changi Business Park. While a 45-minute commute may never be feasible for them because of sheer distance, we can do more to reduce their commuting times as much as possible.

Today, I would like to suggest two approaches to improve rail connectivity and bus services to relieve residents in the West from their dependence on the East-West Line so that we can be closer to realising the vision of a 45-minute city in the West. 

The first approach is to improve rail connectivity for the West by connecting the JRL to the Circle Line and CRL. There have been two unconfirmed proposals regarding this. 

The first proposal is to extend the JRL from Pandan Reservoir to Haw Par Villa on the Circle Line. This will allow residents in Tengah, Bukit Batok West, Ayer Rajah and West Coast to travel to the Downtown Core by MRT with just one transfer at Haw Par Villa. It could also benefit students travelling to and from the National University of Singapore. This proposal was first announced by then-Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew in 2015. Later, in 2022, then-Transport Minister S Iswaran updated that feasibility studies are still ongoing, even though this potential extension appears to have been dropped out of the Master Plan 2040. 

The second proposal is to build an interchange infrastructure to connect Jurong Town Hall station on the JRL with Jurong Lake District station on the CRL. These two stations are within walking distance of each other but are not currently planned to be connected as an interchange. Then-Minister S Iswaran also said, in 2022, that the authorities would study this as, "We need to create meaningful connections in our MRT stations for convenience and resilience."

These two proposals to extend the JRL will greatly increase rail connectivity from the West to the Downtown Core and the rest of Singapore. We are glad that, this morning, Minister Chee Hong Tat has mentioned that the Ministry of Transport will look into these proposals.

The second approach to improve public transport in the West is to introduce a network of inter-town skip-stop bus services. This can be implemented relatively quickly, compared to increasing rail connectivity. These skip-stop services would be different from existing express bus services. They will only stop at a few high demand stops in each town throughout the entire route to allow commuters to connect between towns more quickly. They will also run all-day, in both directions, at good frequency. The existing routes that stop at all stops can be still retained to feed commuters from the lesser-demand stops to the high-demand stops.  

Two types of skip-stop bus services should be introduced. The first type is the long-distance skip-stop bus services that connect different towns in Singapore. In the West, we currently have services 30 and 143, which provide important inter-town connections for residents of Teban Gardens, Pandan Gardens and West Coast, which are areas currently not served by MRT to the East and Central Singapore. There are also services, such as 180 and 974, which link Bukit Panjang with Boon Lay and Jurong West. 

All these are important long-distance inter-town bus services that complement our MRT network, but they are too slow. Basic bus services travel at about 15 kilometres per hour, about half the speed of the MRT. While we currently have faster express buses like Service 30e, many of them only operate during peak hours. What we need is a network of skip-stop buses to complement the MRT in moving people between towns quickly. This is especially important for areas currently not served by MRT.

The second type of skip-stop services is to connect more far-flung areas to key transport nodes and community hubs faster. These may be similar to the "express feeder" bus services that LTA is going to introduce under the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Plan. For example, we should introduce skip-stop service 870E to connect Tengah with Jurong East MRT and a skip-stop service 871E to connect Tengah with Bukit Gombak MRT and Beauty World MRT. These will be much faster than the current services 870 and 871. We can also introduce a bus service linking Tengah and Boon Lay, which is something many Tengah residents have asked for during my engagement with them.

The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) urges LTA to seriously consider using the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme as an opportunity to boldly reimagine our bus system. This should be done at a national level, but it is especially important in the West, where rail connectivity is not as good as the East, but the commuting population is fast building up. Mr Speaker, in Mandarin please.

(In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, last month, an unprecedented six-day massive disruption occurred between Jurong East and Boon Lay stations on the East-West Line. This made Singaporeans living in the western part of Singapore, especially in Jurong West, Jurong East and Clementi, realise how reliant they are on the East-West Line as a critical rail infrastructure.

In the Land Transport Master Plan 2040 released by the Land Transport Authority in 2019, a vision was set that by 2040, Singapore would become a "45-minute city", meaning that 90% of public transport journeys during peak hours could be completed within 45 minutes. However, for residents in the west, this vision is far from reality at present.

PSP believes that to achieve this vision for western residents, the Government should implement two proposals currently under study regarding the JRL.

The first is to extend the JRL from Pandan Reservoir station to Haw Par Villa station on the Circle Line. The second is to connect Jurong Town Hall station on the JRL with Jurong Lake District station on the CRL to form an interchange station.

To expedite the extension of the MRT network in the west, we also suggest that the Government include skip-stop services in this year's Bus Connectivity Enhancement Plan, connecting various parts of the island to allow western residents to commute to work and travel more quickly.

We hope that last month's major massive breakdown will make the Government pay more attention to the current inadequacies in public transport in the western region.

Every Singaporean deserves better public transport services. 

(In English): Mr Speaker, Sir, in conclusion, last month's massive train breakdown has shown us how dependent the residents of the West are on the East-West Line to get around Singapore. We hope the Government will be in favour of the proposals to link the JRL to the Circle Line and the CRL to reduce that dependency. In addition, for more immediate relief and to complement the less developed MRT network in the West, we have recommended the Government to consider introducing a network of skip-stop bus services. This should be done at a national level, but it will especially benefit residents in the West, who are currently very reliant on the East-West Line.

The PSP hopes that the recent unprecedented disruption will spur the Government to conduct a thorough review of the plans under the Land Transport Master Plan and Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme to improve public transport in the West while striving to level up our public transport for the whole of Singapore. Public transport needs to serve everyone in Singapore. We must work harder to realise the vision of a 45-minute city for all Singaporeans. For country, for people.