Review Options for Bukit Panjang LRT System

Sir, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has studied all possible options to replace the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (BPLRT) which is reaching the end of its economic life. These included replacing the LRT system with a non-LRT option, such as running more buses or even autonomous vehicles on the existing roads and LRT viaducts.

But after extensive traffic studies, LTA concluded that these alternatives, which would require an extended shutdown of the BPLRT to modify the viaducts, are just not feasible. This is because any suspension of the BPLRT during peak hours would require us to deploy 40 double-deck or 80 single-deck buses, at frequencies of as low as three minutes. The existing roads just cannot support such a level of bus deployment. As Bukit Panjang is already built-up, there is also limited scope to expand the current road network and to build additional bus facilities. These non-LRT options would have created severe traffic delays and unacceptable tradeoffs to commuters’ travelling experience. Even if LTA were to implement strict bus priority measures at the expense of motorists, a trip between, say, Choa Chu Kang Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Bukit Panjang LRT stations, which are less than three kilometres apart, would take at least half an hour by bus due to the heavy road congestion created.

Hence, LTA discussed the LRT renewal option with several established LRT manufacturers, including the existing supplier, Bombardier of Canada. After a thorough evaluation with Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT), the LTA Board decided to award the contract to Bombardier in March this year. Bombardier’s proposal was selected because it could be completed sooner, without requiring major civil engineering works or extensive service closures. Bombardier, having worked with LTA and SMRT since 2016 to improve the BPLRT's reliability, was also deeply familiar with the difficulties the system faced.

LTA, SMRT and Bombardier have jointly analysed the root causes of past BPLRT breakdowns and delays. They were largely due to faults with the signalling, traction power and train propulsion systems. The renewal will directly address these causes.

First, the train's signal collector shoes tend to lose contact with the signalling system’s signalling rail at sharp turns. With the renewal, we will adopt a new wireless Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling system with better built-in redundancy.

Second, the traction power system supplies electricity to the trains through the power rail. Similar to the signalling system, a recurrent cause of faults is when the trains' current collector shoes dislodge from the power rail at sharp turns. The renewal will enhance the power rail with more robust rail brackets and we will also relocate the joints to less severe curves.

Third, faults with the train propulsion system will be addressed when the first-generation fleet of 19 trains are replaced with new models which will come with a more reliable Alternating Current (AC) propulsion system. The new fleet will also feature enhanced redundancy and better air-conditioning performance.

Beyond these engineering fixes, LTA will also install more condition monitoring features to support predictive maintenance.

At the same time, SMRT has contracted Bombardier to provide long-term service support for the renewed BPLRT system. This contract engages Bombardier to provide more expedient technical, logistical and spares support, including training for SMRT’s maintenance staff to build up local expertise.

Design work for the renewal has already started. The overhaul, replacement and upgrading of all these critical components and sub-systems will be fully completed by 2024. However, commuters can begin to enjoy smoother and more reliable rides from 2022, when the upgraded trains and signalling system come into operation.

But meanwhile, SMRT has also engaged Bombardier to provide technical support for the existing BPLRT system. LTA, SMRT and Bombardier are committed to improving the reliability of the existing BPLRT by intensifying preventive and corrective maintenance. The recently announced Sunday closures of the BPLRT have been very useful for SMRT’s engineering teams. We thank commuters for their understanding and patience.

In short, things will get a lot better when we have completely renewed the BPLRT, which will be 2022-2024. But meanwhile, we are intensifying maintenance for the existing BPLRT, and that is why we needed additional engineering hours, and we have already stepped up doing so with the Sunday closures.

I am confident that we can do a better job than what is happening today. Today, the reliability measure, the Mean Kilometres Between Failures (MKBF), is barely 50,000 kilometres (km). The other LRT, which is Sengkang-Punggol, is doing more than 100,000 km. My instruction to SMRT and LTA is to, first, close the gap and then work towards exceeding Sengkang's achievement. So, today, it is 50,000; I am confident that within a couple of years, we can double it, but that is still not my final destination. I think we can do much better than that.

Speaker, I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. I have a supplementary question. In the United States (US), for example, Sir, for many of the decommissioned rail tracks, they use buses to run – they call it bus rapid transit. So, for Singapore's BPLRT, has the Minister considered running buses on the track if this LRT will not be useful or reliable?

Sorry, I must declare my interest as I am in the management team of ComfortDelgro, which includes Singapore Bus Services (SBS) Transit.

Sir, as I said in the reply, such proposals or options were considered. But you cannot simply take the existing viaducts and then run buses on it. You got to do extensive civil engineering work on the viaducts.

We got to pull down, rebuild and reconfigure – months of suspension of the BPLRT. We have studied, and I was game for a completely new system – close it down and have all buses either running on existing roads or on the viaducts. But the roads just cannot take the peak-hour load unless you throw out all the cars, in other words, no cars at all in Bukit Panjang Town, and every lane will become a bus lane. Even then, it is barely sufficient. That is why, after extensive discussions and simulations, we decided that it is not viable. So, we are back to LRT. But we will make sure that it is a much better LRT.

I totally agree with the Minister that if we do an all-bus model on the roads of Bukit Panjang, it is going to be quite difficult. But could the Minister elaborate more on why we cannot refurbish the viaduct and allow buses to run on it? Is there a kind of study to prove that it is not effective, or not cost-effective?

As I said, you cannot just simply take the existing viaducts, buy the buses and just run them on it. You cannot do that. You actually got to do extensive civil engineering work on the viaducts, which means closing the LRT service, tear down the viaducts, major sections of it, and redo, which means no BPLRT service for months.

Or even years. Here is Er Dr Lee Bee Wah speaking as an engineer! And I confirm what she has just said. So, unfortunately, it is not possible. Long term, is it possible? I hope so, because if our car-lite Singapore vision arrives – not immediately, but in 20 years' time – when the next version of the BPLRT will also run out of economic life in another 20 to 25 years.

Hopefully, by that time, Singapore is largely car-lite, few cars, on the roads, then the roads can be handed over to buses and we can tear down the viaducts, redo them and run buses on top of them, or have cyclists cycling on the viaducts – which is a suggestion from Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. He envisages the day when you can cycle on the LRT tracks. Or there may be other ideas. Maybe theme parks might adopt it to do something else, I do not know. But I think those are further down the road. It is not my job. We leave it to the future Minister for Transport.

Sir, I thank the Minister for Transport for his strong commitment to improve the reliability of the BPLRT and also for his frequent visits to Bukit Panjang town to observe the public transport system. Among the planned renewal works, one of those that the residents really like very much and welcome is the replacement of the 19 new trains. That is most appreciated. But the not so ideal part is that the timeline appears to be quite a distant future. If I remember correctly, it is the third quarter of 2020 for the first two, and the remaining ones like in the fourth quarter of 2022. Can I ask the Minister if he can find ways to bring the delivery of the train cars forward because the old ones are really quite worn out? I think the Minister must have tried that before. The rides are quite bumpy and the air-conditioning is always not working well. So, if the Minister can see if he can do something about it to bring it forward – 谋事在人。See if you can do it.

But 成事在天, is it not? But 我 不是天! But Bombardier knew that there is huge pressure from all of us to improve the service as quickly as possible. So, the order for new trains is firm, it is committed. How fast they can build, whether there is a way to shorten it, they will try. But still it is years, not months. For the existing trains, we can do something, especially the air-conditioning system. Surely, we can do something about it, and we shall fix it this year if we can.