Commuters Switching from North East Line to Upcoming Downtown Line 2

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for Transport (a) what is the projected number of commuters who will switch from the North East Line to Downtown Line 2 and benefit from the commencement of operation in December 2015; (b) whether Downtown Line 3 will commence earlier than scheduled; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider extending Downtown Line 3 at Tampines to Punggol, Sengkang and Ang Mo Kio.

North East Line (NEL) commuters will enjoy greater connectivity to areas served by the Downtown Line Stage 2 (DTL2), as they can transfer via Little India station to reach the city centre and schools, malls and recreational areas in the Bukit Timah area. Up to 20% of NEL commuters, or about 90,000, will benefit.

Downtown Line Stage 3 is on schedule to open in 2017 as planned. There are no plans to extend it to Punggol, Sengkang and Ang Mo Kio as DTL3 is intended to connect areas in the East that are not directly served by the MRT network today, such as Ubi, Kaki Bukit and Bedok Reservoir.