Noise Barriers for Residential Areas near MRT Tracks

Mr David Ong asked the Minister for Transport what other noise mitigation measures besides the installation of noise barriers are being considered for residential areas in Bukit Batok that are located close to MRT tracks.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether the Ministry is aware of the high noise level along Khatib station's MRT track, especially in the early morning and at night; (b) whether Khatib MRT station is among the locations to have noise barriers installed; and (c) what are the interim measures to mitigate the noise levels of trains running close to residential units.

The noise levels from train operations are generally consistent throughout the day. The perception of high noise levels in early morning and at night may be due to the low ambient noise during these times. We try to minimise such noise by ensuring that the operator maintains train wheels and tracks well. Where train noise goes above a certain level, we will consider installing noise barriers.

In addition to the 14 km of noise barriers that LTA is building in Phase 1, another 9 km of noise barriers will be built starting from 2016 in Phase 2. We will consider the Members’

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requests for Khatib and Bukit Batok. We will announce more details of Phase 2 by the end of this year.