Two-car solution for LRTs

As published in The Straits Times
10 Oct 2010

By Goh Chin Lian

THE Light Rail Transit (LRT) cars in Sengkang and Punggol are jam-packed during the morning and evening peak hours, and transport planners are looking to do something about it.


The Straits Times saw that each car had people standing right up against the doors when it visited the Sengkang and Compassvale stations at the end of last month. Some commuters, unable to board, had no choice but to wait for the next one.


Each of these single-car, driverless pods can carry 105 commuters.


The Land Transport Authority (LTA), anticipating a future spike in ridership, told The Straits Times that it is looking into using two train cars on each run that the LRT takes on raised tracks through Sengkang and Punggol.


The two-car solution has been implemented successfully elsewhere. Japanese engineering company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - which supplied the one-car LRT system for Sengkang, Punggol and Changi Airport - has installed two-car systems at the Atlanta and Miami airports in the United States.


Residents in the area have raised the issue with their Members of Parliament Lam Pin Min and Michael Palmer. Dr Lam has proposed increasing the frequency of trains and running more bus services as interim measures.