Shorter waiting times and more comfortable rides for commuters

1. From 22 March 2010, passengers can look forward to shorter waiting times and less crowded trains as SMRT rolls out another 150 train trips. These extra train trips are introduced as a result of SMRT's regular monitoring of train service capacity and in anticipation of growing train ridership on the North-South and East-West train lines. The additional train trips are introduced to timeslots with an increasing trend in train travel.

2. Mr Vincent Tan , Vice President, Rail Operations, SMRT Trains Ltd , explained the rationale behind the latest round of addition, "SMRT is proactively adding extra train trips during evening peak period and at timings where we have observed more people using our system over the past year. This latest round of service enhancements will bring about a reduction of waiting times of between 0.5 and 2.5 minutes on weekdays and weekends. It builds on the service enhancements that SMRT has been putting in place since February 2008 so that our passengers can benefit from shorter waiting times and a more comfortable ride."

3. Welcoming the move, Mr Yam Ah Mee, Chief Executive, Land Transport Authority (LTA) added, "We are glad that in response to customer feedback SMRT will have 150 additional train trips during evening peak hours and other periods. This will certainly provide for shorter waiting times and a more comfortable ride for commuters during peak periods. LTA will continue to work closely with operators to increase the frequency of the trains for the benefit of commuters. This will be done even as we continue to expand the rail infrastructure by building new rail lines and extensions."

Increased frequency on weekdays

4. From 22 March, passengers who take the weekday early morning northbound train from 6.15 - 7.15am will find their waiting times reduced by 1 - 2.5 minutes. Passengers heading to the heartlands from the city area on weekday evenings between 6.30 - 7.00pm need not wait more than three minutes for a train to arrive. Between 7.00 - 10.30 pm, additional trips will be added at various times to maintain waiting times at no more than five minutes at stations within the city.

More frequent train arrivals on weekends

5. Passengers can expect shorter waiting times on weekends from 10 April. Those travelling between 10.30 - 11.45 am on Saturdays on the North-South and East-West lines will have their waiting time reduced from 6 to 4.7 minutes.

6. There will also be a one-minute reduction in waiting time for passengers travelling on Sundays between 9.30 - 10.00am, as well as 10.15 - 11.30 pm, while those travelling between 2.30 - 5.30 pm will have their waiting time reduced by 0.5 minutes.

7. This is the sixth time SMRT has enhanced its train services since February 2008, and these service enhancements bring the total number of additional train trips to around 1,110. More details are available in the Annex.