Saturday January 29, 2005

Sengkang West / Punggol LRT opening day

Today, Sat 29 Jan 2005 is the opening day for the Sengkang West Loop and Punggol East Loop LRT lines. Here are some of the photos taken :

The entire photo gallery is here :
http://www.post1.net/jGallery/images/20050129-sengkang-west-punggol-lrt/index.html

Scans of the brochures that were handed out :

Some opening day impressions - not that much of a crowd as the initial opening a couple of years ago - back then when the Sengkang East Loop was only the second LRT system ever in Singapore, they were queuing up outside the station just to get in. Today, the longer queue was actually at the basement of the Compass Point shopping mall to redeem free $5 Metro vouchers. People were queuing for 1-2 hours for their vouchers. Hey, when free money (or equivalent) is being given out, who wouldn't want that?

One thing I noticed was that the ride was a little bit bumpier than before. What do I know, since I generally don't need to take the LRT since I live just across the road from the town centre.

All in all, it's going to be a good thing for the residents of the remote south-western corners of Sengkang West, and for Punggol residents.

Deeper thoughts :

1. Suburbia - Jim Kunstler has been ranting about American suburbia. There are also people arguing for putting in rail systems and high-rise apartments. Well here you are, a real-life implementation with light rail overhead, heavy rail underground, and nothing but high-rise HDB apartment buildings. Is Singapore-style suburbia any better? Sure, we use less land per person but there had better not be any blackouts, because the lifts and the rail systems are powered by electricity. And, like our American counterparts, we too are at the end of very long supply lines.

2. Economics - the routes that are operating now can hardly be considered economical, with stations un-opened, and the estates only a fraction of the planned size, and hence a much lower ridership per day than originally envisioned. Despite the hopes of the pseudo-anarchists and some "leave-it-to-the-market" economists, some government intervention is still needed especially for public infrastructure.

3. Convenience - which may be slightly over-rated because a. the LRT stations are spaced further apart than the equivalent bus stops would have been, b. the stations are on elevated tracks about 3 floors up, you either climb stairs or squeeze in tiny lifts (actually meant for handicapped) c. the residents living along the routes are adequately served but not those living further away from the stations (and in between the railway loops).

4. "Growth" - or the lack thereof. In the photo gallery you will see how planning for "growth" can run into problems when the expected growth does not happen. Sengkang is fairly developed especially in the eastern and central part (where I live), but the western part is another story (re: railway in the middle of nowhere). Punggol has had it worse - the eastern part was built up but development practically halted just short of the central section, which means that they do not have a fully functional town centre.

(2005-01-29 21:58:25 SGT) [Tech] Permalink

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