SINGAPORE’s Mass Rapid Transit network is to be extended to Changi Airport by 2001, at a cost of S$700m to S$800m. The long-awaited decision was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on November 15. The 6·4 km branch from Tanah Merah was proposed as part of the initial MRT network, but later dropped because of poor traffic projections, although the flying junctions were included as part of the access to Changi depot.
Last March Communications Minister Mah Bow Tan instructed the Land Transport Authority to review the prospects for the branch. The study found that air passengers, airport workers and employees at a new business park would generate enough patronage to justify construction under the revised funding formula agreed with the government last year (RG 3.96 p118).
The branch will run on viaduct from Tanah Merah to Sompah station, serving the Changi Business Park, and then tunnel under the airport to a station serving both air terminals. Trains will run through onto the MRT east-west line, and terminate at Outram Park west of the city centre, providing interchange with both the Woodlands loop and the Northeast line now under construction. Services are expected to run every 15 min, handling around 36000 passengers/day o
