Showing posts with label Singapore Public Transport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Singapore Public Transport. Show all posts

Saturday, 27 April 2019

Kranji MRT Station

Most attractions in Singapore are within walking distance from the MRT. At Kranji MRT station, the Singapore Turf Club is next to it. Last week we went to Shilin night market at the carpark at Singapore Turf Club. 


History
Kranji MRT station, which officially opened in 1996, stands between Yew Tee and Marsiling MRT stations.3The station was built to accommodate the new industrial, residential and recreational developments outlined in the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) 1991 Concept Plan.4 The plan aimed to develop northern Singapore into an urban locale, with Woodlands as a regional centre.5


In 1991, the government acquired eight lots of land in the Kranji district to lay the Woodlands MRT Line. Occupied mainly by sawmills, the land spread over 58,500 sq m and was owned by the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC).In 1996, 15 plots of land at the Sungei Kadut Industrial Estate were further acquired. At the time of the acquisition, this stretch of land, lying between Yew Tee and Kranji MRT stations, was home to 15 factory operators dealing mainly in heavy industries.7

At the time of construction, the Kranji MRT station was built to serve the huge crowds visiting the Singapore Turf Club. The club, relocated from Bukit Timah Road, is about 300 m from the MRT station.8

Features
With 8,000 punters expected to arrive every half hour during the first few races on race days, some special features were incorporated into the station’s design. One major feature is its size. At over 1,300 sq m, the station is sufficiently spacious to accommodate such a huge crowd. In fact, Kranji MRT station is the largest station on the Woodlands MRT Line. The station has 20 automatic fare-collection gates – twice more than the usual number – to speed up passenger flow. Other features include a bigger entrance lobby, a covered walkway linking the station to the turf club, more ticket-vending machines, four escalators and two flights of stairs.9


In the early days, the flow of traffic decided the direction of the escalators on race days. As punters arrived before the races, all the escalators were programmed to move downwards only to bring commuters from the elevated platform to the ground level. After the races, the escalators would move upwards only. On the whole, the station is designed to handle a crowd as huge as 50,000 throughout the day.10

In 2012, the station was installed with half-height screen doors to enhance commuter safety and to reduce the incidences of track intrusion.11








Tuesday, 11 July 2017

Public Transport in Singapore: MRT

Singapore is a very small island in Southeast Asia. It is about 50km by 27km. Owning a brand new car is very expensive in Singapore as you need to purchase Certificate of Entitlement (COE) which can costs about $50,000.00 depending on the bidding price. 

For me, I don't have a driving license as I had an unpleasant experience driving a go-kart at Escape theme park when I was a teenager. Well, those were the days. I was so daring taking those scary roller-coaster ride. Now I dare not even try the Viking ride.  Anyway, it is very convenient to travel from one point to the other end of Singapore via the MRT or public bus. I enjoy exploring Singapore by riding the clean public air-conditioned double-decker bus as I can see more from the top of the bus. But then sometimes taking MRT is much faster compared to taking a bus especially from the east to the western part of Singapore

Anyway, I also enjoy taking MRT during non-peak hours. The train is very quiet when there are not many people. 
 MRT during off-peak hours.

 Toa Payoh MRT station

Friday, 30 June 2017

Views Along SBS Transit Bus 21 Route

I prefer to take public transport in Singapore especially double-decker bus as I like to see vantage view outside. Thus, when possible and the travelling time is faster, I will choose double-decker bus instead of MRT as there is not much to see in underground tunnel. 

It is best to travel during non-peak hours as I don't have to squeeze in a crowded bus or train with many others. I can just sit in the air-conditioned double-decker bus and just enjoy the views along the road. 

Recently I took bus 21 from outside Novena MRT station back to Tampines central. Transport fare is about $1.65 and it took about 50 minutes to reach my destination.  

Along the ride, I took photos of the the street as shown below. 
Old Shophouses along Geylang road.
Some of the shophouses are adorned with beautiful art craving.  

 Not many people taking public transport during off-peak hours.
 Provisions shops at the public housing flats.
The dome looking architecture is Singapore Sports Hub.
 MRT tracks.
 Bus stop at Sims Avenue
 Construction along the road. There are always constructions in Singapore. 
 I like SBS Transit new double-decker bus.
 Old iconic bus stop design at Sims Ave.
 Street decoration along Geylang road during Hari Raya.

Sunday, 15 January 2017

Public Buses in Singapore

I enjoy traveling via our efficient public buses in Singapore. All public buses are air-conditioned and they are very clean. Of course, I only enjoy taking public buses during off-peak hours else it will be very congested especially in the morning 7am to 8am and evening 6pm to 7pm.

Public transport is similar to other cities. It is cheaper by scanning EZ link card instead of paying by cash. In Singapore, most citizens travel via public transport because Singapore is the most expensive place in the world to own a new car. Before you can buy a brand new car in Singapore, you must have the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) which can costs between $46,000.00 too $55,000.00 (depending on the bidding and car category) which is more expensive than owning a car in other countries. So owning a normal brand new car from South Korea or Japan can cost a total of $90,000 to $110,000.00. If you want to buy a brand new branded car like BMW, be prepared to fork $250,000.00. 

Currently besides SBS Transit bus, there are also SMRT and Australian bus Tower Transit in operation. Fares depend on distance travelled and the cheapest fare is $0.70.
 Buses at Tampines Bus Interchange
I love double-decker bus as I get to see more at the top.
 Inside the public bus.
This year COE bidding results. 

Monday, 20 January 2014

It's Better to Travel by Public Bus

Although MRT is convenient, frequent MRT breakdowns make it unreliable. It is better to travel by public bus or taxi in Singapore. After the announcement of fare hike, the MRT broke down twice. Not sure if its a sign from above.  
Photo courtesy of Kelvin Ong- Commuters at MRT station

Sunday, 12 May 2013

New Tampines MRT Under Construction

Singapore is always changing. Even though Tampines resident area already has MRT station, it is still building another Tampines MRT station in the other part of Tampines. 
MRT station under construction at Tampines

Public Transport: Buses

Well, if you like to see Singapore and not be stuck underground in the MRT, you can always always travel by bus if you are not rushing for time.  Most of the time, buses do take a longer to time to reach destination but sometimes the bus journey is worthwhile. In Singapore, there are two companies that provide bus services, namely SBS and SMRT. You can use the ezlink card for both buses and MRT. 

You can visit the following bus website to plan your journey.
SBS Transit site:  http://www.sbstransit.com.sg/

SMRT ebus guide: http://www.smrt.com.sg/Buses/eBusGuide.aspx
When MRT breaks down, buses come to the rescue!
 Tampines Bus Interchange
When Gardens by the Bay was launched, it provided free bus service for the week. 

Public Transport: MRT

Singapore has a well-connected Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) train. There are East-West, North-South , Circle line and Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (LRT) line 

It is fast and efficient especially in the past. From the east Tampines station to the downtown Cityhall station takes about 25 minutes to reach. 

To find out how much it cost, you can visit SMRT webpage where there is a train fare calculator. I think the best way is just buy ezlink card. 

SMRT webpage: http://www.smrt.com.sg/Trains/NetworkMap.aspx

You can also download SMRT apps and taxi app at the following site. http://www.smrt.com.sg/SMRTMe/ConnectwithSMRT.aspx


SMRT Network map
This is Tampines Station. The screen doors were installed a few years ago to prevent accidents.
Most MRT stations are clean and now screen doors must be installed.