Singapore unveils land transport master plan for the next 10-15 years

Rail network to double by 2030.

Minister for Transport, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, launched the Land Transport Master Plan (LTMP) 2013 at the Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition (SITCE) this morning. LTMP 2013 refreshes the LTMP 2008, and maps out new initiatives to take Singapore’s land transport forward for the next 10 to 15 years.

As part of LTMP 2013, the LTA will create more connections through the construction of two new rail lines and three new extensions. The rail network will be expanded every year from now till 2021, with more to come between 2020 and 2030.

By 2030, the rail network will have doubled from the existing 178km to about 360km, and eight in 10 homes will be located within a 10-minute walk from a train station.

Here's more from LTA:

In addition, buses will connect our commuters to even more places, with new bus routes added to our bus network.

About 40 new bus services will have been introduced by the end of 2014, since the launch of the Bus Service Enhancement Programme in September 2012, and we will review what else can be done beyond that.

To improve the overall experience of commuters, especially in the first and last legs of their journeys, LTA will build more than 200km of sheltered walkways.

More integrated transport hubs will also be built to enable commuters to switch between different types of transport easily, on top of convenient access to retail, dining and other lifestyle services.

For cyclists, the island-wide cycling path network will eventually be well over 700km in length.

To shorten waiting times and provide more space on public transport, LTA is increasing the capacity of both rail and bus systems.

More trains will be bought for all the existing rail lines. With an upgraded train signaling system, trains will arrive at stations more frequently during peak hours.

More buses will ply the roads with the addition of some 800 buses to the overall bus fleet, under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme.

In addition, greater priority to buses will be given on the roads so that commuters can travel faster to their destinations on public transport. LTA will also improve taxi availability, as taxis are an essential public transport service that serves commuters’ point-to-point transport needs.

LTA aims to better understand commuter behavior to design initiatives, such as the free pre-peak travel scheme, to help our commuters travel smart.

We will help them do so with better information to facilitate commuters’ journeys on various modes. In future, LTA will also make car-sharing services more accessible for commuters.

With these initiatives in place, LTA's goal by 2030 is that: 75% of trips during peak hours will be made by public transport; and 85% of the trips on public transport that are less than 20km will be completed within an hour.