The MRT or Mass Rapid Transit (Simplified Chinese: 大众快速交通 or more commonly known as 地铁; Malay: Sistem Pengangkutan Gerak Cepat; Tamil: சிங்கை துரிதக் கடவு ரயில்) is a subway/elevated train system that forms the backbone of transit in Singapore, spanning the entire city-state. The initial section of the MRT, between Yio Chu Kang Station and Toa Payoh Station, opened in 1987 establishing itself as the second-oldest metro system in Southeast Asia, after Manila's LRT System. The network has since grown rapidly as a result of Singapore's aim of developing a comprehensive rail network as the flagship of the public transport system in Singapore, to 70 stations, with an average daily ridership of 1.564 million in FY07/08.
Since 1987, the Land Transport Authority has been expanding the system in order to connect every neighbourhood/region in Singapore. The North South Line, East West Line, North East Line and part of the Circle Line are operational while the Downtown Line and the remainder of the Circle Line are still under construction. Construction schedules for the Thomson Line and Eastern Region Line have been announced.
I use the MRT to get to and from work (for you Vancouverites: think East Van to Richmond), It's quick, it's clean, it's air conditioned and it's cheap. From my apartment, I walk 10 minutes to the TIONG BAHRU station, train for 30 minutes, swap trains at TANAH MERAH and train for another minute, then it's a five minute walk to work. Simple, easy and no one gets hurt. It's super busy for the first few stops and the last two stops, otherwise I get 23 mintues of a decently roomy train ride. Another cool feature, is that you can MRT virtually anywhere in Singapore, if you have the time and patience, it's a dream (but cabs are cheap here and ofcourse faster).
The only real problem is that I hate, hate, hate public transit, always have, always will. I used to make fun of it in Vancouver as I'm a car guy and if I don't have a car, I'm a taxi guy but seriously, when it's this convenient and this cheap, it's hard to say no to the MRT. It will take some getting used to and once in a while I still cab it to and from work but more and more, the MRT is growning on me. It's a great way to get around Singapore and unlike Gamble's New York Subway experiences, it's not hot and it doesn't smell.
Since 1987, the Land Transport Authority has been expanding the system in order to connect every neighbourhood/region in Singapore. The North South Line, East West Line, North East Line and part of the Circle Line are operational while the Downtown Line and the remainder of the Circle Line are still under construction. Construction schedules for the Thomson Line and Eastern Region Line have been announced.
I use the MRT to get to and from work (for you Vancouverites: think East Van to Richmond), It's quick, it's clean, it's air conditioned and it's cheap. From my apartment, I walk 10 minutes to the TIONG BAHRU station, train for 30 minutes, swap trains at TANAH MERAH and train for another minute, then it's a five minute walk to work. Simple, easy and no one gets hurt. It's super busy for the first few stops and the last two stops, otherwise I get 23 mintues of a decently roomy train ride. Another cool feature, is that you can MRT virtually anywhere in Singapore, if you have the time and patience, it's a dream (but cabs are cheap here and ofcourse faster).The only real problem is that I hate, hate, hate public transit, always have, always will. I used to make fun of it in Vancouver as I'm a car guy and if I don't have a car, I'm a taxi guy but seriously, when it's this convenient and this cheap, it's hard to say no to the MRT. It will take some getting used to and once in a while I still cab it to and from work but more and more, the MRT is growning on me. It's a great way to get around Singapore and unlike Gamble's New York Subway experiences, it's not hot and it doesn't smell.
1 comment:
So hot. So smelly. But not owning car is the best.
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