12 stations of the Circle Line will open on Oct 8

straitstimes.com--THE final 12 stations on the western arc of the Circle Line will open on Oct 8.

These 12 stations, which run from Marymount to Harbour Front, complete the 33.3km, 28-station Circle Line. Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew made this announcement on Monday afternoon after riding a train from Labrador Park station to Caldecott Station with about 150 government officials and grassroots members.

The fully-opened Circle Line is expected to relieve congestion on the North-South and East-West MRT lines by 10 to 15 per cent. Daily ridership is expected to be 400,000.

Mr Lui also said that an additional 13 trains will be delivered for the NS and EW lines around 2014 to 2015. Coupled with the 22 trains that will be added by the end of this year, these trains will enhance both lines' capacity by 25 per cent.

He added that SMRT and the Land Transport Authority are finalising plans to add more train trips to improve off-peak frequencies. These improvements are expected to be announced next week.

Posted in: world news