Choa Chu Kang Integrated Transport Hub is a future Integrated Transport Hub (ITH) located at Choa Chu Kang Town Centre, currently under planning. Rail connections are offered via Choa Chu Kang MRT / LRT Station along the North South Line, Jurong Region Line & Bukit Panjang LRT.
The town centre is currently served by the interim Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange since December 2018, in which the original interchange was demolished to make way for the future Jurong Region Line station.
Integrated Transport Hub
Choa Chu Kang Integrated Transport Hub was first mentioned in October 2023, in an exhibition for an upgrade of Choa Chu Kang town under the Housing Development Board (HDB) Remaking Our Heartland (ROH) programme.
The land parcel only 10,663m2 approximately after the JRL station is completed.
In comparison, Sengkang ITH (bus interchange + condo) that land parcel is 13,494m2.
The shophouse would probably be acquired to make way for the land parcel. Even so, the land parcel would at most be about 12,242m2.
If go by the scale of Sengkang ITH, this ITH would at most be able to accommodate,
(12242/13494) x 16 parking bays that Sengkang ITH has = 14.5 parking bays (14 parking bays).
Choa Chu Kang, like Sengkang, has LRT to complement the bus services. Furthermore, next time when JRL opens, 172 no need connect CCK to Boon Lay, 991 no need connect CCK to Bukit Batok.
Sengkang ITH has 9 bus routes.
With the approximation as mentioned above,
14/16 = Choa Chu Kang ITH would only be able to support 7.8 bus routes.
Let’s just say, Choa Chu Kang ITH will be a very small bus interchange, with 7-8 bus routes, with the 8th bus route probably just loop inside the bus interchange, like how 965 loop inside Sengkang ITH. Down from the current 15 bus routes at CCK Interchange. (Based on transitlink website.)
This is like 8 bus routes amended away from CCK Int. CCK Int has 4 feeder routes. Can only accommodate up to 4 trunk routes. 7 of them, have to somehow amend to Tengah Int, or just get withdrawn (example: 67 due to DTL duplication).
Me personally will recommend these 7 bus routes to be removed, or amended away from CCK Int, due to MRT rationalization:
172 (JRL), 991 (JRL), 67 (DTL), 985 (DTL).
Meanwhile, 925 can just loop outside.
188 & 188e can start at Gali Batu Bus Terminal.
Yup, these 7.
It’s still possible to have ITH at the land parcel. Just that, it will be very small. Can only accommodate up to 8 bus routes. The loop inside one can let it be 976 which starts at Bukit Panjang ITH.
With that, I have probably helped to solve the mathematical question regarding Choa Chu Kang ITH. You are welcome.
I have made one typo error at one of the paragraphs. It should be:
“This is like 7 bus routes amended away from CCK Int. CCK Int has 4 feeder routes. Can only accommodate up to 4 trunk routes. 7 of them, have to somehow amend to Tengah Int, or just get withdrawn (example: 67 due to DTL duplication).”
Anyway, 7 bus routes amended out is quite significant. That time BP ITH open, 4 bus routes ultimately did not return back to BP Int (74, 184, 700, 177).
But anyway, this is justifiable because next time will have JRL and now already got DTL. Can afford to amend the scale of 7 bus routes out of CCK Int in the long run.
I don’t agree with your suggestion to amend these buses.
172 complements 975 in transport workers to dormitory, those people going HTA etc. Furthermore, 172 is the only link for these guys who need to go Boon Lay or lives in Jurong West or nearby.
As for 991, this route is always high demand during peaks hours, transporting CCK residents (mainly Brickland) to Bukit Gombak and also vice versa, the new B.Batok flats to Bukit Gombak. Also, only bus that give very direct transfer to MRT from/to BBDC.
As for 67/188/985, they still have demand tho, especially 67 albeit duplicating parts DTL & EWL.
Most of these route serves place people wanna go with fewer transfers. Let’s say, I wanna go Beauty World to have dinner or go Little India, I’d just stay with 67. Vivocity/Sentosa? Take 188. Wanna go Boon Keng area? Take 985.
Some people just don’t like the idea of taking MRT-Bus transfers when you can just travel with a single transfer to the destination. Also, if bus breaking/broke down, easier to get on another route the serves the same area. You can’t do that with MRT coz need to wait blah blah. where got time wait?
The reason is because high chance, if the Choa Chu Kang ITH is built, and only one interchange (versus 南港轉運站/Nangang Bus Station in Taiwan got three interchanges: east, west, commercial), it’s going to be severely scaled down, as mentioned above.
Of course, can use the two interchanges concept for Choa Chu Kang ITH. In this case, it would be west wing and east wing. However, it may be hard to implement.
Possible implementation:
1. West wing ITH complete first and take over some of the CCK Int bus routes.
2. Remainder CCK Int bus routes temporarily change to use a bus park that can be built nearby. Same concept as when BP ITH was under development.
3. East wing ITH complete thereafter and the entire CCK ITH completed.
This way, no comprise on bus interchange capacity at CCK ITH, and all the bus routes at CCK Int can move into the CCK ITH.
Also, notice got mention “Upgrading of Choa Chu Kang Park”. It could mean that, part of the Choa Chu Kang Park could be temporarily used to construct a bus park. When the ITH east wing complete already, can revert back to a park, and upgrade the Choa Chu Kang Park at the same time.
Nonetheless, this is just my speculation. Have to wait for official announcements to confirm.
Probably another masterplan that never goes on as plan and ends up as just some interchange without aircon
They originally just wanted Jurong East ITH to be like Toa Payoh HDB Hub. That’s why they hurriedly relocated Jurong East Bus Interchange in 2011.
The original Jurong East ITH plan was really just to build a new air-conditioned bus interchange at the original site, then have two buildings at the two ends.
But the plan now involves the Jurong Region Line, and much more uses at the Jurong East ITH.
Anyway, I won’t say is plan abandoned la. More like plan evolved. It’s part of the design thinking process (CDIO: conceive, design, implement, operate).
The plan refine until perfect already then do, actually can get the highest value possible.