At the Ministry of Transport’s (MOT) Committee of Supply (COS) Debate 2025 on 5 March 2025, updates on several public transport projects were announced. We summarise the latest Public Transport offerings as highlighted in this year’s COS Debate.
Rail Expansion
Feasibility Studies — Seletar Line & Tengah Line
As part of the Land Transport Master Plan 2040 (LTMP 2040) announced back in May 2019, feasibility studies were to be conducted for a then-unnamed rail line serving the north and northeast regions of Singapore. This proposed rail line is now tentatively called the Seletar Line.
The COS 2025 announced a new rail line, tentatively called the Tengah Line. Feasibility studies for both the Seletar and Tengah lines are ongoing.
| Seletar Line | Tengah Line |
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The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has preliminarily assessed that the Seletar & Tengah Lines could meet at the Greater Southern Waterfront, with feasibility studies taking into consideration the possibility of linking both lines into a single line.
If feasibility studies confirm that the Seletar & Tengah Lines (or a merged line) are feasible, they will be completed in phases from the 2040s.
More details will be provided as the feasibility studies progress.
Jurong Region Line — West Coast Extension
The Jurong Region Line (JRL) West Coast Extension will be implemented in 2 phases. Studies for the JRL West Coast Extension were announced back in August 2015.
- Phase 1 (by late 2030s)
From Pandan Reservoir station to West Coast station (interchange station with Cross Island Line) - Phase 2 (by early 2040s)
From West Coast station (interchange station with Cross Island Line) to Kent Ridge station (interchange station with Circle Line)
Initial plans for the extension were to possibly extend the JRL to join the CCL at Haw Par Villa station. However, the Strats Times reported that the LTA identified Kent Ridge as a more optimal connection point after assessing factors such as projected transport demand and future developments.
More details for the JRL West Coast Extension will be announced at a later date.
Rail Construction Projects Updates
Hume Station – Downtown Line
Hume station along the Downtown Line was opened on 28 February 2025.
2026 — Circle Line Stage 6, TEL5 and DTL3e
The 4 km Circle Line Stage 6 will open in the first half of 2026, connecting HarbourFront to Marina Bay, via three new stations—Keppel, Cantonment, and Prince Edward Road.
The Thomson-East Coast Line Stage 5 and Downtown Line Stage 3 Extension will open in the second half of 2026, connecting these two lines, via three new stations—Xilin, Bedok South, and Sungei Bedok, with Sungei Bedok serving as an interchange between the two lines.
2027–2029 — Jurong Region Line
Between 2027 and 2029, the Jurong Region Line will open in three phases:
- Phase 1, 2027: Choa Chu Kang to Boon Lay and Tawas
- Phase 2, 2028: Tengah to Pandan Reservoir
- Phase 3, 2029: Extensions to Peng Kang Hill and Jurong Pier
Electrical, mechanical and track works for Jurong Region Line Stage 1 have commenced, as of the COS 2025 debate in March 2025.
2030 and beyond — Cross Island Line
Singapore’s eighth MRT line, the Cross Island Line, will progressively open from 2030. It will connect Singapore’s eastern, western, and northeastern regions.
Strengthening Rail Reliability and Enhanced NRFF
The MRT network has maintained a Mean Kilometres Between Failure, or MKBF, of over 1 million train-km since 2019. To further support rail reliability as the network grows in length and age, the Government intends to invest up to an additional $1 billion over the next five years to further strengthen rail capabilities and scale up technology adoption.
This move builds on the existing New Rail Financing Framework (NRFF) where the LTA handles asset procurement and replacement, and the operators handle asset maintenance. Under this framework, LTA holds operators accountable for their maintenance of assets, and incentives and performance standards are in place to ensure that operators deliver reliable service.
With some rail assets approaching the end of service life, an enhanced NRFF was also brought up. The stated goals of the enhanced NRFF are:
- Expand condition monitoring capabilities for more proactive intervention and targeted maintenance;
- Carry out targeted replacements of sub-systems and components to better sustain the useful life of our assets;
- Scale up the adoption of new technologies to boost maintenance efficiency and effectiveness across the sector.
These additional investments are intended to allow LTA to improve the life cycle management of rail assets. It would determine, based on the condition of each asset, whether maintenance needs to be stepped up by our operators so that the asset can continue to run until the end of its service life, or whether the asset needs to be replaced early, or if it can have its service life extended.
Station Rejuvenation Programme for NSEWL stations
As the North-South and East-West Lines have been in operation for over 30 years, a multi-year Station Rejuvenation Programme will be carried out to review and improve these stations, making them more user-friendly while preserving key heritage elements. Yishun MRT Station, which opened in 1988, will be the pilot project for this programme.
Ideas under study include extending the platforms to reduce peak-hour congestion; additional escalators, lifts and access points; upgrading bus stops, drop-off points, and taxi stands; and new covered linkways to nearby locations.
Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme (BCEP)
As of 5 March 2025, 10 new bus services were introduced and 36 bus services enhanced under the BCEP. LTA plans to introduce another 15 bus services in 2025 across different towns, including Punggol, Bidadari, Yew Tee and Tampines.
LTA will also add about 20 km of new bus lanes this year, with more to follow in the coming years.
New and Improved Bus Interchanges
Three integrated air-conditioned interchanges at Woodleigh, Pasir Ris, and Punggol Coast, will open ‘in the coming months’.
LTA will also upgrade older bus interchanges, as announced earlier in August 2024. These bus interchanges are Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Boon Lay, Clementi, Sengkang, Serangoon and Toa Payoh. These works, which include enhanced commuter-friendly features, upgraded air-conditioning/lighting systems and refurbished staff facilities, are expected to be completed by 2027.
Upgrades would also be carried out at Bishan, Bukit Merah, Eunos, and Tampines bus interchanges, to add new rain screens, additional benches and fans to improve passenger comfort.
Bus Safety
To improve safety practices for the public bus sector, the Ministry of Transport has accepted the recommendations of the Bus Safety Tripartite Taskforce. Some of these recommendations are:
- Equipping buses with 360-degree collision warning systems with artificial intelligence assistance, anti-fatigue systems, and camera mirror systems.
- New safety features such as torque management software, audio safety announcements onboard buses and enhanced rear electronic display systems
- Reduce the number of display units in the driving cabin
- Capping the scheduled runtime of new bus routes within two hours
- Increase Bus captains’ minimum meal break duration from 25 to 30 minutes and allow the full duration of their breaks in practice (independent of en-route delays)
- Industry-wide points-based training system for Bus captains, “BC Drive Safe” refresher programme, and targeted intervention programme leveraging onboard telematics
- Tiered safety incentives for Bus captains
- Expand bus priority schemes to facilitate bus movement, and expand public education efforts about these schemes
- Improve traffic management during road works to allow easier passage for buses
The Bus Safety Tripartite Taskforce’s report is available via this MOT Link.
Enforcement against disruptive commuters
The LTA will step up enforcement against commuters who display nuisance behaviour on public transport:
- New signage on public transport to encourage more considerate behaviour since December 2024
- On trains: Fines between $500 to $5000 under the Rapid Transit Systems (RTS) regulations
- On buses: New Conditions of Carriage (CoC) to establish clear guidelines on expected commuter behaviour from 10 March 2025. A regulatory framework to manage commuter behaviour on public buses is expected in 1H 2026.
Currently, those convicted of a public nuisance offence under the Penal Code may be liable for a fine of up to $2,000 or imprisonment of up to 3 months, or both.
References:
- Speech by Minister For Transport, Mr Chee Hong Tat at MOT Committee of Supply Debate 2025 – Ministry of Transport
- Expanding our Rail Network and Strengthening Rail Reliability and Resilience – Land Transport Authority
- Speech by Minister of State for Transport and Law, Mr Murali Pillai, at MOT Committee of Supply Debate 2025 – Ministry of Transport
- Speech by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport, Mr Baey Yam Keng, at MOT Committee of Supply Debate 2025 – Ministry of Transport
- Supporting Bus Captains for Safer Public Buses – Ministry of Transport
- A Better Commuting Experience for All – Land Transport Authority
Any idea if TEL will merge with CGA branch line of EWL?
Does anyone know if I run the risk of being forced to alight from public transport if I sit on the floor on public transport? I cannot stand on public transport and I sit on the floor if there are no available seats.
hopefully the station rejuvenation programme can also apply to the NEL stations as they too have been around for quite long. ALso it should be the perfect time to update the exits to match that of the TEL stations