SINGAPORE — Four new MRT stations, which form the Tuas West Extension (TWE) on the East-West Line (EWL), will begin operations on June 18, with the bus service network in the area due for enhancements in tandem, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Thursday (April 27).
Gul Circle, Tuas Crescent, Tuas West Road and Tuas Link form the new 7.5km extension beyond Joo Koon, the current final stop on the EWL.
To raise awareness about the new stations, the LTA will hold roving exhibitions at MRT stations and integrated transport hubs in the western part of Singapore from May 22. The TWE will also open for a public preview on June 16, from noon to 8pm.
The LTA said the existing bus service network in the area of the new stations will be enhanced to improve transfers between trains and buses, as well as overall accessibility. Details will be announced later.
The LTA said the TWE is expected to serve 100,000 commuters every day. Travelling time for those working in the Jurong and Tuas industrial estates could be shortened — for those going from Ang Mo Kio to Tuas West, by as much as 35 minutes — as a bus transfer would no longer be necessary.
The TWE was initially scheduled to open by the end of last year. But the launch was pushed back because the new signalling system it runs on — same as the one being tested on the North-South Line — needed to undergo more tests to ensure reliability.
The project included the construction of the Tuas Viaduct, which opened on Feb 18, as well as a 26ha integrated depot that provides stabling and maintenance facilities for as many as 60 trains.
[Plagiarized from http://www.todayonline.com/]
With a projected daily ridership of 100,000 people, this means that each station has a projected daily ridership of 25,000 people.
But we have to consider the fact that Tuas only have industrial developments; People only go there on weekdays; Monday to Friday. On average, the daily ridership is actually 17,850 people for every Tuas West Extension station. ([10,000 x 5] / 7 / 4)
Nonetheless, considering a MRT station needs 5,000 daily ridership in order to break even; recover costs, having 17,850 of daily ridership would actually enable the Tuas West Extension stations to make profit.
Bus routes to observe:
193, 182 and 192.
To be honest, I wonder how they would operate the Tuas West Extension, as not all parts of the East West Line has the new signalling.
I'm okay for alternate trains to run to Tuas West Extension, or the North South Line to temporarily absorb the Jurong East to Tuas Link section of the East West Line (if that is possible).
Just don't run a shuttle between Tuas Link and Jurong East, and expect two loads of people to change train at Jurong East station. The station cannot take it.
...
Originally posted by gekpohboy:Bus routes to observe:
193, 182 and 192.
254 too.
255/257 may get minor amendments to link with Gul Circle MRT, though unlikely.
Don't think that they will further trim 182 to Tuas Terminal as there will be no buses plying from Singapore Discovery Centre all the way to Tuas Checkpoint and let's not forget that there is no MRT along that stretch of roads. I also don't see the possibility of breaking 182 into 2 services as it serves no purpose either.
Most likely 192 and 193 might have minor changes within Tuas and who knows 254 might starts at Tuas Terminal and loop at Joo Koon Int but the chances seems low.
Originally posted by gekpohboy:To be honest, I wonder how they would operate the Tuas West Extension, as not all parts of the East West Line has the new signalling.
I'm okay for alternate trains to run to Tuas West Extension, or the North South Line to temporarily absorb the Jurong East to Tuas Link section of the East West Line (if that is possible).
Just don't run a shuttle between Tuas Link and Jurong East, and expect two loads of people to change train at Jurong East station. The station cannot take it.
The NSL CBTC is already live from 16 April 2017.
The EWL CBTC will be live from 18 June 2017.
Originally posted by SBS7123J:Don't think that they will further trim 182 to Tuas Terminal as there will be no buses plying from Singapore Discovery Centre all the way to Tuas Checkpoint and let's not forget that there is no MRT along that stretch of roads. I also don't see the possibility of breaking 182 into 2 services as it serves no purpose either.
Most likely 192 and 193 might have minor changes within Tuas and who knows 254 might starts at Tuas Terminal and loop at Joo Koon Int but the chances seems low.
254 will be rerouted via Pioneer Road, Tuas West Drive and Tuas Checkpoint, which will even extend more loops. But even though if implemented, 182 may not see much changes and it will become full day.
Cross Border Causeway Link bus to operate from Tuas Link station?
Reduce congestion at Jurong East Int.
Originally posted by AJQZC:254 too.
255/257 may get minor amendments to link with Gul Circle MRT, though unlikely.
Actually, contrary to popular belief, I do not think 192 and 193 would get amendments, as they are already connected to the Tuas West Extension.
192 connects to Gul Circle and Tuas Link.
193 connects to Gul Circle, Tuas West Road and Tuas Link.
In fact, the only station that does not have bus route is Tuas Crescent station.
254, 255 and 257 may not get amendments also, because the connection to Joo Koon MRT station already provides the shortest possible public transport connection for commuters.
The only change I foresee is a new route that uses Tuas Crescent station to connect to Tuas South.
Originally posted by SBS7123J:Don't think that they will further trim 182 to Tuas Terminal as there will be no buses plying from Singapore Discovery Centre all the way to Tuas Checkpoint and let's not forget that there is no MRT along that stretch of roads. I also don't see the possibility of breaking 182 into 2 services as it serves no purpose either.
Most likely 192 and 193 might have minor changes within Tuas and who knows 254 might starts at Tuas Terminal and loop at Joo Koon Int but the chances seems low.
I agree that Pasir Laba Camp and Singapore Discovery Centre needs a bus service. Likewise for Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim at Tuas.
Actually 182 can be replaced at Tuas West Road area. Tuas Link is more for Tuas Link 4 area, not Tuas South.
182 can be shortened to just Upper Jurong Road and Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim, and loop at Tuas Checkpoint.
The section at Tuas South can be replaced with new bus services.
Besides, 182 is usually affected by traffic congestion at Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim, towards Tuas Checkpoint. Having another bus service cover Tuas South from elsewhere would improve the bus service reliability at Tuas South.
As for 192, 193 and 254, I do not think they may get amendments at all, at least at Tuas area. These routes are already quite short, and they connect to the MRT network relatively well.
Nonetheless, 192 at Jurong West can be re-routed to use resources more efficiently. Upper Jurong Road already has 258 providing the connection between Joo Koon and Pioneer, and I don't think there's a need for another bus service to provide that connection. 192 can absorb 256, since no one really takes 256 at Joo Koon Bus Interchange, or alight at that stop.
Originally posted by TPS Timothy Mok:254 will be rerouted via Pioneer Road, Tuas West Drive and Tuas Checkpoint, which will even extend more loops. But even though if implemented, 182 may not see much changes and it will become full day.
Actually, 254 can connect to Gul Circle station at Tuas Road.
However, this would cause 254 to skip Pioneer Road, and there will be a need to compensate the three pairs of bus stop at Pioneer Road which only have 254. A easy solution would be to do a mutual swap with 192 or 193, but this would affect existing 192 or 193 commuters working in Tuas, as they would have to travel longer distances.
Likewise, your suggestion for 254 to use Pioneer Road and Tuas West Road would result in loss of bus service at the three pairs of bus stop at Pioneer Road. In addition, if commuters have to take the train to Tuas Crescent station to transfer to 254, they would incur additional mileage, which translates to longer travel times and higher transport fares.
It may be better to not change 254 at all.
182 is already full day.
Originally posted by Ajen:Cross Border Causeway Link bus to operate from Tuas Link station?
Reduce congestion at Jurong East Int.
To be honest, after so many years, people are already used to taking cross boarder buses at Jurong East Bus Interchange.
Besides, I don't think it's feasible to run cross boarder bus services from Tuas Link MRT station.
Although there's a pair of bus stop next to Tuas Link MRT station, and Tuas Checkpoint nearby, Tuas Bus Terminal is quite out of the way.
Tuas Bus Terminal is in between Tuas Link MRT station and Tuas Checkpoint.
From the bus terminal, the bus has to run south on the Tuas West Drive towards Pioneer Road, and make a U-turn at the junction of Tuas West Drive and Pioneer Road, before it can pick up passengers at the Tuas Link MRT station bus stop and run to Johor Bahru, Malaysia, via the Tuas Second Link.
It would be like 170 making a U-turn after Kranji MRT station, before running on the opposite direction towards Woodlands Checkpoint and JB Sentral.
But the problem is, does the "Causeway Link" bus operator want to do that.
If they don't mind, of course it's better, because mileage is shorter, and the operator can cut cost and lower the bus fares for the "Causeway Link" bus services.
Like you have said, having the "Causeway Link" use Tuas Bus Terminal instead of Jurong East Bus Interchange would relieve the load at Jurong East Bus Interchange.
Jurong East Bus Interchange has 44 parking lots and 21 public bus services. If the ratio is 1 bus service to 2 parking lots, technically there's space for one more public bus service. But as we all know, there are many private bus services at Jurong East Bus Interchange. Causeway Link alone has 3 bus services at Jurong East Bus Interchange (CW3, CW4, CW4S). Jurong East Bus Interchange is rather congested.
If Causeway Link can consolidate all of its 4 bus services (including CW6 at Boon Lay) into one bus service between Tuas Link MRT station and the Malaysia CIQ second link, actually that would be a huge relief for Causeway Link.
Not only would mileage be reduced, it would enable Causeway Link to provide the cross-boarder bus service at higher frequency, if the same number of buses is used for the merged and shorter bus service. Even if the number of buses is slightly reduced, it's also better for the company as frequency can increase with equal or lower cost of operation.
So, let's hope that Causeway Link would relocate its bus services from Jurong East and Boon Lay to Tuas Link MRT station bus stop.
Originally posted by gekpohboy:To be honest, after so many years, people are already used to taking cross boarder buses at Jurong East Bus Interchange.
Besides, I don't think it's feasible to run cross boarder bus services from Tuas Link MRT station.
Although there's a pair of bus stop next to Tuas Link MRT station, and Tuas Checkpoint nearby, Tuas Bus Terminal is quite out of the way.
Tuas Bus Terminal is in between Tuas Link MRT station and Tuas Checkpoint.
From the bus terminal, the bus has to run south on the Tuas West Drive towards Pioneer Road, and make a U-turn at the junction of Tuas West Drive and Pioneer Road, before it pick up passengers at the Tuas Link MRT station bus stop and run to Johor Bahru, Malaysia, via the Tuas Second Link.
It would be like 170 making a U-turn after Kranji MRT station, before running on the opposite direction towards Woodlands Checkpoint and JB Sentral.
But the problem is, does the "Causeway Link" bus operator want to do that.
If they don't mind, of course it's better, because mileage is shorter, and the operator can cut cost and lower the bus fares for the "Causeway Link" bus services.
Like you have said, having the "Causeway Link" use Tuas Bus Terminal instead of Jurong East Bus Interchange would relieve the load at Jurong East Bus Interchange.
Jurong East Bus Interchange has 44 parking lots and 21 public bus services. If the ratio is 1 bus service to 2 parking lots, technically there's space for one more public bus service. But as we all know, there are many private bus services at Jurong East Bus Interchange. Causeway Link alone has 3 bus services at Jurong East Bus Interchange (CW3, CW4, CW4S). Jurong East Bus Interchange is rather congested.
If Causeway Link can consolidate all of its 4 bus services (including CW6 at Boon Lay) into one bus service between Tuas Link MRT station and the Malaysia CIQ second link, actually that would be a huge relief for Causeway Link.
Not only would mileage be reduced, it would enable Causeway Link to provide the cross-boarder bus service at higher frequency, if the same number of buses is used for the merged and shorter bus service. Even if the number of buses is slightly reduced, it's also better for the company as frequency can increase with equal or lower cost of operation.
So, let's hope that Causeway Link would relocate its bus services from Jurong East and Boon Lay to Tuas Link MRT station bus stop.
Agree with you. But u shld consider this view too: Why did the SG–KL HSR termius be Jurong East but not Tuas? Simply becoz JE is more built up and developed with more amentities than in Tuas, even though Tuas is so much more nearer to Malaysia to maintain better schedules. (Sorry if this happen to be a poor analogy)
Coming back to the bus issue, my reasons for the relocations are 1. JE crowding, both the buses and people—there was one occasion when Causeway Link screwed up their deployments and schedules the queue ended up stretching up to like 3 berths away frm its berth itself, vry vry chaotic!!! 2. The nature of the routes of the bus that come by the 2nd link is vry vry long, simply becoz there are not much developments near the checkpoint, and buses have to make use of the Gelang Patah highway or smth to get to its destination. Fyi CW4 entire route clocks abt 60 plus km in one direction (idk how they operate the route), so in all shortening to Tuas shldnt be a prob. Plus cfm got factory workers come frm Malaysia, so they can make use of it better.
Btw, i got this feeling that CW4/6 may be pushed to Tuas, and can we walk in/out of the Tuas checkpoint?
Will the future CRL start from Tuas Link as well?
Originally posted by gekpohboy:I agree that Pasir Laba Camp and Singapore Discovery Centre needs a bus service. Likewise for Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim at Tuas.
There used to be a service 450 that plied from old Jurong interchange to Pasir Laba which was withdrawn decades ago.
For Singapore Discovery Centre, it is actually a 5-10 mins walking distance to Joo Koon MRT.
Apart from services 192 and 193 which is likely to be amended to the new bus terminal, I feel that LTA should introduce another 2-3 more new JIS services to provide more coverage within the Tuas South estate (which is only covered by 182 at the moment).
Originally posted by iveco:Will the future CRL start from Tuas Link as well?
Gul Circle
Originally posted by CZT:Agree with you. But u shld consider this view too: Why did the SG–KL HSR termius be Jurong East but not Tuas? Simply becoz JE is more built up and developed with more amentities than in Tuas, even though Tuas is so much more nearer to Malaysia to maintain better schedules. (Sorry if this happen to be a poor analogy)
Coming back to the bus issue, my reasons for the relocations are 1. JE crowding, both the buses and people—there was one occasion when Causeway Link screwed up their deployments and schedules the queue ended up stretching up to like 3 berths away frm its berth itself, vry vry chaotic!!! 2. The nature of the routes of the bus that come by the 2nd link is vry vry long, simply becoz there are not much developments near the checkpoint, and buses have to make use of the Gelang Patah highway or smth to get to its destination. Fyi CW4 entire route clocks abt 60 plus km in one direction (idk how they operate the route), so in all shortening to Tuas shldnt be a prob. Plus cfm got factory workers come frm Malaysia, so they can make use of it better.
Btw, i got this feeling that CW4/6 may be pushed to Tuas, and can we walk in/out of the Tuas checkpoint?
Shortening the Causeway Link buses from Jurong East to Tuas Link would save around 13 kilometres of mileage for the bus company, which is around 20% of the total mileage saved. (one CW route is around 60km)
A bus ticket could correspondingly be lowered from $4 currently, to $3.20 or $3.
Nonetheless, a train ride from Jurong East to Tuas Link could cost $1.53 on adult fare, as the distance between the two stations is 14.8 kilometres.
Although the bus ticket price could cost $0.80 less, the train ride costs $1.53, which means commuters actually have to pay $0.73 more – unless they work in Tuas or Jurong West.
But in terms of cost, Causeway Link would definitely enjoy cost savings.
Bus service reliability would also improve, since all the resources would be concentrated at just that one route from Tuas Link station.
Nonetheless, considering it's going to cost more for commuters, I think it’s better to keep the cross-boarder bus services at Jurong East. It’s not like taking MRT to Kranji to take 160, instead of taking 160 at Jurong East. Causeway Link is a private bus company, the ticket price not based on distance, so no cost saving, even if the MRT ride to Tuas Link is shorter.
The Tuas West Extension passenger volume should be similar to Joo Koon MRT Station and Joo Koon Bus Interchange; high during peak hours, and very limited usage during regular hours.
Originally posted by gekpohboy:Shortening the Causeway Link buses from Jurong East to Tuas Link would save around 13 kilometres of mileage for the bus company, which is around 20% of the total mileage saved. (one CW route is around 60km)
A bus ticket could correspondingly be lowered from $4 currently, to $3.20 or $3.
Nonetheless, a train ride from Jurong East to Tuas Link could cost $1.53 on adult fare, as the distance between the two stations is 14.8 kilometres.
Although the bus ticket price could cost $0.80 less, the train ride costs $1.53, which means commuters actually have to pay $0.73 more – unless they work in Tuas or Jurong West.
But in terms of cost, Causeway Link would definitely enjoy cost savings.
Bus service reliability would also improve, since all the resources would be concentrated at just that one route from Tuas Link station.
Nonetheless, considering it's going to cost more for commuters, I think it’s better to keep the cross-boarder bus services at Jurong East. It’s not like taking MRT to Kranji to take 160, instead of taking 160 at Jurong East. Causeway Link is a private bus company, the ticket price not based on distance, so no cost saving, even if the MRT ride to Tuas Link is shorter.
The Tuas West Extension passenger volume should be similar to Joo Koon MRT Station and Joo Koon Bus Interchange; high during peak hours, and very limited usage during regular hours.
Yup. Thanks for explaining it clearly
There will be free shuttle buses at Pioneer and Joo Koon stations during the open house on 16 June, from 12pm to 8pm. (Last bus from Pioneer probably around 7pm)
Anyway, with the roving exhibitions happening from 22 May, it is possible that they will announce the bus routes changes tomorrow, along with the train operating details.
Originally posted by SBS8676Z:There used to be a service 450 that plied from old Jurong interchange to Pasir Laba which was withdrawn decades ago.
For Singapore Discovery Centre, it is actually a 5-10 mins walking distance to Joo Koon MRT.
Singapore Discovery Centre is a tourist attraction. There needs to be a bus connection to a MRT station, for the tourists to take. I do not think it is nice to ask them to walk 5-10 minutes along Benoi Road between Joo Koon MRT station and Singapore Discovery Centre, especially when it is raining.
As for the Pasir Laba camp, having a bus service to transport them to and from Joo Koon MRT station would be nice.
As part of Tuas West Extension opening, new bus services 247 and 248 will be launched.
Existing bus services 254, 192 and 258 will be amended.
256 will be withdrawn.
All these will take effect on 18 June 2017.