MANY people are looking forward to the Singapore-Malaysia high-speed rail system, which will drastically shorten travel times between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur ("High-speed rail terminal site may be named soon"; Feb 7).
Tuas, Jurong and the city centre have been named as possible sites for the terminal in Singapore.
Having the station in Tuas or Jurong would be like plugging the last-mile gap.
While there are benefits to having a station right on the border, it would be too far from the city.
Travelling from Tuas/Jurong back home to, say, Punggol or Marine Parade would take almost the same time as travelling from Johor to Singapore. There are also infrastructural issues to consider.
Building a huge station complex in Jurong or Tuas could create a new local destination for Singaporeans to visit and increase local tourism to that location, although we have to be mindful of the huge costs involved.
Choosing a city location would please most people. But there would be a lot of land development and
infrastructure costs involved, not to mention the hassle the development work will bring to many people living and working in the city.
One way to tackle the cost concerns and minimise disruption is to build on existing infrastructure.
Good examples to follow are Kuala Lumpur, Taiwan and some cities in China.
Some possible locations for such developments could be Raffles Place MRT, Marina Bay MRT or even the new Marina Bay Cruise Centre.
In fact, creating a transport hub in the middle of the city could present a great opportunity to build a direct express line to Changi Airport too.
This would not only bring us up to par with other major international cities that have direct non-stop train lines to the airport, but also make travelling cheaper and taxi queues shorter.
Amit Nagpal
Tuas, Jurong and the city centre have been named as possible sites for the terminal in Singapore.
Having the station in Tuas or Jurong would be like plugging the last-mile gap.
While there are benefits to having a station right on the border, it would be too far from the city.
Travelling from Tuas/Jurong back home to, say, Punggol or Marine Parade would take almost the same time as travelling from Johor to Singapore. There are also infrastructural issues to consider.
Building a huge station complex in Jurong or Tuas could create a new local destination for Singaporeans to visit and increase local tourism to that location, although we have to be mindful of the huge costs involved.
Choosing a city location would please most people. But there would be a lot of land development and
infrastructure costs involved, not to mention the hassle the development work will bring to many people living and working in the city.
One way to tackle the cost concerns and minimise disruption is to build on existing infrastructure.
Good examples to follow are Kuala Lumpur, Taiwan and some cities in China.
Some possible locations for such developments could be Raffles Place MRT, Marina Bay MRT or even the new Marina Bay Cruise Centre.
In fact, creating a transport hub in the middle of the city could present a great opportunity to build a direct express line to Changi Airport too.
This would not only bring us up to par with other major international cities that have direct non-stop train lines to the airport, but also make travelling cheaper and taxi queues shorter.
Amit Nagpal
