Bukit Panjang LRT will see increase in capacity with new trains

The Straits Times reported that the Bukit Panjang LRT system will see an increase in capacity within the next few months, to bring relief to peak hour congestion.

The first of 13 new train cars for the system arrived in Singapore on Sunday, with the rest due over the new few months.

Giving an update on LRT improvement projects on Wednesday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the new train cars will undergo extensive tests at the Bukit Panjang depot before they are injected into the network from the last quarter of this year.

The 13 additional trains, first announced in 2011, will increase the peak hour capacity of the system by about 50 percent. There are currently 19 trains in the LRT system.

The LTA said the frequency between Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Panjang LRT stations will go down from 2.5 minutes to 2.2 minutes, while train frequency for the loop between Petir and Senja stations will improve from the current five minutes to 4.4 minutes.