议长先生：高级政务部长许连碹。

下午 7:36

许连碹博士（交通部高级政务部长）：我们的愿景，正如《2040 年陆路交通发展总蓝图》（LTMP 2040）所阐述的那样，是到 2040 年打造 “45 分钟城市”和 “20 分钟市镇”。“45 分钟城市”目标不只是减少出行时间。它还涉及重塑我们对城市连通性的看法，例如创建更多就业中心并更好地将它们与住宅区连接起来。

梁文辉（非选区议员）先生谈到了西部的交通连通性，黄文鸿（蔡厝港集选区议员）先生、连荣华（武吉班让单选区议员） 先生、郑德源（先锋单选区议员） 先生、王心妍（西海岸集选区议员）女士和 周凯年（蔡厝港集选区议员） 先生等议员此前也曾在国会提问，询问我们改善西部交通连通性的计划。

登加的居民也向陆路交通管理局和我提供了关于他们社区的具体反馈，我们已经开始处理这些问题。让我分享一下我们迄今为止取得的进展，以及我们为改善西部居民的交通可达性、连通性和弹性而不断做出的努力。我很高兴地注意到，梁先生的建议实际上支持了我们为西部的交通连通性制定的计划。

首先，我要谈谈我们的地铁网络，它是我们公共交通系统的支柱。

今天，除了武吉班让轻轨交通外，西部居民还可以享受南北线、东西线和市区线的服务。虽然梁先生声称东部交通的连接性“远胜于”西部，但恕我直言，我认为这不是一个公平的比较，因为地理特征、发展阶段和出行模式都存在差异。

随着地铁网络的计划扩展，我们有望在2030 年代实现西部80%居民步行10 分钟即可到达地铁站的目标，这与我们为全岛设定的目标一致。

巴士服务是地铁网络的补充，它们为主要交通枢纽提供首英里和最后一英里的连接，并为通勤者提供替代选择。我们超过三分之一的巴士线路在西部运行，包括将西部居民直接连接到中心区就业中心的特快公交服务。

陆路交通管理局密切监测西部巴士线路的需求和容量，如同监测新加坡各地的巴士服务一样。在需要额外容量的地方，例如在拥有更多预购组屋（BTO）的市镇，陆路交通管理局与运营商合作，提高班次频率并增加双层巴士。

此类改进的一个例子是登加。自从新房主大约一年前开始领取组屋钥匙以来，陆路交通管理局已在该地区推出了三条新的公交服务。

992 和 870 号线于去年年底开通，将居民与武吉巴督和裕廊东地铁站以及裕廊市政厅和登加巴士换乘站连接起来。871 号线于今年7月开通，将登加居民与武吉甘柏地铁站和美世界地铁站连接起来。

与所有新区一样，陆路交通管理局将继续监测出行需求，并进行必要的改进，以改善交通连通性，同时发展市镇并逐步完成道路基础设施。

展望未来，我们加强西部交通连通性的计划的一个关键推动因素是我们的两条新地铁线路——裕廊区域线（JRL） 和 跨岛线（CRL）。

裕廊区域线（JRL）将于 2027 年至 2029 年分阶段开通，届时将改变西部的游戏规则。它拥有 24 个新车站，横跨 24 公里，将服务于登加新镇和裕廊湖区等地区，并将整个西部地区的居民与裕廊不断增长的就业中心连接起来，在蔡厝港、文礼和裕廊东设有三个换乘站，将连接南北线和东西线，并增强整个系统的弹性。

裕廊区域线（JRL）将缩短西部通勤者的出行时间。例如，Tengah Plantation Grove 的居民可以通过连接裕廊东交汇处的地铁在 40 分钟内到达丹戎巴葛，而现在需要 55 分钟。同样，Boon Lay View 的居民将需要 40 分钟到达 Woodlands，而现在需要55 分钟。

对于裕廊区域线（JRL）上的裕廊镇政厅站和 跨岛线（CRL）上的裕廊湖区站之间的连接，梁先生将很高兴知道这两个站之间会有良好的行人连接。

到 2030 年代初，跨岛线（CRL） 将进一步加强西部与东部和东北地区的连接。它将服务于西海岸和金文泰部分等目前没有直接连接到地铁网络的地区，并将居民与榜鹅和樟宜不断增长的就业中心联系起来。西部的乘客将能够使用裕廊区域线（JRL）连接我们地铁网络的每条线路。

它还将大大缩短某些旅程的旅行时间。目前，从西海岸到巴西立的旅程需要 70 分钟，到宏茂桥的旅程需要 60 分钟。有了跨岛线（CRL），这些旅程将缩短到 45 分钟到巴西立，30 分钟到宏茂桥。

到 2030 年代中期，南北线沿线的新双溪加株换乘站将为西北部的乘客提供更直接的市区线换乘服务。蔡厝港和武吉甘柏站之间的新 Brickland 站也将为居住在吉丰、武吉巴督西和登加的居民提供更快、更方便的地铁线路。

除了这些项目之外，我们还在规划下一个项目。正如徐芳达部长之前提到的，陆路交通管理局一直在研究西海岸延伸线与该地区的进一步发展，这将把裕廊区域线（JRL）连接到环线，进一步改善西部的铁路连通性和弹性。

与此同时，我们认识到，巴士服务仍然不可或缺，因为它们使更多居民能够使用地铁网络和其他便利设施。这一点尤其重要，因为新住宅开发项目正在以更快的速度完成，这意味着有新的需求需要满足。我们认识到，由于我们的地铁网络的计划扩建需要一些时间才能完成，改善巴士连通性将有助于满足短期内的出行需求。

这就是为什么我们通过最近宣布的巴士连通性增强计划采取了进一步措施。一些措施包括引入更多的高峰时段快速巴士服务，以更快地连接到城市，以及新的“特快接驳”服务，这些服务将绕过站点，采取更直接的路线，将较远地区的居民连接到现有的交通枢纽和市镇中心。

梁先生对巴士服务的建议与此无异。我们还将加快推出新的干线和接驳巴士服务，并提高巴士班次，以改善迁入登加等新区第一批居民的交通便利性。陆路交通管理局正在与利益相关者协商，逐步确定这些改进措施。

除了改善交通便利性，我们还将让工作岗位更贴近居民。随着裕廊湖区和裕廊创新区等区域中心的发展，西部居民将有更多的就业机会。

议长先生，虽然我们已经取得了实质性进展，但我们还没有完成建设更加互联互通的新加坡。我们改善交通基础设施的计划需要时间。因此，我希望新加坡人和西部居民能够耐心等待，并给予支持，因为我们将在未来几年继续改善公共交通网络。

在国会的支持下，我相信我们将实现为所有居民打造一个交通便利、充满活力的家园的愿景。[掌声]

Mr Speaker: Senior Minister of State Amy Khor.

7.36 pm

The Senior Minister of State for Transport (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan): Our vision, as articulated in the Land Transport Master Plan 2040 (LTMP 2040), is to create a 45-minute city and 20-minute towns by 2040. The 45-minute city goal goes beyond reducing travel times. It is also about reshaping how we think about urban connectivity, such as creating more employment centres and better linking them with residential areas. 

Mr Leong spoke about the transport connectivity in the West. Members such as Mr Don Wee, Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Mr Patrick Tay, Miss Rachel Ong and Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim had also previously asked Parliamentary Questions about our plans to improve transport connectivity in the West.

Residents from Tengah have also provided LTA and myself with specific feedback on their estate, which we have already been addressing. Let me share about the progress that we have made thus far and our ongoing efforts to improve transport accessibility, connectivity and resilience for residents in the West. I am glad to note that Mr Leong's suggestions, in fact, support the plans we have made for transport connectivity in the West.

Let me begin with our rail network, the backbone of our public transport system.

Today, besides the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit, residents in the West are served by the North-South, East-West and Downtown Lines. While Mr Leong has claimed that the East is "far better" than the West, with all due respect, I think this is not a fair comparison as there are differences in geographical characteristics, stage of development and travel patterns.

With planned expansions to the rail network, we are on track to having eight in 10 households in the West within a 10-minute walk of a train station by the 2030s, which is aligned with our target for the entire island.

Complementing the rail network are bus services that provide first- and last-mile connectivity to key transport nodes and alternative options for commuters. More than one-third of our bus routes ply in the West, including express bus services that connect residents in the West directly to job centres in the central area. 

LTA closely monitors the demand and capacity of bus routes in the West like it does for bus services across Singapore. Where additional capacity is needed, such as in growing towns with more Build-To-Order flats, LTA has worked with operators to improve frequencies and to inject more double-deck buses. 

One example of such improvements is in Tengah. LTA has introduced three new bus services in this area since new homeowners started collecting the keys to their flats just about a year ago.

Services 992 and 870 were introduced at the end of last year, connecting residents to MRT stations at Bukit Batok and Jurong East as well as Jurong Town Hall and Tengah Bus Interchanges. Service 871 was introduced in July this year, connecting Tengah residents to Bukit Gombak and Beauty World MRT stations.

As with all new estates, LTA will continue to monitor travel demand and make necessary enhancements to improve transport connectivity in tandem with the development of the town and progressive completion of its road infrastructure.

Looking ahead, a key enabler of our plans to enhance transport connectivity in the West are our two new MRT lines – the JRL and CRL. 

The JRL will be a game-changer for the West when it opens in stages between 2027 and 2029. With 24 new stations spanning 24 kilometres, it will serve areas such as Tengah New Town and Jurong Lake District, and also connect residents across the entire Western region to growing employment centres in Jurong. With three interchange stations at Choa Chu Kang, Boon Lay and Jurong East, the JRL will connect to the North-South Line and East-West Line, and enhance resilience across the system.

The JRL will shorten travel times for commuters in the West. For example, residents in Tengah Plantation Grove can reach Tanjong Pagar in 40 minutes via a rail connection to Jurong East interchange, compared to 55 minutes today. Similarly, residents in Boon Lay View will take 40 minutes to travel to Woodlands, down from 55 minutes today. 

For the connection between the Jurong Town Hall station on the JRL and the Jurong Lake District station on the CRL, Mr Leong will be pleased to know that there will be good pedestrian connectivity between the two stations. 

By the early 2030s, the CRL will further enhance the West's connection to the East and North-East regions. It will serve areas such as West Coast and parts of Clementi that do not currently have direct links to the rail network and connect residents to growing employment centres in Punggol and Changi. Commuters in the West will be able to use the CRL to connect to every radial line in our MRT network.

It will also shorten travel times significantly for some journeys. Currently, a journey from West Coast to Pasir Ris will take 70 minutes and a journey to Ang Mo Kio will take 60 minutes. With the CRL, these journeys will be reduced to 45 minutes to Pasir Ris and 30 minutes to Ang Mo Kio. 

In the mid-2030s, the new Sungei Kadut interchange station along the North-South Line will provide commuters in the Northwest a more direct transfer to the Downtown Line. The new Brickland station between Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Gombak stations will also offer residents living in Keat Hong, Bukit Batok West and Tengah faster and more convenient access to the rail network.

Beyond these projects, we are also planning for the next bound. As Minister Chee mentioned earlier, LTA has been studying a West Coast Extension in tandem with further developments in the area, which will connect the JRL to the Circle Line and further improve rail connectivity and resilience for the West.

At the same time, we recognise that buses remain integral as they enable more residents to access the rail network and other amenities. This is especially important as new housing developments are being completed at a faster pace, which means that there are new needs that have to be met. We recognise that as the planned expansion of our rail network will take some time to complete, improving bus connectivity will help meet travel demand in the immediate term.

That is why we have taken further steps through the recently announced Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme. Some measures include introducing more peak-hour express bus services for faster connection to the city as well as new "express feeder" services, which will bypass stops to take a more direct route to connect residents in farther away estates to existing transport nodes and town centres.

Mr Leong's suggestion for buses is no different from this. We will also speed up the pace of introducing new trunk and feeder bus services and improving bus frequencies to improve connectivity for the early batches of residents who move into new estates like Tengah. LTA is progressively identifying these enhancements, in consultation with stakeholders.

Beyond improving transport connectivity, we are also bringing jobs closer to residents. With the development of regional centres like the Jurong Lake District and Jurong Innovation District, residents in the West will have even more employment opportunities close to home. 

Mr Speaker, while we have made substantial progress, we are not done building a more connected Singapore. Our plans to improve transport infrastructure will take time. So, I seek the patience and support of Singaporeans and our residents in the West as we press on with enhancements to our public transport network in the coming years. 

With the support of this House, I am confident that we will realise our vision of a well-connected and vibrant home for all residents. [Applause.]