The final twelve stations of the Circle Line running from Marymount to HarbourFront will start operating on October 8.
Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew announced this as he visited two new Circle Line stations at Holland Village and Caldecott on Monday.
The opening of the final 16.6 km stretch will mark the completion of the entire Circle Line which has 28 stations.
The expected daily ridership for the Circle Line is about 400,000.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the 12 new stations will link Singaporeans and visitors to places such as the research and business hub of One-North and the vibrant food and club scene in Holland Village.
LTA said the Circle Line will enhance connectivity with the existing MRT lines and provide time-savings for commuters.
For example, commuters travelling from Bishan to Buona Vista will only take 26 minutes on the Circle Line, compared to the current 40 minutes on the North-South and East-West Line.
The full opening of the Circle Line is also expected to ease crowding along the North-South and East-West Line by about 10 to 15 per cent.
Mr Lui also announced that an additional 13 trains will be pumped into the North-South East-West line around 2014-2015.
The additional trains will enhance the capacity on the North-South East West line by about 25 per cent.
He added LTA and SMRT are also finalising plans to add more train trips to improve off-peak frequencies. He said these service improvements will be announced soon.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 1 Aug 2011