Summary Draft #1 - LTA Impact Study

 

In the news release, “Feasible for Cross Island MRT Line to run under Central Catchment or skirt around it: LTA impact study”, Toh (2019) states that the upcoming “Cross Island MRT line that will run from Tuas to Changi can either run under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve or go around it.” By going around the nature reserves, the route is lengthier and more costly, and causes residents several environmental issues, but it would not induce any impact on the nature reserves. Building the line through the nature reserves would cause damage and “affect the biodiversity there”. However, routing through the nature reserves poses a lesser risk of “safety related incidents” and also has a lower construction cost. LTA has examined the possible impact on the “environment and residents” and suggested that both options are potentially feasible and presents inconsequential impacts on the residents.

While I agree that both options are feasible, I tend to err on the side of tunneling through the reserves. Although it would damage the nature reserves, “mitigation measures”, when implemented, could bring the impact down to an inconsequential level. Furthermore, commuters can reap the benefits of a shorter travelling time, and residents would not have their lives and homes affected.

References:

Toh. (2019). Feasible for cross island MRT line to run under central catchment or skirt around it: LTA impact study. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/feasible-for-cross-island-line-to-run-through-central-catchment-or-skirt-around

 Cheng. (2019). Explainer: How 2 proposed tunnelling routes for cross island line will affect wildlife, housing areas. TODAYonline. https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/explainer-how-2-proposed-tunnelling-routes-cross-island-line-will-affect-wildlife-housing?cid=h3_referral_inarticlelinks_03092019_todayonline

 Cheng. (2019). Govt will do ‘whatever it can’ to protect central catchment nature reserve: Lam pin MIN. TODAYonline. https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/govt-will-do-whatever-it-can-protect-central-catchment-nature-reserve-lam-pin-min