Free off-peak morning train rides in northeast Singapore extended by a year after crowding drops 10%: Sun Xueling

Commuters in the northeast region of Singapore are set to benefit from another year of free morning off-peak train rides after crowding on trains has been reduced by 10 per cent, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling on Friday (Oct 2).

First announced in October 2025, the one-year free off-peak travel pilot began on Dec 27 last year.

Sun made this announcement at the sidelines of a visit to the Sengkang-Punggol LRT's Sengkang depot, as works to connect two new reception tracks along Sengkang West Avenue to the mainline were completed two weeks ahead of schedule, allowing full train services to resume from Sunday .

"We have been looking at the ridership of the free off-peak rail travel. We originally had a target of moving about 7 per cent of commuters to off-peak travel," the senior minister of state said, adding that off-peak ridership has increased to 10 per cent.

In May, during a ministerial community visit in Sengkang , then-Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow revealed that crowding has been reduced by 9 per cent.

He described the ridership shift as a "good outcome" and a "win-win situation", with northeast commuters who travel off peak enjoying free rides, while those who are unable to do so benefit from less crowded trains.

Sun said that with the increased off-peak ridership, the Land Transport Authority will be extending free off-peak travel by another year.

"We hope that with the extension of this programme, more commuters will use the off-peak rail travel, which will help with the capacity situation, and that it will offer a smoother commute as well for our residents."

Under the pilot, commuters who tap in at the six stations between Punggol Coast and Kovan as well as those along the Sengkang-Punggol LRT (SPLRT) during morning off-peak timings will enjoy free rides.

The morning off-peak periods are before 7.30am or between 9am and 9.45am on weekdays, excluding public holidays.

No registration is required to enjoy the free rides, but commuters must use the same fare card of payment mode for entry and exit.

新加坡交通部高级政务部长孙雪玲周五（10月2日）表示，由于火车拥挤程度降低了10%，新加坡东北地区的通勤者将再享受一年的早高峰非高峰时段免费乘车优惠。

这项为期一年的非高峰时段免费出行试点计划于 2025 年 10 月首次公布，并于去年 12 月 27 日开始实施。

孙先生在视察盛港-榜鹅轻轨盛港车厂期间宣布了这一消息。此前，连接盛港西大道两条新接收轨道与主线的工程提前两周完工，使得列车服务从周日起全面恢复。

“我们一直在关注非高峰时段免费铁路出行的客流量。我们最初的目标是让大约 7% 的通勤者选择非高峰时段出行，”这位高级国务部长说，并补充说，非高峰时段的客流量已经增加到 10%。

5 月，时任交通部代部长萧敬腾在盛港进行部长级社区访问时透露，拥挤状况已减少了 9%。

他将客流量的变化描述为“好结果”和“双赢局面”，东北地区的通勤者如果错峰出行，就可以享受免费乘车，而那些无法错峰出行的人则可以享受不那么拥挤的列车。

孙先生表示，随着非高峰时段客流量的增加，陆路交通管理局将把非高峰时段免费乘车政策再延长一年。

“我们希望通过延长该计划的实施时间，能够吸引更多通勤者选择非高峰时段乘坐火车，从而缓解运力紧张的局面，并为居民提供更顺畅的通勤体验。”

根据试点计划，在早高峰非高峰时段，在榜鹅海岸和高文之间的六个车站以及盛港-榜鹅轻轨（SPLRT）沿线车站刷卡的通勤者将享受免费乘车。

上午非高峰时段为工作日早上 7:30 之前或早上 9 点至 9:45 之间（公众假期除外）。

无需注册即可享受免费乘车，但乘客必须使用同一张车票或支付方式进出。