SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be working closely with train operators SMRT and SBS Transit to ease the crowd congestion at the linkway between the East-West Line (EWL) and North-East Line (NEL) at Outram Park MRT station.



A number of measures, such as installing additional directional signs, segregating the commuter flow in both directions with barricades and deploying marshals during peak hours will be implemented by next week, an LTA spokesperson said on Thursday (Feb 1) in response to queries from Channel NewsAsia.





Over the past two weeks, Channel NewsAsia has received reports of congestion at the linkway. Photos sent in by readers showed the 300m-long linkway packed with commuters.

A commuter who wanted to be known as Mr Lim told Channel NewsAsia last Friday that he experienced the jam a few days that week at about 6.30pm.



"I was easily stuck at that short path of the (linkway) for five to 10 minutes," said Mr Lim, 33. Hoarding can be seen blocking a section of the linkway in photos taken by him.



The congestion during peak hour on Jan 26, 2018 at the Outram Park MRT Station linkway between the East-West Line and North-East line. (Photo: Mr J Lim)



Some commuters also posted on Twitter about the jam at the linkway. One user, Eduard Pinos, tweeted at 7pm on Wednesday that there was "no movement" as the linkway was "completely blocked with people".



Another user, bluejoyjyh, said it was a "recurring problem" and called it a "safety concern".

@SMRT_Singapore why are we having this recurring problem at outram mrt passageway? This is a safety concern. Something needs to be done to manage the human traffic! pic.twitter.com/TK8YrauYsj — Joys💕🌈🌴 (@bluejoyjyh) January 31, 2018





Massive human traffic jam at Outram Park Stn pic.twitter.com/jxH0eHCpSQ — That Padded Charmander (@ThatPaddedChar) January 26, 2018





Mr Lim suggested that construction at the linkway might have contributed to the jam but LTA said that the hoarding has been up since last year. Meanwhile, there has been an increase in footfall at the station recently, it said.



"LTA and both EWL and NEL operators have assessed that the swell in footfall during the evening hours last week is likely due to more commuters transferring between the two lines at Outram Park MRT station as a result of the festive activities in the vicinity ahead of Chinese New Year," LTA said.



They added that the hoarding to "ensure the safety of commuters" has been in place since August last year to facilitate the construction of a new linkway as part of works for the upcoming Thomson-East Coast Line.



The hoarding will be realigned to reinstate the original walkway width when construction works are completed, LTA added.

"We seek commuters' understanding as we upgrade our infrastructure for a better commuter experience in future," the LTA spokesperson said.

