13주차｜교통과 도심_강혜지_Opening Remarks by Acting Minister for Transport

[강혜지]

Opening Remarks by Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow at SBS Transit’s International Metro Operators’ Summit

Opening Remarks by Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow at SBS Transit’s International Metro Operators’ Summit | Ministry of Transport

Speaker: Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow

Date: 2025.11.19

Word Count: 343

Glossary

1. International Metro Operators’ Summit: 국제 도시 철도 운영자 회의

2. SBS Transit: (음차) / 싱가포르 대중교통 운영사

(편집본)

Good morning. I’m happy to be here, attending the inaugural International Metro Operators’ Summit today.

This summit brings together over 700 global metro experts to share best practices and discuss the future of urban mobility. I want to commend SBS Transit for organising this because it is a good opportunity to exchange ideas, learn from one another, and deepen our understanding of how to keep improving urban transit.

A metro system is a feature of every modern city. It is the most efficient option for mass transport in a dense environment.

The first metro system opened in London in the 1860s, using steam locomotives. 

In 1890, the first electric railway opened, also in London.  

Shortly after, similar electric systems emerged in Chicago and Paris.

Today, these systems are well over a century old, but they remain the backbone of the world’s most dynamic cities

In Asia, metro systems emerged later. Tokyo in the 1920s, then Beijing, Seoul, and Hong Kong, much more recently in the 1970s. 

As Asian cities grow, their metros grew with them. 

Their metro systems were both a symbol of progress, and an enabler of growth.

Singapore’s story is similar. We opened our metro system in 1986, almost 40 years ago.  

Famously, our government held a national debate on whether to build a rail system, or continue relying on buses. 

A team of specialists from Harvard University recommended an all-bus system, which they argued would be much cheaper than rail. 

Today, that debate is conclusively settled. It would not have been possible for buses to match the capacity of our rail system, and support Singapore’s population and economic growth.

Today, we have over 270km of metro lines. 

By the early 2030s, we will expand this to around 360km. This also means that eight in 10 households in Singapore will be within a 10-minute walk of a train station. 

At 40 years old, our train system is relatively new, with a high level of reliability. 

But increasingly, we are dealing with the same problems that other older metro systems have encountered.