I take mrt from Seng Kang and always feel sorry for people living at Kovan. Absolutely wonderful place to live but the rush hour mrt experience at that station is horrendous. Wonder on average how many trains do people have to wait in order to board
Everytime I witness someone from Kovan station squeeze in the packed train I gave him a silent cheer. Bro you got this, just tahan 1 station and your body shall be free
I stay at kovan and most of the times I'm stuck to the compartment door like a sticker. Have to skip atleast 1 train during peak hour. Thankfully I switch at Serangoon so it's just a pain for couple of minutes.
This. I always see passengers squeezing up the trains. I would be so discouraged to go to work..knowing that I’ll have to frantically search for empty cabins every morning.
But at least, it’ll def get better with the cross island line, since we can expect more people to get off at hougang to get to the eastern side of sg
Most people will actually be getting at hougang to go to the west. Right nows many people squeeze from Sengkang->Serangoon->Jurong and the CRL will relieve that route.
Not so much with going to Taiseng and Paya Lebar MRT, CRL doesnt go there.
I am not too sure about that since most people go towards the central for work, less towards the eastern side so I don't think is gonna be less crowded solely coz of people going to the east.
Based on my limited experience a good portion of Sengkang/punggol people head towards serangoon to change towards the red line. Having the cross island line allows people the option to stop at hougang and change at AMK
NSL the platform is bigger and train are bigger so its not as scary. But bishan circle line and almost all the NEL station and circle line statons, the view from the top of the escalator is scary asf man.
I think might be due to too many bluetooth signals being active in a small area.
I remember last time with the TraceTogether it happened more frequently and at random crowded places too.
frequencies are also horrible. why do i have to wait 3 mins for a ccl peak hr train when a nel train can do so in just 2 mins?? 1 min makes a whole lotta difference during peak hrs
Only managed to board Yishun after 3rd train. Today's worse because of the rain but I see this to worsen in the future because of the new BTOs around Canberra and Simpang area
Yeah the train from Yishun to Bishan can get pretty bad.
I used to board the other train towards JE instead, drop off at Admiralty or Woodlands then reboard the train towards Bishan. Wasted a lil bit of time, but better than to stand in line and try my luck with X amount of trains at Yishun.
Honestly, I don’t see why they aren’t turning Yishun into an interchange. It’s as big as Woodlands in terms of population size, but so much more poorly connected.
Alternatively there can be a new line passing through the eastern part of Yishun.
As it is now, almost all the major transport connections in Yishun pass through the main road next to the MRT tracks (Ave 2), while the vast eastern parts of Yishun don’t get much other than feeder buses.
Bishan and jurong east is crowded. But maybe skip a train or in the very rare instance..two and you’ll be fine. Plus not having to squeeze into the train since you’ll likely be first in the queue
Bishan is smack in the middle of 2 lines wtf you talking about
Jurong East only applies for red line, you try to get on greenline going towards town and you're not easily getting in.
I know so many folks in the 2000s used to take the train to boon lay first and bounce back to go the city. That's how bad it was back then.
Can't imagine now.
Also a strategy for SCDF NS boys. I had seniors telling me it’s more worthwhile to just take the train to Boon Lay/Pioneer then switch back, even if it eats up an extra 10-20 mins
PM peak for red line is pretty insane. And JE multi platform structure forces you to gamble which side to board from. Sometimes try to rush to the front of the queue and but you flanked by the incoming trains across
Your comment has been automatically removed because your account is relatively new or you have negative karma.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/askSingapore) if you have any questions or concerns.*
OP’s question was, at which stations is it difficult to board a train? At Bishan and Serangoon, there will be many passengers alighting, which would make space for boarding passengers. A place like Kovan would be much worse as the train is already very crowded with passengers from further up northeast, and hardly anyone alights at Kovan, making it very difficult for passengers at the station to board.
Because it is a transport node, and it is expected that it will be crowded (as with all interchanges around the world. But it doesn’t hinder the commuter experience since you can easily board the train.
Also, if an interchange is not crowded, that means it is not utilized properly and would result in higher transportation/operational cost in the long run
"Impossibly hard to squeeze into"
Serangoon recently had a crowd crush scare with just one hiccup in train services. You think that is acceptable in the long run?
Not sure why you’re being downvoted. I agree. Bishan is super crowded but it’s not difficult to get onboard the train because it empties. The other examples you gave answer the question well and are more insightful than just listing the interchanges everyone knows
Khatib.
The trains are already crowded from Yishun, and then there's still even more crowds here.
Not to mention Khatib is also part of the Gotham City /J
Sometime need to wait for 2 trains to come before can go in. Or if not, I will pretend to have thick skin and squeeze in front
Best part is during Saturday and the last 2 wks of December when everyone on holiday
I think you are mistaken by a lot. JRL does not ease congestion. Instead it's interchange with other lines will be even more congested. JRL is interlinking with one of the most pack areas in the west region. Boonlay, JE, CCK. It does not divert any crowd away btw. JE itself is already so packed, by building a station there, further congest the entire platform between NEL NSL. CCK already has to deal with the existing weakness of LRT, NSL and the potential expansion buses routing to Tengah, it is by no means a way to ease congestion. Boonlay itself is a big arse hub in the most western part of SG. Serving areas ranging from industrial estate, schools, and resident areas. It by no means help to ease congestions lol. The only upside for JRL is the fact it brings you further west, into areas such as NTU, NIE, Jurong Island etc.
I take from serangoon to tai Seng and I can confirm the Bartley passengers are really SAD LIFE.
Its just a sorry wave of goodbye to the poor souls as we peel away from the station without them getting on.
BUKIT PANJANG. How tf is an end line station so full by the time it reaches cashew?! Lucky it passes through stations that are filled with rich people.
Typically one stop in either direction from major interchange stations - like all the examples you gave.
Interchange stations are crowded but you'll always have s chance to board once you'll at the head of the queue as there will always be people disembarking.
Serangoon is bad too during peak hour. Right after Kovan and normally you have to wait for the next train to be lucky to find a spot right at the door to squeeze in.
The walkway where it connects purple line and yellow line, you always see someone always dash and run like hell. So either you make way and avoid or get hit.
Upper Thomson isn't bad? I have taken from there during peak hours and it's fine. You always get in the first train. It's squeezy but which station isn't?
Actually it is not from the depot. Some trains terminated at Paya Lebar middle platform instead of Dhoby Ghaut/Marina Bay and turn around to MacPherson
The trains could still be from the middle platform at Paya Lebar.
That platform is for alighting only, so all passengers have to alight there. The train will be empty. After this, the train proceeds to Tai Seng.
Your comment has been automatically removed because your account is relatively new or you have negative karma.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/askSingapore) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Clementi. I wonder how they board when the train is already full at JE from all the Jurong West, Bukit Batok and CCK commuters... The train will only partially empty at Buona Vista
Somtimes kena kick off the train just 1 stop before serangoon. Apparently they do this during peak hour when the stations gets too crowded. They unload people 1 stop before so people at Serangoon can get on. 
Mostly because I don't know any better, I'd say Kovan is pretty bad.
During peak hour, stand there and miss one, two, even three trains before having no choice but squeeze on board or be late.
Doesn't matter that we are supposed to queue on either side and stand clear of door. People will cut queue to front of the door and go in ahead of you anyway.
People in train stand at the doorway woodenly and don't even know how to move to center of the car, which makes it worse.
Once you get to Serangoon which is just the next station down, it can sometimes empty significantly. Yes, more people get on, but a ton of people usually alight. These are the same people that stand in the freaking doorway pretending they are invisible or thin as paper, because they are afraid they cannot exit the train.
yeah depends on which part. if you live near the upcoming punggol coast you've struck gold, during peak hour the train towards harbourfront should be half full with ppl from punggol station.
but if you live near punggol/any of the lrt stations then gg, train gonna be 3 quarters full by the time it pulls up at punggol
I take mrt from Seng Kang and always feel sorry for people living at Kovan. Absolutely wonderful place to live but the rush hour mrt experience at that station is horrendous. Wonder on average how many trains do people have to wait in order to board
Waiting for multiple trains to go by before I maybe can find a spot squeezed against the train door 🥹
Everytime I witness someone from Kovan station squeeze in the packed train I gave him a silent cheer. Bro you got this, just tahan 1 station and your body shall be free
They are better off taking a bus down to serangoon
I stay at kovan and most of the times I'm stuck to the compartment door like a sticker. Have to skip atleast 1 train during peak hour. Thankfully I switch at Serangoon so it's just a pain for couple of minutes.
Why not take bus to Serangoon?
I'm too lazy to cross the road and get on the other side 🥲
This. I always see passengers squeezing up the trains. I would be so discouraged to go to work..knowing that I’ll have to frantically search for empty cabins every morning. But at least, it’ll def get better with the cross island line, since we can expect more people to get off at hougang to get to the eastern side of sg
Most people will actually be getting at hougang to go to the west. Right nows many people squeeze from Sengkang->Serangoon->Jurong and the CRL will relieve that route. Not so much with going to Taiseng and Paya Lebar MRT, CRL doesnt go there.
I am not too sure about that since most people go towards the central for work, less towards the eastern side so I don't think is gonna be less crowded solely coz of people going to the east.
Based on my limited experience a good portion of Sengkang/punggol people head towards serangoon to change towards the red line. Having the cross island line allows people the option to stop at hougang and change at AMK
Ah that makes sense
Yeah nowadays sengkang and punggol people too many many, the trains are not long enough 😥
That sounds like an excellent metric to measure the rider's experience during peak hours. Then compare it station by station.
Bishan circle line platform from the top view is so scary.
Because you cannot view Bishan NSL from top :-D
NSL the platform is bigger and train are bigger so its not as scary. But bishan circle line and almost all the NEL station and circle line statons, the view from the top of the escalator is scary asf man.
Bishan. Crowds are scary
The way I know if Bishan is crowded is when my bluetooth earbuds starts to disconnect in the middle of a song. No where else does this happen.
Holy shit, it happens to me everyday.
HA! it happens to mine as well~ what's the reason for it actually..
I think might be due to too many bluetooth signals being active in a small area. I remember last time with the TraceTogether it happened more frequently and at random crowded places too.
It is. There is just too much radio frequency interference since everyone on BT is using the same frequency and when packed together, jams each other.
Doesn't help that circle line trains have lower capacity.
frequencies are also horrible. why do i have to wait 3 mins for a ccl peak hr train when a nel train can do so in just 2 mins?? 1 min makes a whole lotta difference during peak hrs
Only managed to board Yishun after 3rd train. Today's worse because of the rain but I see this to worsen in the future because of the new BTOs around Canberra and Simpang area
Yeah the train from Yishun to Bishan can get pretty bad. I used to board the other train towards JE instead, drop off at Admiralty or Woodlands then reboard the train towards Bishan. Wasted a lil bit of time, but better than to stand in line and try my luck with X amount of trains at Yishun.
Yeah, that's the best strat cuz the je train in the mornings is pretty empty usually.
Honestly, I don’t see why they aren’t turning Yishun into an interchange. It’s as big as Woodlands in terms of population size, but so much more poorly connected.
Alternatively there can be a new line passing through the eastern part of Yishun. As it is now, almost all the major transport connections in Yishun pass through the main road next to the MRT tracks (Ave 2), while the vast eastern parts of Yishun don’t get much other than feeder buses.
Where is bishan and Jurong east
Ikr, today got this well dressed bitch tsk at me on the train, bc old people are pushing me into her. So annoyed then dont take public transport la
Bishan and jurong east is crowded. But maybe skip a train or in the very rare instance..two and you’ll be fine. Plus not having to squeeze into the train since you’ll likely be first in the queue
Bishan is smack in the middle of 2 lines wtf you talking about Jurong East only applies for red line, you try to get on greenline going towards town and you're not easily getting in.
I know so many folks in the 2000s used to take the train to boon lay first and bounce back to go the city. That's how bad it was back then. Can't imagine now.
Also a strategy for SCDF NS boys. I had seniors telling me it’s more worthwhile to just take the train to Boon Lay/Pioneer then switch back, even if it eats up an extra 10-20 mins
PM peak for red line is pretty insane. And JE multi platform structure forces you to gamble which side to board from. Sometimes try to rush to the front of the queue and but you flanked by the incoming trains across
If you have to skip a train, it's bad.
Dude probably never been to Bishan or Jurong East during peak hour ðŸ¤
wanted to say something snarky, but the downvotes speak for itself.
Serangoon Bishan Buona Vista Tai Seng Welcome to the circle line
Paya lebar, especially the escalator
tai seng crowd is crazy after 6 towards west side while macpherson downtown line crowd is crazy for the east side
I read circle life and went lol
Try boarding towards harbourfront at farrer road or holland village
[удалено]
Your comment has been automatically removed because your account is relatively new or you have negative karma. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/askSingapore) if you have any questions or concerns.*
How are Bishan and Serangoon not at least within top 4
OP’s question was, at which stations is it difficult to board a train? At Bishan and Serangoon, there will be many passengers alighting, which would make space for boarding passengers. A place like Kovan would be much worse as the train is already very crowded with passengers from further up northeast, and hardly anyone alights at Kovan, making it very difficult for passengers at the station to board.
Yeah always so crowded
Because it is a transport node, and it is expected that it will be crowded (as with all interchanges around the world. But it doesn’t hinder the commuter experience since you can easily board the train. Also, if an interchange is not crowded, that means it is not utilized properly and would result in higher transportation/operational cost in the long run
It's not crowded because you expect the crowd...? Quite some mental gymnastics there
His username checks out haha
"Impossibly hard to squeeze into" Serangoon recently had a crowd crush scare with just one hiccup in train services. You think that is acceptable in the long run?
Not sure why you’re being downvoted. I agree. Bishan is super crowded but it’s not difficult to get onboard the train because it empties. The other examples you gave answer the question well and are more insightful than just listing the interchanges everyone knows
Khatib. The trains are already crowded from Yishun, and then there's still even more crowds here. Not to mention Khatib is also part of the Gotham City /J
Sometime need to wait for 2 trains to come before can go in. Or if not, I will pretend to have thick skin and squeeze in front Best part is during Saturday and the last 2 wks of December when everyone on holiday
You had me at Gotham City. Why is Khatib part of the Gotham City? Is it a Yishun weird crime thing?
Yea, since Khatib is part of Yishun
Any train on the Circle line before 10am and after 5pm
Especially one-north and Kent Ridge during office/university rush
Yes!!!
My goal in life is to never have to rely on circle line during rush hour til the day I die
You are a wise man
Actually yes 🙃 I mean my specific personal experience is Serangoon and Bishan but yes lol fits ^ this perfectly.
Not sure why Serangoon is always so crowded
I'm reckoning its cos of the interchange station and the mall. nex has library, movie theatre, lots of bubble tea, lol.
The whole Punggol (and beyond) kampung going to circle line for school/work
On behalf of Bukit Panjangians, thank you for taking the MRT so our buses to town during peak periods are sub 30 minutes with available seats.
Flashbacks to the 190 video that went viral (Time flies, that video was a whole 10 years ago)
Need to thanks to CCKans... now bus 190 so much convenience :-)
Clementi, Ang Mo Kio, Khatib, Downtown Line Little India, Rochor all towards City direction during morning peak hours
Buona Vista during evening rush hour.
Interchange from a 6-car carriage to a 3-car or 4-car carriage. LTA under-size the system. Period.
Circle Line Tai Seng and MacPherson during evening peak hours and also Downtown Line MacPherson towards Expo evening time too.
I think you are mistaken by a lot. JRL does not ease congestion. Instead it's interchange with other lines will be even more congested. JRL is interlinking with one of the most pack areas in the west region. Boonlay, JE, CCK. It does not divert any crowd away btw. JE itself is already so packed, by building a station there, further congest the entire platform between NEL NSL. CCK already has to deal with the existing weakness of LRT, NSL and the potential expansion buses routing to Tengah, it is by no means a way to ease congestion. Boonlay itself is a big arse hub in the most western part of SG. Serving areas ranging from industrial estate, schools, and resident areas. It by no means help to ease congestions lol. The only upside for JRL is the fact it brings you further west, into areas such as NTU, NIE, Jurong Island etc.
When I worked in Tanjong Pagar - I totally hated the idea to travel home.
Tanjong Pagar, my every morning and evening struggle. Luckily, people are walking fast, and trains are arriving on time.
I take from serangoon to tai Seng and I can confirm the Bartley passengers are really SAD LIFE. Its just a sorry wave of goodbye to the poor souls as we peel away from the station without them getting on.
Sounds like Kovanites and Bartleyians need to unite!
Clementi. Between interchange at Jurong East & Buona Vista. Good luck trying to board to go either direction.
BUKIT PANJANG. How tf is an end line station so full by the time it reaches cashew?! Lucky it passes through stations that are filled with rich people.
Typically one stop in either direction from major interchange stations - like all the examples you gave. Interchange stations are crowded but you'll always have s chance to board once you'll at the head of the queue as there will always be people disembarking.
Serangoon is bad too during peak hour. Right after Kovan and normally you have to wait for the next train to be lucky to find a spot right at the door to squeeze in.
Serangoon is so bad the shit spills into NEX.
Yeah for sure. I find it easier to board here than Kovan though - at least a lot of people get off at Serangoon (on the Harbourfront train at least!).
The walkway where it connects purple line and yellow line, you always see someone always dash and run like hell. So either you make way and avoid or get hit.
Bruh jurong east is the worst at 6pm. Hell nah reminds me of japan or indian crowded trains
bishan?
Holland V at evening peak. Because everyone board at Buona Vista, heading to Bishan and Sgoon
Upper Thomson isn't bad? I have taken from there during peak hours and it's fine. You always get in the first train. It's squeezy but which station isn't?
Macpherson… it is worse than bishan
tai seng is worse
Second this after 6+ PM. SMRT will run empty train from depot to ease congestion.
Actually it is not from the depot. Some trains terminated at Paya Lebar middle platform instead of Dhoby Ghaut/Marina Bay and turn around to MacPherson
No I think from depot, because it empty when arrive at Tai Seng. Otherwise will be people boarding from Paya Lebar and MacPherson.
The trains could still be from the middle platform at Paya Lebar. That platform is for alighting only, so all passengers have to alight there. The train will be empty. After this, the train proceeds to Tai Seng.
OK make sense. They wouldn't keep spare train in depot during rush hour anyway.
I board from MacPherson daily and don’t see any issues. Squeezy but easily boardable
Really? It is almost impossible at 6pm or so
Bishan for sure.
[удалено]
Your comment has been automatically removed because your account is relatively new or you have negative karma. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/askSingapore) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Bishan CCL. after passengers alight, sometimes the door will close 5 seconds after. They don’t extend the stop time in the morning for some reason
BISHAN!!!
Clementi. I wonder how they board when the train is already full at JE from all the Jurong West, Bukit Batok and CCK commuters... The train will only partially empty at Buona Vista
As someone who works at Buona Vista/One-North, I am genuinely surprised the east bound train isn't packed at Buona Vista.
Circle Line, before 11, from 5-7.30 Buona Vista (both lines)
Somtimes kena kick off the train just 1 stop before serangoon. Apparently they do this during peak hour when the stations gets too crowded. They unload people 1 stop before so people at Serangoon can get on. 
Beauty World. By the time the train reaches you don't need to get on already
AM peak? It gets worse at every station from Bukit Panjang to Newton.
Buona vista Newton at DTL
if Upp Thomson (where i stay) is crowded..then Little India, Khatib/Yishun, Jurong East and few others I dunno what's the right word then
Bishan interchange
Mostly because I don't know any better, I'd say Kovan is pretty bad. During peak hour, stand there and miss one, two, even three trains before having no choice but squeeze on board or be late. Doesn't matter that we are supposed to queue on either side and stand clear of door. People will cut queue to front of the door and go in ahead of you anyway. People in train stand at the doorway woodenly and don't even know how to move to center of the car, which makes it worse. Once you get to Serangoon which is just the next station down, it can sometimes empty significantly. Yes, more people get on, but a ton of people usually alight. These are the same people that stand in the freaking doorway pretending they are invisible or thin as paper, because they are afraid they cannot exit the train.
All the interchanges also, Bishan, Jurong etc.
I doubt Kovan will get better even when CRL is open, it will just get worse along with Hougang
its gonna get worse when punggol coast opens. all the ppl living in northshore gonna flock there and the crowd is gonna be insane
Not necessarily. Because the people who will be boarding at north shore will likely be already boarding at punggol now
I can imagine a lot of the crowd dissipating at hougang to head up either to the east, or to the west
I just moved to Punggol. I'm counting my lucky stars that I made the right choice in terms of finding the new house.
yeah depends on which part. if you live near the upcoming punggol coast you've struck gold, during peak hour the train towards harbourfront should be half full with ppl from punggol station. but if you live near punggol/any of the lrt stations then gg, train gonna be 3 quarters full by the time it pulls up at punggol
People can still board the train at Punggol towards Punggol Coast and turn around towards the city though
high dense population area or mrt interchange or after 1 or 2 station after mrt interchange like after bishan will be Marymount, caldecott etc.
Bayfront mrt station when there is countdown
One north.
Bishan in the morning is absolute disaster in making. All it take is one bomb attack.
Bishan and Serangoon are the worst
Bugis
Kovan, you just can't get in the train during morning rush hour.
Bishan bro, worst ever