Bahar Junction

We have noticed that there were a lot of questions regarding the design and arrangement of Bahar Junction station based on the illustrations from LTA and media. Here's our take on how it may look like, and how it will operate.

Illustration of how Bahar Junction station may be configured.
Credit: y2koh

This illustration was shown in one of our previous post. The speculated plan is based on the operating diagrams shown in LTA's promotional video on YouTube as well as a diagram on The Straits Times. We expect that there will only be 3 platforms at the station, all on the same level to facilitate transfers without the need to transverse through lifts and escalators. However, many readers may notice the lack of direction service on some directions, namely from Boon Lay/Jurong Pier towards Tengah/Choa Chu Kang (CCK), from Tengah/CCK towards Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and from NTU towards Boon Lay/Jurong Pier.



We expect that transfers will be needed to make these trips and connections, it may not be the most ideal from the point of view of every commuter's convenience, that will be another discussion. We will now look at this arrangement and look at some of the rationale behind it.

Projection of operational arrangement at Bahar Junction.
Credit: y2koh

First of all, let's look at the 3 services that passes through Bahar Junction.

Options for travelling on the West branch towards NTU.
Credits: y2koh

For commuters travelling from Tengah/CCK to NTU and Tawas, they will need to make a transfer at Bahar Junction, through a 100m linkway that possibly will have travellators installed. Commuters may also choose to make a cross-platform transfer at Boon Lay if he/she does not want to walk that much. We expect that this direction of travel may have a higher traffic load in the morning peak hours.

Options for travelling on North branch towards CCK & South branch towards Jurong Pier.
Credits: y2koh

For commuters travelling from Jurong Pier/Boon Lay to Tengah/CCK, they will need to make a transfer through the same linkway. Commuters may also choose to make a cross-platform transfer at Gek Poh if he/she does not want to walk that much. We expect that this direction of travel may have a high traffic load in the morning and evening peak hours, with a significantly higher load factor in the evening.

For commuters travelling from NTU/Tawas to Jurong Pier/Boon Lay, they will just need to make a cross-platform transfer at Bahar Junction. We expect that this direction of travel may have a higher traffic load in the evening peak hours.

Prediction of load factors during various parts of the day.
Credits: y2koh

The diagram above shows the likely load factor of the travel directions and services, more opaque and darker red denoting a higher load factor. As you may notice, this arrangement provides a relatively balanced loading and transfer pattern for each arriving train at the station. On the commuter point of view, this means a better chance of boarding the train for all commuters regardless where they come from.

Predicted flexibility in train operations at Bahar Junction.
Credits: y2koh

On the track alignment, we also expect that crossovers will be placed on each of the 3 ends of the station to facilitate deployment and withdrawal of trains, and also provide some flexibility and resilience in the system.

In summary, we think that such a design for Bahar Junction is acceptable. We understand that the authorities should have went through an in-depth study to come up with this design, including detailed simulations of the operations and commuter traffic, to come to a balanced solution that offers robustness. We acknowledge that commuters may have to experience some inconvenience from this design, but it may have been designed to also avoid even greater inconveniences and inefficiencies.