I love the New York City Subway. I have been a subway rider on and off for more than 35 years and I just love the “slice of humanity” you experience when riding the subway. But I have a confession, I think I may have found a new love in the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system.
The MRT is a modern, clean and very cheap subway system, that can get you pretty much anywhere in Singapore. Giving credit where credit is due, this is an awesome transit system.
As an example, the four of us left Singapore by taking the MRT to the airport with our heavy suitcases for less than $15 (US) and no trouble at all getting the bags on and off the trains or the platforms (a taxi would have cost $50 or more).
Here is a picture of the train cars on the MRT (there are no doors between the cars – just one continuous train from end to end, and look at how clean and new the cars are).
The tracks are all walled off in the underground stations on the MRT with doors that open only when a train is in the station. So, no fears of falling on the tracks, or being pushed by a crazy person. The signage is in multiple languages and the announcements are in English, Mandarin and Malay (and you can hear them). A very impressive system.
Now, my first love the New York Subway, still has some things over the MRT. If you laid all the tracks of the New York Subway end to end they would stretch from New York to Chicago. The MRT isn’t nearly that big. The New York Subway is one of the ten largest mass transit systems in the world and one of the oldest. The MRT can’t compete with that.
I still love the New York City Subway, but there is a new place in my heart for Singapore’s MRT.
Blaine Voyage 