Singapore commuters in Tengah, Choa Chu Kang and Woodlands are set to get new bus connections, while interim shuttle services will be introduced along the delayed Jurong Region Line (JRL) route before the MRT line opens.
The Land Transport Authority will launch three new bus services under its Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme, with two Tengah services starting on Oct. 25, 2026. Service 873/873M will connect Tengah with Bukit Gombak, Hillview and Hume MRT stations, while Service 874 will provide a direct link between Tengah and Choa Chu Kang.
The new 874 service is expected to be particularly significant for residents who currently need to make multiple bus transfers between Tengah and Choa Chu Kang. Its route will pass through Choa Chu Kang town centre, Concord Primary School, Bukit Panjang Government High School, Chua Chu Kang Primary School, Sunshine Place and the Brickland area.
Woodlands will also receive a new Service 968. It will operate from Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange and connect residents to Woodlands North, Woodlands South and Admiralty MRT stations. The service is being planned to support the opening of the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link, which is targeted to begin operations in 2027.
Two existing services will also receive additional capacity. City Direct Service 674, which connects Tengah to the Central Business District, and Service 861, serving the Sembawang and Yishun areas, will have more trips added to reduce waiting times and ease crowding. Details of their enhanced schedules will be announced closer to implementation.
The changes come as Tengah continues to expand rapidly. Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said the town’s population has grown from about 12,000 residents around a year ago to roughly 28,000, and is expected to reach about 57,000 in another two years. The number of bus services operating in Tengah has also risen from four in May 2025 to 11 currently.
Meanwhile, commuters waiting for the Jurong Region Line will receive a temporary alternative. LTA plans to introduce interim JRL shuttle buses from the middle to end of 2027, broadly following the future rail line and stopping at key station locations with fewer stops to provide faster journeys.
The JRL itself is now expected to begin operations in mid-2028, about six months later than originally planned, following construction delays and additional testing requirements. The interim buses are intended to provide some of the connectivity that commuters had expected from the rail line while construction continues.
The latest expansion is part of the wider Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme, under which LTA says 37 new or extended bus services and improvements to 76 existing services have been introduced since July 2024. About 311,000 commuters currently benefit from these enhancements each day.
With Tengah’s population continuing to grow and major transport projects still under construction, the new routes could significantly change how residents travel across western and northern Singapore — but the bigger question is whether the expanding bus network can keep pace with the area’s rapid growth before the new rail connections finally arrive.
