Situated at the crossroads of international shipping and air routes, Singapore is a center for transportation and communication in southeast Asia. Its Changi International Airport is a regional aviation hub served by 64 international airlines and is being expanded with the construction of a third terminal slated for completion in 2006. The Port of Singapore is the world's busiest and ranks second globally as a center for containerised transshipment traffic.
Singapore has two land links to Malaysia. The Causeway, built in the 1920s to connect Johor Bahru (Johor, Malaysia) to Woodlands in Singapore, carries a road and a railway line whereas the Second Link, a bridge further west, was completed in 1996 and links Tuas in Singapore to Gelang Patah in Johor (Malaysia).
Railways: 38.6 km, narrow gauge, 1.000 m. The island rail's terminal at Keppel Station is linked to the Malaysian rail network - KTM - across the 1.2 km causeway to Johor Bahru on the mainland. It connects with Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
The island's bus and taxi services are very cheap compared to that of other countries and is heavily subsidised by the government.
There is a 109 km heavy rail system known as the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system with 67 stations. There are three main lines running at present, namely the North-South Line, the East-West Line and the North-East Line (run by SBS Transit). A new Circle Line is slated to be completed in 2010 and will be opened in phases as they are ready.
In 1998, a 7.8 km Light Rapid Transport (LRT) system with 14 stations was introduced in Bukit Panjang. Two more LRT lines were opened in 2003, namely the Punggol and Sengkang LRT lines.
A long cable car service provides a scenic route between the main island of Singapore and the smaller Singaporean resort island of Sentosa.
Highways:
total:
3,122 km
paved:
3,038 km (including 150 km of expressways)
unpaved:
84 km (1998)
Ports and harbors: Singapore
Merchant marine:
total:
891 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 21,808,813 GRT/34,783,544 DWT
ships by type:
bulk 140, cargo 121, chemical tanker 66, combination bulk 6, combination ore/oil 6, container 162, liquified gas 26, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large load carrier 3, petroleum tanker 294, refrigerated cargo 6, roll-on/roll-off 10, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 12, vehicle carrier 36 (1999 est.)
note:
a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 22 countries among which are Japan 41, Denmark 35, Sweden 28, Thailand 28, Hong Kong 26, Germany 19, Taiwan 19, and Indonesia 11 (1998 est.)
Airports: 9 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total:
9
over 3,047 m:
2
2,438 to 3,047 m:
1
1,524 to 2,437 m:
4
914 to 1,523 m:
1
under 914 m:
1 (1999 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1999 est.)
- See also : Singapore
