Free early morning train rides in Singapore

If you are in Singapore after June 24, you can take the MRT into the city center for free if you arrive between 7 and 8 am. There are also discounts for people who arrive in the city center between 7:45 and 8 am. The Transport Ministry wants to spread out Singapore's rush hour. The Ministry is also supporting telecommuting initiatives.

The free rides are estimated to cost about $10 million Singapore dollars (about $8,000 US). It is predicted that 10 to 20% of riders will shift their commutes.

There is some controversy about this decision.

In favor

Opposed

Hanoi is expanding its Metro

On September 25, Hguyen Tan Dung, the Prime Minister of Vietnam, attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Hanoi's third subway line, and yesterday the project received an additional 73 million Euros in financing. A couple more subway lines are in the planning stages. The third line is projected to transport 200,000 people a day which are good numbers for a 12.5km line.

Vietnam's rail system is slowly improving. Should I visit and report back here?

A Guide to Using the Shanghai Metro

Here is a guide to using the Shanghai Metro written by Ted and posted to the social networking site Multiply.

上海: Shanghai Metro

Cheonan-Asan

Of Interest: access to Chungnam Province (nothing near station)

Lodging: no

Tourist Office: no

ATM: There is an ATM in the station, but it may not take international cards. There is no bank within walking distance.

The Cheonan-Asan station was originally built solely as a KTX station. Since then, Asan Station was also built crossing under the KTX station. Asan Station currently hosts commuter trains from Seoul, line 1 of the Seoul subway, and trains of the Janghang line.

There is nothing in the area, although apartments are being built. The edge of the city of Cheonan is about thirty minutes walk away. Bus service is not very good to either Cheonan or Onyang-oncheon (the main urban area in Asan), the buses are take to long to get anywhere. It is best to change to another train. KTX ridership increased after Asan Station was built, making it possible to get here by train.

KTX trains from both lines stop here. It takes around forty minutes to get to Seoul or Yongsan Stations, twenty minutes to get to Daejeon or Seodaejeon Stations, fifty minutes to get to Dong-Daegu, and two hours and fifteen minutes to get to Busan. If you are going to the southeast, it takes an hour and fifteen minutes to get to Iksan, two and fifteen minutes to get to Gwangju, and two and a half hours to get to Mokpo. Trains along the Seoul-Busan line run frequently, but the Yongsan-Gwangju/Mokpo line only arrives about once every two hours.

Saemaeul and Mugungwha trains take five minutes to get to Cheonan, twenty-five minutes to get to Pyeongtaek, forty-five minutes to get to Suwon, and an hour and fifteen minutes to arrive in Yongsan. Going east, the Janghang line serves the towns of Yesan (thirty minutes), Hongseong (one hour), Daecheon (ninety minutes), Seocheon (two hours), and Gunsan (three hours).

Line 1 of the Seoul Metro continues east through Onyang-oncheon to end at Sinchang which serves SoonCheonHyang University. In the other direction, most trains go through central Seoul before ending at Cheongnyangni. The metro route follows the regular train route from Cheonan to Seoul Station, but with a lot more stops.