N109A - Completion of Exit 2 subway

 

June 2025 - Completed Rectangular Tunnel Boring Machine drive for Exit 2 subway.
Image from LinkedIn

This month, a milestone has been achieved at contract N109A for the construction of Teck Ghee station - the second exit subway undercrossing Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 has been completed! As part of the station's construction, contractor Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co (STEC) had utilised a rectangular tunnel boring machine (RTBM) to construct 2 subways linking Exits 2 and 3 within Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park to the station box.

CRL - A snapshot in May 2025

An overview of CRL1 contracts CR101 - CR111 as of May 2025.
Top (L - R) : CR101 - Changi East Depot, CR102 - Tunnels, CR103 - Aviation Park station
Middle (L - R) : CR106 - Loyang station, CR107 - Pasir Ris East station, CR108 - Pasir Ris station
Bottom (L - R) : CR109 - Tampines North station, CR110 - Large bored tunnel, CR111 - Defu station

An overview of CRL1 contracts CR112 - CR117, CPE contracts P102 & P103 and CRL2 contract CR202 as of May 2025.
Top (L - R) : CR112 - Hougang station, CR113 - Serangoon North station, CR115 - Tavistock station
Middle (L - R) : CR116 - Ang Mo Kio station, N109A - Teck Ghee station, CR117 - Bright Hill station
Bottom (L - R) : P102 - Elias station, P103 - Cripple siding, CR202 - Large bored tunnel

An overview of CRL2 contracts CR205 - CR211 as of May 2025.
Top (L - R) : CR205 - King Albert Park station, CR206 - Maju station
Middle (L - R) : CR207 - Tunnels, CR208 - Clementi station, CR209 - West Coast station
Bottom (L - R) : CR210 - Tunnels, CR211 - Jurong Lake District station

It has been a while since we've done a snapshot feature of the Cross Island Line (CRL), with our last being done in February for the Punggol Extension. Part of this stems for the works being "less noticeable", since the majority of this takes place underground and relatively out of sight. Another part is that it also appears that updates on the CRL aren't as popular compared to updates on other lines (granted, the above ground line updates are A LOT more interesting as you actually see things change with most monthly updates). Nonetheless, we thought it's time to see where the CRL is in progress with this rather comprehensive mid-year update.

CR116 - TBM assembly begins

 

March 2025 - Assembly of the slurry TBM that will bore tunnels for
the contract has commenced within the launch shaft.
Source: LinkedIn

Recently, we came across images of the slurry Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) for contract CR116 being assembled within the contract's launch shaft. Located near the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenues 3 and 6, the launch shaft was completed some time back following excavation 25 metres down to the base level. Before TBM assembly could commence, adits were constructed to allow for the machine to be jacked forward to commence tunnel construction. This method is similar to the technique previously employed for several launch sites along the Downtown Line's Stage 3 section, with the use of circular shaped launch shafts near the former Tampines Prison (Prison shaft), Tampines Stadium (Stadium shaft) and Pan Island Expressway exit near Upper Changi Road (PIE shaft).

CR208 - Clementi EWL A&A works for paid transfers

Brochure for contract CR208's Clementi station.

A common hot topic question that has been asked many times has been - will Clementi station feature paid transfers between the East-West Line (EWL) and Cross Island Line (CRL)? The answers are simple and yet complex at the same time. If one were to look at the system map, the interchange symbols at Clementi station indicate an integrated interchange that does not require a tap out transfer, unlike those clearly demarcated at Riviera, Tampines, Newton and Bukit Panjang stations. Now that we've gotten that first clue out of the way, we come to the more complex question - how will the paid transfers be done then?

CR111 - TBM Daphne

 

14 February 2025 - Group photo during the Geotechnical Society of Singapore's visit to contract
CR111's launch shaft with TBM Daphne visible behind.
Source: LinkedIn

Contract CR111 for the construction of Defu station and twin bored tunnels to Hougang station recently saw the launch of its first tunnel boring machine (TBM) last month. The TBM, named Daphne, will bore the westbound tunnel of the Cross Island Line (CRL), the mobile factory assembling tunnel segments along a route of approximately 1.5km.

P105 - Roadshow exhibition for upcoming footpath closures

 

13 March 2025 - A view of the exhibition boards at the roadshow to update commuters on the
upcoming footpath closures in the vicinity.

The contractor for contract P105 - Woh Hup Pte Ltd - recently held a roadshow over two days at the Punggol station to inform commuters of the upcoming footpath closures. Some of these footpath closures will come in tandem with road diversions to be implemented while others will be implemented in line with phased works for the new underground station.

N109A - Completion of Exit 3 subway by RTBM

February 2025
Source: LinkedIn

Tunneling work underneath Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 for the subway connecting Exit 3 with the Teck Ghee station box was recently completed in February 2025. The contract used a Rectangular Tunnel Boring Machine (RTBM) that employed a technique similar to pipe jacking to complete the 50m long subway. This represents a significant milestone in the construction of the Cross Island Line (CRL).