CPE: First look at the stations

Footprints & renders of the Cross Island Line Punggol Extension stations.
Source: Zaobao SG

The Chinese daily Zaobao has given us a better understanding of the station layouts and how they will look once 2031 comes around. The station footprints - essentially the outlines - can show where the entrances will be located and how long the stations stretch for. As mentioned in our post yesterday, the station outline for Elias station shows that it will be some distance away from the location of Elias Mall. However, the station will feature numerous subways connecting to entrances located nearer to the residential blocks and amenities in the area. Notably for Riviera, there is also some effort put in to ensure that the new station entrances are located closer to the existing LRT station, minimizing exposure of commuters to the weather elements and allowing for smoother connections.

Edited 12 March 2020 - LTA has updated with the official station footprints. We have updated our post to reflect these.

CPE: Cross Island Line Punggol Extension

Cross Island Line 1 with Punggol Extension
Source: LTA

This morning during a ministerial visit to the worksite for the North-East Line extension, the Land Transport Authority unveiled the Cross Island Line Punggol extension (CPE). The extension stretches for 7.3km from Pasir Ris to Punggol. Intermediate stops are located at Elias (Pasir Ris West) and Riviera (tap out transfer to Punggol LRT east loop).

Pre-construction: Aviation Park

Aviation Park station sits at the junction of the former Aviation Park Road and Changi Coastal Road. Currently an undeveloped piece of land at the airport boundary, the area will be transformed once the CRL becomes operational and following the development of the Changi East industrial zone nearby.

28 September 2019 - Looking ahead towards the location of the future Aviation Park station.

Pre-construction: Changi East depot

The main depot for the Cross Island Line (CRL) will be located at Changi East, bounded by Aviation Park and Tanah Merah Coast roads. Currently the land sits as an undeveloped, vegetated portion of reclaimed land along the coast. Come 2021 however, works will begin to transform the land into an operational depot supporting the operations of the CRL.

28 September 2019 - A view along Tanah Merah Coast Road of the future depot to be located on the right.

Next station - Turf City

Last week the Land Transport Authority (LTA) released the Phase 2 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the route of the Cross Island Line (CRL) through the central catchment nature reserve (CCNR). The report detailed the construction methods and locations of the construction sites for two alignment options through and around the nature reserve.

Part of the report includes graphical representation of the route alignment options. Directions on either end of the alignment diagrams show the approximate locations of the stations. In the eastward direction "To Sin Ming" is shown, where Bright Hill station is located. Towards the west, "To Turf City" is used. This should correlate to a station being built in the vicinity of the former Turf Club in Bukit Timah.

Alignment option 1 through the CCNR.
Source: LTA EIA

Alignment option 2 around the CCNR.
Source: LTA EIA

Contract tendering process begins

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has recently released tenders for 2 contracts as part of the Cross Island Line (CRL) civil works, beginning the process for release of all 17 expected civil works contracts. Contract CR101 for the Design and Construction of Changi East depot was released on 16 August 2019, followed by contract CR105 for the Design and Construction of a large single bore tunnel from Aviation Park station to Loyang station on 23 August 2019.

This marks the first time that LTA has explored the use of a large-diameter tunnel boring machine to create a single bore tunnel between stations. All MRT projects prior have used twin bored tunnels which are essentially separate tubes for each track direction. A single large bore on the other hand will utilise a single tube tunnel with dividing wall to separate the two tracks.

Cross section of CRL single bore tunnel. Visible are the overhead rigid catenary supports, tunnel dividing wall and other
ancillary structures.
Source: Christian Arellano

Soil Investigation: Maju

The second stage of soil investigation works have commenced on phase 2 of the Cross Island Line (CRL). This involves further testing of areas identified during the first stage in order to obtain a more accurate understanding of the soil consistency. Contact C1066 was awarded by the Land Transport Authority on 12 December 2018 to Kwang Sing Engineering Pte Ltd. The company has previously conducted soil investigation work for portions of phase 1 of the CRL. This contract is due for completion by 24 October 2021.

Contract C1066 detail.

One of the first areas where soil investigation works under this contract has been spotted is opposite Maju camp along Clementi Road. Currently, two soil investigation rigs are located in the forested area.