CRL2 Groundbreaking ceremony

7 July 2025 - A group photo with contractors of CRL2.

Today, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the official commencement of construction on phase 2 of the Cross Island Line (CRL). Connecting 6 stations over 15km of track, the section of line will see the expansion of Singapore's rail network reach areas in the west currently not well covered by the system. Notably, the future housing estate on the site of the former turf club will be served by the MRT and residents at West Coast will have a station to call their own. Also standing to benefit, students at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) will be served by the upcoming Maju station. Stations along this section of the line are Turf City, King Albert Park, Maju, Clementi, West Coast and Jurong Lake District. King Albert Park and Clementi stations will connect to the existing Downtown and East-West lines respectively, allowing convenient transfers for commuters.

Early works under the 9 contracts that make up phase 2 have already commenced, thus today's ceremony is more symbolic in nature. Some of the works that have begun include the demolition of existing structures at the project sites, utility diversions and construction of diaphragm walls for sections where excavation works will be required. The 9 contracts consist of 3 contracts for tunneling between stations and 6 contracts for the construction of stations, some which also include the construction of connecting tunnels.

A total of 11 tunnel boring machines (TBMs) will be required to complete tunneling works along this section of the line, one of which is already busy at work under contract CR202. TBM Jane, launched in May 2025, is a large diameter TBM that will construct the tunnels connecting Turf City station with Bright Hill station on phase 1 of the line. This tunnel will undercross the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR) without disturbing the surface, a decision that was not undertaken lightly when the line was first planned. Due to concerns from nature groups and other communities, studies were initiated to weigh the benefits of pursuing the direct route over an alternative route avoiding the CCNR entirely. Ultimately, following the studies conducted, the direct route through the CCNR was selected, albeit with some adjustments to the work areas to mitigate impact to the flora and fauna found within the reserve.

In addition to the symbolic start of construction along the second phase, the Minister for Transport - Mr. Jeffrey Siow - also officiated the opening of the phase's Project Information Centre (PIC). Located in Clementi and next to the project site, the PIC serves to allow the community to learn more about the project and its development. On display is a model of the upcoming Clementi station and exhibits of the contracts under this phase of the line. Similar PICs exist in Hougang for Phase 1 of the line and in Punggol for the Punggol extension section.

7 July 2025 - Opening plaque

The PIC will be open to the public from 8 July 2025. Operating hours will be 9.00am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday. Walk-ins are allowed, but booking an appointment through a link to be released is encouraged.

We look forward to the continued progress along CRL2 with the phase officially underway. May the project be completed safely & in a timely manner.

CPE - A snapshot in June 2025

An overview of Riviera & Punggol stations along the CPE in June 2025.

Having missed out covering the remaining 2 stations along the Cross Island Line (CRL)'s Punggol Extension (CPE) in the CRL May 2025 snapshot, we visited these station sites in June to catch up. The sites were hives of activities, especially with a major road diversion at the junction of Punggol Central & Punggol Place being implemented this past month. More details after the jump.

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.