CRL1 - Groundbreaking ceremony

 

The event stage before the commencement of the ceremony.

The SG MRT Construction team is once again grateful for the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) invitation to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Cross Island Line (CRL) phase 1 this morning. Held at the contract CR117 site for Bright Hill station, it was indeed a bright and cheery morning, fit for a momentous occasion. The ceremony's stage was decked out in CRL Lime Green and decorated with drums and barrels of sorts whilst event attendees mingled around, awaiting the guest of honour's arrival.

On time at around 10am, the emcee announced the minister's arrival. He was immediately swarmed by media, all clamoring to get a photo of Minister S Iswaran as he was ushered into the event marquee. Once the minister and audience had settled in, a troupe of taiko drummers began a resounding performance using the drums and cymbals.

Several other videos can be viewed on our Instagram channel (@sgmrtconstruction) under the highlight "CRL1 Groundbreaking". Do drop by for a view there.

The Taiko drum troupe performing before the minister's opening address.

Minister Iswaran making his opening address.

Following the resounding performance, Minister Iswaran was lead up the stage to begin his opening address. View his full speech on our Instagram channel here. Minister Iswaran commented that while the CRL will bring about the benefits achieved from constructing a new line, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) & LTA were also taking pains to ensure that older lines which have been serving us for 20 to 35 years now are being renewed and taken care of.

He highlighted in particular the existing North-South & East-West Lines (NSEWL) which were the country's first rapid rail transit lines built. To date, 3 of the 6 core systems have been successfully renewed - referring to the sleeper, signalling & third rail system renewals. The remaining 3 systems - the rolling stock (trains), power and track circuit systems - have works well under way and are due for completion towards the end of the year.

With the older lines in mind, the LTA & MOT adopt a 2-pronged approach in maintaining existing routes whilst constructing new ones to expand the web of rapid rail transit connectivity. As a recap, here are the interchanges that the announced phases of the CRL will have with the respective lines thus far:

Existing line	Interchange station	CRL Phase
East-West Line	Pasir Ris	1
	Clementi	2
North-South Line	Ang Mo Kio	1
North East Line	Hougang	1
	Punggol	Punggol Extension
Thomson-East Coast Line	Bright Hill	1
Punggol LRT	Riviera	Punggol Extension
Downtown Line	King Albert Park	2

Minister Iswaran reiterated that the CRL will bring greater convenience to travelers as the line will link up with all existing radial MRT lines (the exception being the orbital Circle Line, to which the line will not connect).

VIP guests gathering to launch the auger machine to commence groundbreaking.

Anticipating the launch.

"Teamwork makes the dream work".

Auger machine at work bringing excavated soil up.

A bright day with the sun shining from behind. But a thumbs up nonetheless!

Sake barrel breaking ceremony commencing.

Invited contractors participated in the sake barrel breaking ceremony.

A photo moment with grassroots leaders.

Sake barrel used for the sake barrel breaking ceremony.

Contract CR117 for the construction of Bright Hill station was won by Japanese contractor Penta Ocean, who were formerly involved in the construction of the Bright Hill Thomson-East Coast Line. As the host of the event this morning, the contractor brought in numerous elements of Japanese culture through the Taiko drum performance and sake barrel breaking.

Whilst the first phase of the CRL will have 12 stations along its route, there is a higher number of contracts when one includes those for sections of large diameter single bored tunnels, reception tracks to the depot and the depot itself. As a recap, here are the 16 civil contracts for CRL1:

Contract	Section constructed	Awarded contractor
CR101	Changi East depot	China Jingye Engineering Corporation
CR102	Reception tracks & mainline tracks at Changi East	Shanghai Tunnel Engineering & Construction Co (STEC) – LT Sambo Co
CR103	Aviation Park (AVP) station	Hock Lian Seng
CR105	Large diameter single bored tunnel from AVP to LYG	Taisei – China State Construction Engineering Co Joint Venture
CR106	Loyang station & tunnels to PRE	Woh Hup – Dongah Geological Engineering Joint Venture
CR107	Pasir Ris East (PRE) station	Sinohydro – Singapore Engineering & Construction
CR108	Pasir Ris station & tunnels to PRE	Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co – Dongah Geological Engineering Joint Venture
CR109	Tampines North station & tunnels	China Communications Construction Co
CR110	Large diameter single bored tunnel from Tampines Road to Defu	Nishimatsu Construction Co
CR111	Defu station & tunnels to HGN	Gamuda – Wai Fong
CR112	Hougang (HGN) station & tunnels to SRN	Samsung C&T
CR113	Serangoon North (SRN) station	Hock Lian Seng
CR115	Tavistock station & tunnels to AMK & SRN	Sato Kogyo
CR116	Ang Mo Kio (AMK) station & tunnels to TGE	Gammon Construction & Engineering – Bachy Solentanche Joint Venture
N109A	Teck Ghee (TGE) station & North South Corridor expressway tunnels	Shanghai Tunnel Engineering & Construction Co (STEC)
CR117	Bright Hill station & tunnels to TGE	Penta Ocean

An aerial view of the event site within contract CR117

The event also had an exhibition consisting of 4 panels explaining about the CRL1 alignment & construction challenges ahead as well as hands-on booths showcasing innovative & cutting edge technological solutions being employed by the contractors. The LTA will go to lengths to minimise inconvenience to residents near the construction sites & road users in the vicinity. However, there may be instances where works have to be carried out for longer stretches of time, such as the casting of bored piles or diaphragm walls whereby the structural integrity of the pile or panel is dependent on the continuous pouring of concrete till completion.

Safety is also at the forefront on this project, with contractors undertaking to place it as a priority despite having to thread the line through numerous obstacles and challenges. Some of these include tunneling underneath or beside nearby buildings and sensitive structures, having to work with headroom limits or working deep underground such as the new Pasir Ris station which will be the country's deepest MRT station - for the time being.

A view of the auger machine after the ceremony.

The LTA re-released several renders of the CRL1 stations that had been provided previously with each contract's award. However, as a bonus for making it this far in, here are some new renders of the Tampines North station, courtesy of MP Baey Yam Keng who attended the ceremony this morning.

For more information on the groundbreaking ceremony, you may visit the LTA website, Channel News Asia, Today, Mothership or follow us on Instagram and/or Facebook.

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