Cross Island Line Construction: CRL - A snapshot in July 2026

A compilation of the various sites across Phases 1 and 2 in July 2026.

With the announcement of the Cross Island Line (CRL)'s final phase on 31 July 2026, we now know that the line will stretch for 67km, making this line the longest in the country - beating out the East-West Line (EWL)'s record of 54km by a fair bit. This means that the CRL is a really big project, spanning end-to-end across the entire country. While the EWL also crosses the island from east to west, it mostly sticks to the southern section of the island. In comparison, the CRL swings further north and south than the EWL, making its route much more varied and spread out. This translates into it being much more difficult to easily visit and keep track of all contract sites.

For this update, we tried to cover as much ground as we could to give you an idea of where the line stands in progress. As phase 3 was only announced right at the end of the month, we won't be yet including that section in this update. Nonetheless, all the previous phases of the line that were officially announced are covered in this update in some way, form or manner. There's a lot to unpack, so jump right on in after the jump.

Phase 1
We are now a mere 3.5 years away from the trains rolling on this section of the line. Judging from your responses to the post and videos on the CRL trains, you're all pretty excited for things to get rolling so that you can add a CRL commute to your journeys. Phase 1 has made some decent progress, with most stations completing earth retaining & stabilising structure (ERSS) construction. This means that works have moved into the subsequent phase of construction - actually excavating downwards to build the permanent station structures. The table below summarises the works being carried out at the various phase 1 station locations.

Summary of works being carried out at the various CRL Phase 1 stations covered in this update.

On the tunneling-front, we adopted a more conservative approach of only confirming tunnel boring works as completed with concrete information. Where possible, we use educated guesses to determine which sections have been completed and which were still in progress. With this in mind, we are confident to say that our observations indicate that out of 29 tunnel drives, 25 have since been completed. This represents a completion percentage of over 86%. It appears that tunneling works are on target for completion by the coming year, 2027.

Tunnel progress chart for CRL Phase 1.

Changi East Depot (Contract CR101)
In a nutshell: Works on the depot's buildings are progressing along, with works showing visible changes. Perimeter fencing was being installed along the northern boundary of the site that faces Tanah Merah Coast Road, structural walls were being cast and pre-fabricated components for elevated walkways were being installed. This contract also includes the construction of the rail bridge over a canal that would connect to the tunnel portals.

16 July 2026

Tunnels between Changi East depot and Changi Terminal 5 & Aviation Park stations (Contract CR102)
In a nutshell: This contract continues after the rail lines cross the canal via the bridges constructed under contract CR101. The tracks transition to the tunnel portal, which can now be clearly seen at the contract's eastern end. Further along Aviation Park Road, gantry cranes mark the site of the launch and reception shaft used for bored tunneling works. All bored tunneling works under the contract have since been successfully completed, with parts of the tunnel boring machine (TBM)'s back up gantries seen on ground level near the shaft.

16 July 2026

CR2 – Aviation Park (Contract CR103)
In a nutshell: Excavation and casting works have been going on at the site for some time now. Struts can be seen more widely installed across the site compared to earlier in the year.

16 July 2026

CR5 | CP1 - Pasir Ris (Contract CR108)
In a nutshell: Works were advancing at the interchange station, with temporary decking installed over most of the station box to allow excavation to continue directly below. At the transfer linkway, rebar was being installed ahead of casting work for the roof slab. Exit B at the existing EWL station was completed early by the contractor, to allow for improved pedestrian circulation between the station building and the Pasir Ris Mall and bus interchange development. This access route cuts through the link being constructed to connect the station with the CRL station located some distance away.

Structures near Exit B are at more advanced stages of construction, with the steel frames of the future roofing above the escalators connecting to the transfer subway already being installed. However, modification works to connect to the paid area of the existing station's concourse have not yet commenced. At the eastern cut & cover site, excavation and casting works were well underway. Excavation here appears to have reached the CRL main line's upper tunnel level. Works will need to continue to excavate towards the CRL Punggol Extension (CPE)'s lower tunnel level.

27 July 2026

Large diameter bored tunnels – Paya Lebar Air Base (Contract CR110)
In a nutshell: Tunnel boring works continue under contract CR110 for the second large diameter tunnel under the CRL project. At the launch shaft to the east of Paya Lebar Air Base, gantry cranes could be seen maneuvering tunnel ring segments. We also understand that the quality control checks were only recently conducted for the final batch of tunnel ring segments, clearly indicating that there is still some way to go before the TBM reaches it final intended destination at Defu.

16 July 2026

CR9 - Serangoon North (Contract CR113)
In a nutshell: Serangoon North has been a hive of activity, as contractor Hock Lian Seng prepared the site for a road diversion of the westbound lanes of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3. Steel decking was being installed over parts of the station box site, shifting the roadway further north and allowing works to progress on the southern side. Diaphragm wall works were still in progress for the linkway section that will serve to connect Exit 5 to the station box. Next to the site of the future Exit 1 at the Serangoon North town centre, exacavtion works had begun within the station box - the tops of the king posts driven into the ground clearly visible. Once the excavated area is sufficiently deep, temporary decking may be added above or rebar may be installed to allow casting of the roof slab.

26 July 2026

CR10 - Tavistock (Contract CR115)
In a nutshell: Excavation works were underway across most sections of the station site, although the western end appears to be at a slightly more advanced stage than the eastern section. Casting works were also underway at the western end for the roof slab of the station.

At the launch shaft site across the Central Expressway (CTE) from the station site, various components of a TBM could be seen at ground level, including back up gantries, the screw conveyer and the ring segment erector parts. This is likely to be from TBM1B, which is likely to have completed its drive westwards to Ang Mo Kio station. Although the components sit on the side closer to TBM3's direction of tunneling, the presence of a watchman station's umbrella at the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 and Serangoon North Avenues 1 & 3 leads us to believe that the drive for TBM3 has not been completed yet or TBM dismantling works have not yet begun.

26 July 2026

25 July 2026

CR11 - Ang Mo Kio (Contract CR116)
In a nutshell: Excavation works were in progress with concurrent casting of the station's roof slab at various different parts of the site. Towards the eastern end, at the cut & cover site, rebar was seen installed ahead of casting works taking place.

At the launch shaft site, located at the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenues 3 & 6, the cutterhead of TBM Fatimah could be seen at ground level. This implies that tunnel boring works for the TBM's third drive had been completed as the contract was only using a single TBM for all tunnel boring works. An additional TBM shield was also seen next to the cutterhead on site, indicating preparations for assembly of the TBM for its final drive.

31 July 2026

CR12 – Teck Ghee (Contract N109A)
In a nutshell: Exits 2 and 3 within Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park had shown quite a bit of progress, with Exit 3's structure already cast and the Park Connector Bridge over Marymount Road already installed. Exit 2 was slightly further behind, with casting works still underway. At the main station box area, work to excavate to the required depth was still in progress, with portions of the excavation area undergoing controlled rock blasting to help break up the ground. As the station would sit beneath the North-South Expressway tunnels, a fair amount of excavation will be required in order to construct the station. At the surface, it appeared that parts of the site were being readied for the installation of a gantry crane to help facilitate works.

31 July 2026

CR13 – Bright Hill (Contract CR117)
In a nutshell: With bored pile construction completed, works were in the concurrent excavation & casting phase, with parts of the station area already working on the first basement level. We have also learnt through a video released by Elysa Chen, Member of Parliament for the area, that tunnel boring works for the contract were completed in June.

31 July 2026

Source: Elysa Chen (Facebook)

Punggol Extension
Our update on the Punggol Extension will be a fair bit shorter as we were unable to spend a similar amount of time in the vicinity, wanting to focus on updates for Phases 1 and 2. Works were underway at Riviera station to concurrently excavate the station box area while diaphragm wall works continued near the existing LRT station. Unfortunately, when we passed through the area, we were on the wrong side of the bus to get good views of the station works and will have to cover this in another subsequent update.

Large diameter bored tunnel (Contract P103)
In a nutshell: Based on the signs indicating the location of the TBM at street level, the machine was most recently seen at the junction of Punggol Central and Edgedale Plains. There is an approximately 1.25km stretch remaining for TBM Elizabeth to bore along Punggol Central to reach Punggol station.

27 July 2026

CP4 – Punggol (Contract P105)
In a nutshell: Lane reductions at Punggol Central through the Punggol station have been introduced to allow works on either side of the roadway to continue. Most of the structure that formed the fare unpaid underpass has been removed to allow for conversion works to link up with the new CRL additions. Parts of the station box were being excavated for the roof slab casting while bored pile works continued concurrently. Modification works had yet to commence at the southern end of the existing station at platform level.

27 July 2026

26 July 2026

Phase 2
The second phase of the line is currently in the thick of ERSS construction. Thus far, the only excavation work that has commenced is at the West Coast station's launch shaft. Tunneling works were only underway for contract CR202, with the tunnels running through the Central Catchment Nature Reserve to connect to the western end of Phase 1.

Summary of works being carried out at the various CRL Phase 2 stations covered in this update.

CR15 – King Albert Park (Contract CR205)
In a nutshell: Diaphragm wall construction works were ongoing at the station. Unfortunately, being located in a prime district means that there is an overall lack of vantage points, even after the Dunearn Village centre's revamp, from which the station site can be viewed well.

31 July 2026

CR16 – Maju (Contract CR206)
In a nutshell: Diaphragm wall construction works were in full swing at the site created within the road median. Works had also commenced on Exit 3, located next to Maju army camp.

31 July 2026

CR17 – Clementi (Contract CR208)
In a nutshell: With the road diversion implemented on site in June 2026, works were underway to prepare the site for diaphragm wall construction. With Clementi Avenue 4 diverted, works on the ERSS for the station box proper could commence. Parts of the old roadway surface were still present on site, hence preparatory works to support upcoming construction was still in the early stages. This involved constructing replacement drains to divert existing waterflow away from the construction zones as well as processing the soil on site to sift out large pieces of debris from sidewalks & other infrastructure that was being demolished. Preparatory works were also underway at the site of Exit 5, with parts of the pathways in the Clementi Cascadia precinct being diverted.

25 July 2026

CR18 – West Coast (Contract CR209)
In a nutshell: Excavation works had commenced at the launch shaft for the station, located next to the Jamiyah Nursing Home. Diaphragm wall construction works were still underway at other locations within the site occupied by the former Tanglin Secondary School. The machines used to construct the ERSS walls were observed to be clustered together at one end of the site as rebar installation took place further north. This may be to facilitate an expected road diversion over parts of the site, to allow for ERSS wall construction to commence underneath the existing West Coast Road alignment.

25 July 2026

Tunnels between West Coast & Jurong Lake District stations (Contract CR210)
In a nutshell: At the launch shaft near Jurong Town Hall station along the Jurong Region Line (JRL), the acoustic shed had been completed. Three gantry cranes could be observed setup on site and pieces of the cradles used for launching of the TBMs could be seen at the staging area. However, no components of TBMs could be seen on site as yet. No tunnel ring segments were observed either, indicating that works were still progressing on the preparation of the launch shaft for tunneling works.

Along Pandan Loop, ERSS construction works could be seen continuing at the site of the future electrical sub station.

25 July 2026

CR19 – Jurong Lake District (Contract CR211)
In a nutshell: Excavation within the open cut appears to have been completed and the construction of ERSS walls within the open cut had commenced. Several rigs were spotted across the worksite in both the eastern and western cut & cover sites as well as the main station box site. Towards the western end, a staging site could be seen in the distance where rebar cages and equipment was kept.