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.

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).

CRL1 - TBM Season

Contract CR102 TBMs during the assembly phase at the launch shaft.
Source: STEC

A happy new year to all our readers & followers! Recently, we have come across a few new images of tunnel boring machines (TBMs) for the Cross Island Line (CRL) phase 1. Coupled with recent deliveries to sites at Hougang, Ang Mo Kio and Defu, its definitely TBM season for the CRL. What better way to begin the new year than by taking a look at all the machines responsible for building the tunnels for the upcoming CRL1? More of them after the jump.

N109A - Teck Ghee update Q2 2024

 

20 June 2024 - An aerial view of the junction of Ang Mo Kios Avenue 1 & 6 with Marymount
Road in end-Q2.

Over the past quarter, the major development over at Teck Ghee has been the road diversion of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6. The diversion saw the roadway shifted further west to allow bored piling works to commence on the eastern side of the site. Along with the road diversion came a re-sizing of the roadway with each carriageway now only having 2 lanes instead of the 3 used formerly. When viewed from an aerial vantage point, the changes are quite apparent.

N109A - Teck Ghee update March 2024

 

21 March 2024 - An aerial view of the main station area, where Exits 1 and 4 will be located.

Life kind of caught up to us in Q1, so similar to Tampines North and Pasir Ris East, we only managed to catch Teck Ghee in March 2024. Contract N109A is primarily for the construction of the North South Expressway (NSE) tunnels with the Cross Island Line (CRL) Teck Ghee station added on beneath. As such, the impact at the work site is much greater than that at other station sites due to the cut & cover nature of the expressway's construction.

N109A - Teck Ghee update Q3 2023

19 August 2023 - Installation of rebar visible within the excavated trench.

Work at Teck Ghee station's site is progressing with the excavation of the western half of the tunnels for the North-South Expressway underway. Looking at the work taking place, it may be likely that the structure on the western side will be completed before earth is back-filled on top of the roof slab and work begins on work for the eastern half's structure. At this point, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 which travels right on top of the future tunnels has been pushed to the eastern side to allow for sufficient space to create a work site on the western side which is where the tunnels are being constructed.

N109A - Teck Ghee update Q2 2023

 

10 June 2023 - A view of excavation work being carried out within the construction area.

Contract N109A, under the North-South Expressway project, also includes the construction of a station box for the Cross Island Line (CRL) below the road tunnels. Utilizing the width of the excavated trench, the station will feature cripple sidings that run parallel to the platform - similar to those found at Fort Canning and Mattar stations along the Downtown Line. Work is progressing with excavation of part of the trench having commenced at various portions of the site. We are unsure if this is to facilitate the construction of the roof slab for a top-down construction method to be used later on.

N109A - Teck Ghee Q1 2023 update

 

19 March 2023 - An overview of the construction site of the station.

Teck Ghee was the first station whose civil contract was awarded under contract N109A, which was bundled together with construction works for the North-South Expressway project. The expressway tunnels will eventually sit on top of the station's roof slab, with the concourse & platform located below. We checked out how things were progressing at the contract N109A site mid-March.

CRL1 Video directory

 

Yesterday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) released a video showing a flythrough of the upcoming Tampines North station along the Cross Island Line (CRL) phase 1. LTA has been noticeably more active in uploading videos of & marketing the CRL across its social media channels. In addition to the new video on Tampines North, they also uploaded another video on the Rectangular Tunnel Boring Machine (RTBM) being used at the Teck Ghee station under contract N109A to construct subways to two exits located within Bishan-Ang Mo Kio park.

N109A - Teck Ghee construction

 

04 November 2022 - A view of the work site at contract N109A from
a HDB block along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3.

04 November 2022 - A close up view of the contract work site. The
station is located closer to the further end of the contract.

The area around Teck Ghee station has been under construction for some time, being the first Cross Island Line (CRL) station contract awarded. This is also due to the fact that the station is located directly underneath the upcoming North-South Expressway project. The expressway is one part of a larger North-South Corridor that will also combine other forms of transport such as buses, trains & active mobility modes.

N109A - New video on construction works

 

15 April 2022 - An aerial view looking southwards of the contract N109A site.

Last week, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) released a video on the construction works on-going for Teck Ghee MRT station. Works at Teck Ghee have been going-on for some time now owing to the complexity of the site due to the Cross Island Line (CRL) station being co-located underneath the upcoming North South Expressway tunnels. As such, construction works for the station were tendered under the North South Corridor project as opposed to being awarded with the rest of the CRL contracts. Consequentially, the works have progressed the furthest along as well. However, as the video for Teck Ghee station was uploaded on the same day as another video featuring Ang Mo Kio station, most viewers seem to have missed out on this video in particular.

Pre-construction - Teck Ghee

As one of the earliest awarded contracts for station construction, it is likely that works at Teck Ghee station will commence earlier than other station sites along the Cross Island Line stage 1 (CRL1). Now a quiet neighbourhood along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, the dual carriageway road will soon make way for heavy construction of both the MRT station and upcoming North South Expressway.

03 September 2018 - A view along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 before construction of contract N109A begins.

Contract awards - N109A for Teck Ghee station

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced yesterday the award of contract N109A for the construction of a portion of the North South Corridor project which includes the construction of Teck Ghee station.

Boundaries of contract N109A.
Source: LTA

Contract N109A is the first Cross Island Line (CRL)-related contract to be awarded, primarily as the construction of the station facilities has been bundled with the contract for the expressway. The successful bidder for this contract is Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co (STEC), who have completed multiple other rail infrastructure projects locally, including Newton, Promenade and Gul Circle stations. From the station outline, it can be expected that there would be approximately 4 to 6 entrances serving the HDB blocks and Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.

CRL1 - Detailed station location maps

During the ministerial visit and announcement at Bright Hill station for Cross Island Line stage 1 (CRL1) this morning, there were no exhibits showing the detailed station location maps for each of the 12 stations along the announced section. Additionally, the Land Transport Authority does not appear to have released such maps either. Instead, we have noted various Members of Parliament have been posting these on their social media platforms. Do have a look at some of the more detailed station location plans we've found and we will continually update on any new maps as we come across them.

Edit @ 1634pm - Defu, Serangoon North & Tavistock station location maps added.

Edit @ 0953am on 26 Jan 19 - Aviation Park, Hougang, Ang Mo Kio, Teck Ghee & Bright Hill station location maps added.

Aviation Park station location map.
Source: LTA

CRL1 announced

The Land Transport Authority announced the station locations for Cross Island Line stage 1 (CRL1) this morning at a site visit by Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan to Bright Hill station. This will be the location of stage 1's western terminus.

Do stay tuned as the official press release becomes available later this afternoon.

Speculated station locations

After collating all the sightings of soil investigation works, we can finally compile a list of probable station locations for the Cross Island Line eastern (CRLe) section. Knowing that the line stretches from Changi to Bright Hill, here's our list of the speculated stations.

Speculated alignment of CRLe

Credit: y2koh

Soil Investigation: Ang Mo Kio (West) / Teck Ghee

With soil investigation works continuing in the lead up to the confirmation of the Cross Island Line's (CRL) alignment, we've noticed more works on the western side of Ang Mo Kio. As these boreholes are located along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, which is also the corridor for the North South Expressway (NSE), a bit more time was taken to ensure that the boreholes found were matched to contracts for the CRL.

Spread of soil investigation boreholes along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 as of September 2018.