The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has commenced civil construction works for Phase 2 of the Cross Island Line (CRL). Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow officiated the ground-breaking ceremony at the site of the future CRL Clementi station.
Phase 2 of the CRL (CRL2), targeted for completion by 2032, will extend the 29-km-long Phase 1 of the CRL by another 15 km westwards. CRL2 will comprise six underground stations. Two of the six stations will be interchange stations, with CRL King Albert Park station and CRL Clementi station connecting commuters to the Downtown Line (DTL) and East-West Line (EWL) respectively.
CRL2 will improve public transport connectivity for residents living in the West, and shorten travel times for commuters travelling to and from the western parts of Singapore. For example, a West Coast resident travelling to work at Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park can save up to 40 minutes on their commute – from more than an hour by train and bus today, to 30 minutes on the CRL.
When completed, the CRL will significantly enhance the resilience of Singapore’s MRT network. As Singapore’s second orbital line connecting to all of our radial MRT lines, it will greatly improve our rail connectivity and expand the network’s overall capacity. Almost half of the CRL stations will be interchanges, which will open up many new travel routes in our network and provide commuters with more alternative ways of getting around, particularly during scheduled maintenance works or unexpected service disruptions.
Deepest station in Singapore
At 50 m deep and extending to five basement levels, CRL King Albert Park interchange station will be Singapore’s deepest station when completed. It will surpass the CRL Pasir Ris station which, when completed, will be 47 m deep and Bencoolen station on the DTL, currently the deepest underground station at 43 m.
Construction methods
Addition and alteration works will be carried out at the EWL Clementi station and the DTL King Albert Park station to provide commuters with seamless transfers to the CRL. Construction works for these transfer links will be implemented in phases, and will be monitored closely to minimise any disruptions to existing train services.
A 5-km bored bi-truck tunnel between CRL Bright Hill and CR14 stations through the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR) will be constructed using a Large-Diameter TBM (12.8 m in diameter). The tunnelling works towards the CCNR commenced in May this year, along with ongoing ground improvement works.
To enhance environmental sustainability, the CRL2 stations' permanent structures will be built using greener steel and concrete with less embodied carbon. Complementing these green building materials, the projects will also explore the use of electric machinery such as excavators, tipper trucks and cranes to reduce construction-related emissions and noise. The CRL Changi East Depot, which houses the CRL’s Operations Control Centre as well as maintenance facilities for up to 70 CRL trains, will also be fitted with photovoltaic solar panels to generate renewable energy for depot operations.
For further information please click here and sg/30 for the tunnelbuilder archive. Visit https://www.lta.gov.sg/. 28/25.
