The works on this phase, which runs from Turf City to Jurong Lake District, also include building Singapore’s deepest underground station in King Albert Park at 50m – or 16 storeys – below ground. This surpasses Bencoolen station on the Downtown Line, which is 43m deep.

Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said on July 7 that engineering studies for the third phase of the CRL are nearing completion, with more details about

future stations serving the Jurong Industrial Estate

 expected at the end of 2025.

The CRL, Singapore’s eighth MRT line, will significantly improve the resilience of the rail network, Mr Siow said during a ground-breaking ceremony for CRL Phase 2 in Clementi, where he toured an information centre with interactive displays about the rail project.

The CRL will be connected to all existing lines except the Circle Line, with eight of its 21 announced stations serving as interchanges.

Describing it as Singapore’s “next outer ring”, Mr Siow said the line will provide passengers with more alternative routes during rail disruptions and potentially open up new windows for maintenance, a task now restricted to night hours.

“As our rail network expands and ages, more maintenance and renewal works will be needed,” he added, citing the New York subway and the London Underground as examples of metro systems that schedule maintenance during the day.

Time savings

Spanning 50km, the CRL will be Singapore’s longest underground MRT line. Its first phase, covering 29km with 12 stations from Aviation Park to Bright Hill, is slated to open in 2030.

A four-station extension from Pasir Ris to Punggol will open in 2032. CRL Phase 2 is also expected to be completed by then.

The 15km second phase includes interchanges with the Downtown Line at King Albert Park and the East-West Line in Clementi. The remaining two stations are in Maju and West Coast.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said transfer links to the CRL will be built at the existing Clementi and King Albert Park stations. This will be done in stages to minimise disruption.

While it has not given cost estimates for the rail line, the authority has awarded more than $16.6 billion in contracts so far, including tenders for the Changi East depot, the trains and rail systems.

The design and construction of the stations and tunnels for CRL Phase 2 alone will cost upwards of $4 billion.