Cross Island Line

Announcement

The Cross Island Line was first announced by then Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew on 17 January 2013. The line was planned to relieve congestion on the existing East–West Line and slated to begin at Changi on Singapore's eastern coast, passing through the major eastern towns including Pasir Ris, Hougang and Ang Mo Kio. From this point, it would proceed further west toward Bukit Timah, Clementi and West Coast, before terminating in the Jurong Industrial Estate. A branch line was to connect the mainline to Punggol. The line was planned to be 50 km long and open in 2030.^[7][8] Studies on the Cross Island Line began in May 2013.^[9]

Line alignment

Since its announcement, there has been controversy over the alignment of the line's Bukit Timah stretch crossing the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR) and MacRitchie Reservoir, which prompted the Nature Society Singapore to call for the line's realignment. Environmental groups urged the Government not to build the MRT line under the CCNR.^[11]

On 19 July 2013, the NSS put forward two proposed alternative alignments:^[12] a northern route that would run close to the Thomson–East Coast Line, heading west towards Mandai, Sungei Kadut and Gali Batu before terminating at Choa Chu Kang, and a southern route skirting the reserve along Lornie Road. One engineering professor Lee Der-Horng noted the possible feasibility of constructing the line through the reserve without impacting the environment, though he said the decision "shouldn't be just based on transport".^[13]

A tender to assess the environmental impact of the line was called for on 24 February 2014 to facilitate civil works for the line.^[14] In July 2014 the LTA appointed Environmental Resources Management (S) Pte Ltd (ERM) to conduct the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the section of the line around and through the nature reserve. The EIA was to be conducted in two phases with the first studying the ecosystem and physical conditions along both the straight and skirting alignments as well as assessing how construction and operation of the line would affect the CCNR.^[15] The Phase 1 EIA report was released in February 2016.^[16][17]

Soil investigation works along the CCNR began in February 2017 and by October, was announced to be nearing completion by the end of the year.^[11] On 20 March 2018, the LTA declared that the findings on the environmental impact of drilling and other initial works would be completed later that year.^[18] The Phase 2 EIA report was released in September 2019.^[19] On 4 December 2019, the Ministry of Transport confirmed that the direct route underneath the CCNR had been chosen, with mitigating factors such as tunnelling deeper than usual under the CCNR as well as no surface works in the area. The construction cost is also expected to be $2 billion lower than the alternative alignments.^[20]

In December 2022, the LTA awarded the contract for the design and construction of bored tunnels between Fairways Drive and Sin Ming Walk to a joint venture between Obayashi Corporation and Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co (Singapore) Pte Ltd for $758 million.^[21][22]

Phase 1

On 25 January 2019, then Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan announced the alignment of CRL Phase 1 (CRL1). This segment of the line, spanning 29 kilometres (18 miles), consists of 12 stations from Aviation Park station to Bright Hill station. A new 57-hectare Changi East Depot was to be built to serve the line. Construction of CRL1 officially began on 18 January 2023.^[23][24] Originally expected to be completed in 2029,^[25][26][27] the opening date was pushed back a year as a result of restrictions imposed on construction works due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[28]

Phase 2

In December 2021, as part of a virtual exhibition by the LTA, a future system map depicted a series of 11 unnamed stations on the western half of the CRL.^[52] The map also showed the western segment interchanging with existing and under-construction stations: King Albert Park, Clementi, Jurong Pier and Gul Circle stations. The map, along with the virtual exhibition, has since been offline. The LTA explained that the route was a "conceptual alignment" yet to be finalised, with the interchange stations being tentative.^[53]

On 20 September 2022, then Transport Minister S. Iswaran confirmed the stations for Phase 2 of the CRL. Expected to open in 2032, the 15-kilometre (9.3 mi) segment spans six stations from Turf City station to Jurong Lake District station.^[54][55] Construction of these stations was expected to start in 2023.^[54] On 7 July 2025, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at Clementi station, marking the official beginning of the construction of Phase 2.^[56]

Phase 3

The CRL is to be completed in three phases.^[57] It is projected that the second and third phases will be about 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) and 13 kilometres (8.1 miles) long respectively.^[58] In 2021, LTA published a map of the MRT system in the 2030s as part of a virtual exhibition. The map indicated four stations on Phase 3, with an interchange at Jurong Pier station and Gul Circle station on the Jurong Region Line and East–West Line, respectively.^[59]

In February 2022, The Straits Times projected that civil works for Phase 3 might be completed by the end of 2033, with operations beginning in 2034 or later.^[60] However, LTA stated that the exact timeline is unclear and will only be known with the completion of advanced engineering studies, which was still ongoing by July 2025.^[56] The studies had concluded by March 2026. Construction of Phase 3 is slated to begin in 2027, with completion set in the late 2030s.^[61]

Future plans

In conceptual plans for the redevelopment of Paya Lebar Air Base, an additional station has been proposed between Defu and Tampines North stations to serve the new developments.^[62]

Route

The 58 kilometres (36 mi)-long CRL is planned to run in a generally east–west direction, serving 27 stations^[57] and being an alternative route to the existing East–West Line (EWL) and Downtown Line (DTL).^[7][65] Phase 1 of the line goes west from Changi, in the east, to Pasir Ris. The line branches off to Punggol Digital District^[35] and goes south-west towards Tampines North, and west to Hougang, and further towards Sin Ming via Ang Mo Kio.^[63] Phase 2 of the line connects Bukit Timah to Sin Ming, tunneling through the CCNR, before continuing south-west to West Coast via Clementi, before heading north-west to Jurong Lake District.^[64] Phase 3 concludes the line at the Jurong Industrial Estate.^[64]

Services

At least half of the CRL stations are to interchange with existing lines, providing alternative routes for commuters.^[3]

The possibility of implementing an express service for the CRL was also studied.^[66] However, then Transport Minister Khaw announced in 2018 that express services were considered not feasible, citing the higher cost needed to build extra tracks, tunnels and additional signalling systems that can affect non-express commuters and existing lines.^[67]

Stations

Names stated are working names, except for the existing interchange stations.^[25]

Legend

Elevated	Line terminus	Transfer outside paid area
Ground-level	Wheelchair accessible	Bus interchange
Underground	Civil Defence Shelter	Other transportation modes

List

More information Station code, Station name ...

Station code	Station name	Image	Interchange; Adjacent transportation	Opening	Cost
Changi Terminal 5 extension (under planning, to be ready by mid-2030s)
CR1  TE32	Changi Terminal 5	Does not appear	Thomson–East Coast Line  Changi Airport Terminal 5	Mid-2030s; 9 years' time	TBA
Phase 1 (under construction, to be ready by 2030)
CR2	Aviation Park		Changi Ferry Terminal	2030; 4 years' time	S$320 million[68][69]
					S$356 million[70][a]
CR3	Loyang		—
					S$748 million[71][72]
CR4	Pasir Ris East				S$363 million[73]
CR5   CP1  EW1	Pasir Ris		Cross Island Line (Punggol Extension)  (2032)  East–West Line  ― Pasir Ris		S$980 million[74]
CR6	Tampines North		Tampines North		S$397 million[75]
					S$446 million[68][76][b]
CR7	Defu		—
					S$467 million[77]
CR8  NE14	Hougang		North East Line  ― Hougang Central		S$604 million[78]
CR9	Serangoon North		—		S$454 million[79][80]
CR10	Tavistock				S$407 million[79][80]
CR11  NS16	Ang Mo Kio		North–South Line  ― Ang Mo Kio		S$644 million[81]
CR12	Teck Ghee		—		S$615.9 million[82]
CR13  TE7	Bright Hill		Thomson–East Coast Line		S$526 million[83]
					S$758 million[84][c]
Phase 2 (under construction, to be ready by 2032)
CR14	Turf City		—	2032; 6 years' time	S$530 million[85]
CR15  DT6	King Albert Park	Does not appear	Downtown Line		S$447 million[86]
CR16	Maju	Does not appear	—		S$480 million[87]
					S$199 million[88][d]
CR17  EW23	Clementi	Does not appear	East–West Line  ― Clementi		S$514 million[86]
CR18  JE	West Coast		Jurong Region Line (East)  (late-2030s)		S$510 million[89]
					S$242 million[90][e]
CR19	Jurong Lake District		—		S$590 million[91]
Phase 3 (under planning, to be ready by late-2030s)[59]
CR20	TBA	Does not appear	—	Late-2030s; 13 years' time	TBA
CR21  JS12	Jurong Pier	Does not appear	Jurong Region Line
CR22	TBA	Does not appear	—
CR23	TBA	Does not appear
CR24  EW30	Gul Circle	Does not appear	East–West Line
Punggol Extension (under construction, to be ready by 2032)
CP1   CR5  EW1	Pasir Ris	Does not appear	Cross Island Line   East–West Line  ― Pasir Ris	2032; 6 years' time	S$980 million[74]
CP2	Elias		—		$562 million[92]
CP3 – PE4	Riviera	Does not appear	Punggol LRT (East Loop)		S$1.1 billion[93]
CP4  NE17  PTC	Punggol		North East Line   Punggol LRT  ― Punggol		S$496 million[84]

Close

Depots