4 new MRT stations to be built for Cross Island Line; interchanges at Jurong Pier, Gul Circle

SINGAPORE – The third and final phase of the Cross Island Line (CRL) will have four underground stations and help get commuters to the western region faster after it is completed in the late 2030s.

The latest stretch – about 10km when fully completed – will connect to other lines at two interchanges at Jurong Pier and Gul Circle and, for now, are numbered CR20 to CR23.

The CR20 station will serve residents in Taman Jurong, while CR21 will serve as a gateway to Jurong Island. It will also link to the upcoming Jurong Region Line (JRL).

CR22 will be located within Jurong Industrial Estate. The final station, CR23 or Gul Circle station, will link to the East-West Line (EWL).

Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow, speaking at the Singapore Rail Test Centre on July 31, said the stations will serve residents and workers across the western industrial estates and substantially improve connectivity to the rest of the island.

He said: “It will be the longest underground line we have ever built, spanning 67km from Changi Terminal 5 in the east to Gul Circle in the west, including the Punggol extension.”

He added that the CRL will play a critical role in the rail network, with 11 interchange stations.

“This will significantly strengthen the resilience of our train network. During a service disruption, more commuters will have alternative routes, and still remain on the MRT network,” he said.

In a joint statement on July 31, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said the last stage of the CRL will provide residents and workers in the western region with “more direct and convenient” travel options by MRT.

Work on the third phase is slated to begin in 2027. Noise and vibration impact studies will be carried out before work starts, the statement said.

When the CRL is fully operational, passengers travelling to and from the western parts of Singapore can save up to 50 minutes in travelling time, Siow said.

For instance, the commute from Sin Ming Gardens to Jurong Pier Road will take about 40 minutes in future, compared with 90 minutes via bus and train now.

The journey from Taman Jurong Skyline – an upcoming Build-To-Order project – to Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2 will take 45 minutes with the CRL, down from 90 minutes by bus now.

To facilitate construction work, the authorities said seven industrial properties will be acquired, and eight other industrial properties will be partially acquired.

The properties are all owned by JTC and sub-leased to private businesses. Among the industrial properties acquired are services and manufacturing firm OMS Oilfield Services, and Completion Products, which supplies equipment to oil and gas companies.

The partial acquisitions will involve minor parts of the property, such as boundary fences. Affected businesses can continue operations, and the acquired parts will be restored to their original conditions after the works are done.

When contacted, a human resource officer from Total Facility Engineering at 50 Gul Crescent said the firm was told earlier in the day that the land it sits on will be acquired for the CRL.

As part of the third CRL phase, a second train depot of about 23ha will be built at the former Raffles Country Club site to provide maintenance facilities and stabling for trains.

The depot will link to the Singapore Rail Test Centre, where LTA is testing the first two CRL trains, Siow said. It will share space with a multi-storey bus depot that will provide parking, charging and maintenance facilities for public buses.

In his speech, Siow said LTA is studying the feasibility of a Bus Rapid Transit system in Tuas South to shuttle workers between their workplaces and MRT stations.

The CRL is Singapore’s eighth MRT line and, when completed, will be its longest fully underground rail line, spanning more than 65km across 27 stations from Changi Airport Terminal 5 (T5) in the east to Gul Circle in the west.

It is being built in three phases and will connect major residential and employment hubs, including Jurong Lake District and Punggol Digital District.

First announced in the 2013 Land Transport Master Plan, the target completion date for the entire line was about 2030. Construction delays were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and an environmental impact assessment in the planning stages because the line would run under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

The first phase of the CRL comprises 12 stations over 29km, from Aviation Park in Changi to Bright Hill, and is slated to be completed in 2030. A 7.3km four-station extension linking Pasir Ris and Punggol is expected to follow in 2032. A 5.8km extension from Aviation Park will connect directly to T5 in future.

The 15km second phase, from Turf City to Jurong Lake District, is also expected to be completed in 2032 and includes stations at King Albert Park, Maju, Clementi and West Coast.

It will connect with the Downtown Line at King Albert Park and the EWL at Clementi. King Albert Park station on the CRL, at about 50m below ground, will be Singapore’s deepest underground MRT station.

When fully operational, the CRL is expected to serve at least 600,000 passenger trips daily, with ridership projected to grow to around one million in the longer term.

The first CRL train arrived in Singapore earlier in 2026, according to a Facebook post by LTA on May 31.

In its Facebook post, LTA said commuters can expect 44 fully automated six-car trains on the CRL, along with wider gangways (platforms connecting train cars) for smoother passenger movement and a more comfortable journey.

There will also be smart monitoring and diagnostic systems that help detect potential faults early and improve reliability, said LTA of the new line.

Taman Jurong Citizens’ Consultative Committee chairman Vincent Lim said the four new CRL stations will benefit both residents and businesses in the west.

“Many companies located in the west have difficulty finding employees,” he said.

He added that firms in the Tuas area, including those in the maritime and logistics sectors, have long struggled to attract workers because of poor public transport connectivity.

Even his own company in Penjuru, near the Jurong Lake District, is facing hiring challenges, he said. As a result, some companies have had to charter buses to ferry employees from the nearest MRT station.

Fellow grassroots leader and Taman Jurong resident Roland Choo welcomed the new rail links.

He hopes the CRL and JRL will encourage more people to work in the western industrial areas, and make it easier for employers there to hire workers.