Construction of Bright Hill interchange station on Cross Island Line to start second quarter of 2022
An artist Impression of CRL Phase 1 (CRL1) Bright Hill interchange station. (Image: LTA)
SINGAPORE: Construction works for Bright Hill interchange station on the upcoming Cross Island Line (CRL) are expected to start in the second quarter of this year, with train service to start in 2030, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Wednesday (Mar 30).
"When completed, commuters can conveniently transfer between CRL and TEL (Thomson-East Coast Line) using this interchange station," LTA added.
The civil contract for the design and construction of the station, located in the Sin Ming area, as well as the tunnels under CRL 1, has been awarded to Penta Ocean Construction at a sum of around S$526 million.
"With the award of this contract, LTA has appointed contractors for all 12 stations for CRL1," the agency said.
Once the new interchange is operational, travel time from Bright Hill station to Pasir Ris East is expected to be about 30 minutes with the CRL, down from the current 80 minutes, said LTA.
Travel from Bright Hill station to Hougang, for instance, will be halved to about 20 minutes, it added.
The station will also be connected to a new Transit Priority Corridor (TPC) along Sin Ming Avenue.
"When the TPC is fully completed in 2029, residents in Sin Ming area will have more access options to Bright Hill MRT station and recreational spaces such as Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park," said LTA.
On the construction process, LTA noted that the ground in the area is made up of predominantly Bukit Timah Granite.
"Due to the abrasive nature of such ground conditions, which is expected to cause some wear to the cutting equipment on the tunnel boring machines, close monitoring will be carried out to ensure optimal equipment performance," it added.
The CRL is Singapore’s eighth MRT line. It will serve existing and future developments in the eastern, north-eastern and western corridors, linking major hubs such as Jurong Lake District, Punggol Digital District and Changi region.
Almost half of the stations on the CRL will serve as interchanges with other rail lines.
CRL1 is 29km long, comprising 12 stations from Aviation Park to Bright Hill. This will serve residential and industrial areas in Loyang, Tampines, Pasir Ris, Defu, Hougang, Serangoon North and Ang Mo Kio and benefit more than 100,000 households, LTA said.
Studies on the details of subsequent CRL phases are ongoing, LTA added.
