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Taisei, CSCEC to build Singapore’s first double-track metro tunnel for $264m

Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded a $264m (S$356m) civil contract to design and construct a bored tunnel between Aviation Park station and Loyang station for part of the Cross Island Line Phase 1 (CRL1) to Japan’s Taisei Corporation and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC).

They will build a 3.2-km tunnel starting in the second quarter of 2021. In a first for Singapore, they will will use a large-diameter tunnel boring machine to make room for two tracks in a single tunnel, LTA said.

Slated to commence passenger service in 2030, the entire CRL1 is 29km long and comprises 12 stations from Aviation Park to Bright Hill, serving some 100,000 households. Studies on subsequent CRL phases are ongoing.

Taisei Corporation and CSCEC are currently active elsewhere in Singapore.

Taisei is involved in the construction of Marina Bay station and tunnels for the Thomson-East Coast Line, while CSCEC is building Keppel and Cantonment stations for Circle Line 6, as well as tunnels for the North East Line Extension.

The CRL, Singapore’s eighth MRT line, is the country’s longest fully underground line at more than 50km long. It will serve existing and future developments in the eastern, western, and north-eastern corridors, linking major hubs such as Jurong Lake District, Punggol Digital District and Changi region.

When fully completed, the CRL is expected to have a daily ridership of at least 600,000 in the initial years, growing to one million in the longer term. The CRL will have almost half of its stations as interchanges with other train lines, making it easier and more convenient to travel across the rail network. It will be constructed in three phases.

Image: LTA’s map showing the alignment of the tunnel (LTA)

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