New MRT station to be built between Yishun and Sembawang

SINGAPORE: An additional station will be built between Yishun and Sembawang on the North-South Line, and it will be known as Canberra station, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew on Friday (June 27). The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will announce details later.

“I mentioned last year that LTA was studying the possibility of building an additional station between Yishun and Sembawang on the North-South Line. The more observant amongst you would have noticed a missing station number, NS (12), between these two stations. I am pleased to announce today that the feasibility study has been completed and we will be constructing the station, which will be known as Canberra station,” Mr Lui said.

He was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Thomson Line, which will be opened in three phases in 2019, 2020 and 2021. When fully opened, the line will bring an additional 60 per cent capacity to the North-South corridor, he said.

When fully completed in 2021, the Thomson Line will have 22 stations, including six interchanges. The line will see a projected daily ridership of about 400,000 commuters, and will serve several housing estates in the north and central areas – including Woodlands, Sin Ming, Thomson and Kim Seng – and connect them to the city and the rest of the MRT network. The 30km-long line will also be eventually linked to Johor Bahru in Malaysia, he said.

“Like the MRT lines we have today, each new line or extension will shape the way residents along its corridor interact, live, work and play. Since we launched the first MRT in 1987, we have seen how communities have grown and thrived with stations in their midst,” said Mr Lui.

“Residents and their estates have grown closer together and are better connected with the rest of the island, the facilities and other amenities. We are looking very much to the same for Thomson Line residents,” the minister added.

LTA has also said that the names of the Thomson Line stations have also been finalised. All names remain the same except for Sin Ming, which has been renamed Bright Hill.

Map of the Thomson Line by LTA

Apart from the new line, Mr Lui also spoke about the planned expansions to the existing rail network – the West Loop of the Punggol LRT, which will open on Sunday (June 29); the North-South Line Extension, which will open later this year; the Tuas West Extension, which will open in 2016; and the Downtown Line, which will be fully opened in 2017.

New MRT station to be built between Yishun and Sembawang