Easy travel: A MRT train travels on an elevated track in Singapore. The CRL will serve commuters in the eastern, north-eastern and western parts of Singapore by linking major hubs. — Bloomberg
SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded two contracts worth a total of S$650mil (US$499mil or RM2.2bil) for the provision of four key systems on the Cross Island Line (CRL) – the country’s eighth Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line.
The LTA said last Friday it awarded the first contract – valued at around S$450mil (RM1.5bil) – to Siemens Mobility, Siemens Rail Automation and S.A.U. Consortium (Siemens) to provide the signalling system and platform screen doors system for the MRT line.
Siemens will design, manufacture, install and test the communication-based train control (CBTC) signalling system as well as the platform screen doors system.
The CBTC system allows trains to run at shorter intervals.
The signalling and platform screen doors systems for the Downtown Line (DTL) were previously completed by Siemens, and the two systems will be implemented for the Downtown Line 3 Extension (DTLe) and the Jurong Region Line (JRL) as well.
A second contract, valued at around S$200mil (RM662mil), was awarded to ST Engineering Urban Solutions to cover the integrated supervisory control system and communications system for the CRL, the LTA said.
The scope of the contract involves the design, manufacturing, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of these systems.
This will support various sub-systems for the CRL, including the communication backbone network, video surveillance, public address and travel information system.ST Engineering Urban Solutions was previously responsible for the communication systems for the North-South Line, East-West Line, Circle Line and DTL.
They also completed the integrated supervisory control system for the CCL and DTL.
Similar plans are in the works for JRL, DTLe and Circle Line Stage 6.
The LTA added that it awarded the contracts after considering a range of factors including cost-competitiveness, quality of the solutions proposed, and bidders’ expertise and track record.
The CRL will serve commuters in the eastern, north-eastern and western parts of Singapore by linking major hubs such as Jurong Lake District, Punggol Digital District, and the Changi region.
Nearly half of the stations on the CRL will be interchanges with other rail lines, so travellers on the line will find it easier and more convenient to connect across the whole rail network.
The construction of the CRL is taking place in three phases.
Spanning 29km, CRL Phase 1will comprise 12 stations from Aviation Park to Bright Hill.
First announced in 2019, all civil contracts were awarded as at March 2022.
Construction works have commenced and are expected to conclude by 2030.
CRL Phase 2, announced in 2022, is approximately 15km long and encompasses six stations, from Turf City to Jurong Lake District. An additional 7.3km CRL-Punggol extension will also be constructed, spanning four stops, from Punggol to Pasir Ris.Both projects are expected to be completed in 2032.
As for CRL Phase 3, engineering studies are still ongoing. The LTA will release more details after the studies have been completed. — The Straits Times/ANN
