3 new Circle Line MRT stations opening on 12 July, finally closing the loop

Public preview for Circle Line Stage 6 to be held before opening

The Circle Line (CCL) will finally be a real circle when three new stations open on 12 July.

The opening of the stations — Keppel, Cantonment and Prince Edward Road — will complete the CCL, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a news release on Thursday (14 May).

New CCL stations will connect HarbourFront to Marina Bay

The existing CCL was completed in 2009 with a gap between HarbourFront and Marina Bay stations, thus literally falling short of its name.

The new three stations that comprise CCL Stage 6 will close the gap by connecting HarbourFront and Marina Bay.

After they open, the CCL will have 33 stations spanning 39km, and link to all other existing MRT lines via 12 interchange stations, LTA said, adding:

This will provide more convenience for commuters, strengthen connectivity and resilience across the rail network, and improve access to key employment nodes, residential areas and lifestyle destinations.

Commuters, especially those in the east and west, will also enjoy shorter travel times to the city centre — for example, those going from HarbourFront to Marina Bay will complete their journeys without having to change trains, saving 10 minutes.

Public can preview CCL before opening

About a week before opening for passenger service, the public will be allowed to preview the three new stations, LTA said.

They will enjoy free travel along the CCL6 from 9.30am to 9.00pm on 4 July.

Further activities are being lined up for the public preview, with LTA sharing more details on social media in the coming weeks.

23 new trains added

Tunnelling for CCL6 started in 2016 and was completed in 2022, with a delay of about one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

To prepare for its opening, services on the entire line ended earlier on Saturdays and started later on Sundays over six weekends in April and May.

This was to carry out testing and commissioning works to integrate CCL6 with the existing CCL.

23 new trains were also added to service as passenger volume is expected to increase when the new stations open.

The first batch of new trains reached Singapore in March 2022 were progressively put into service from April.

Also read: Staff & volunteers guide commuters during Circle Line service adjustments, praised for their efforts

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Featured image adapted from Land Transport Authority.