Canberra station works to affect 5 North-South Line stations over Vesak Day weekend

SINGAPORE — Up to five North-South Line MRT stations between Admiralty and Yio Chu Kang will be closed in staggered phases over the Vesak Day long weekend in May, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Monday (April 8).

This is to facilitate construction works on the upcoming Canberra MRT station, which is on track to be completed this year.

The next stage of construction involves connecting the two existing tracks to and from Canberra station with a new 72-metre long crossover track, which will allow trains to cross from one track to another when the need arises.

For example, if the northbound track is faulty, affected trains can use the crossover to bypass the faulty stretch by travelling on the southbound track. This allows train service for both directions to remain available, the LTA said.

On May 18 and 19, Admiralty and Sembawang stations will be closed for the removal of existing tracks and installation of the new crossover track.

On May 20, Admiralty, Sembawang, Yishun, Khatib and Yio Chu Kang stations will be closed for testing and commissioning of the signalling software for the new track.

Vesak Day falls on May 19 this year.

The leftmost lane on Canberra Link Road, towards the direction of Sembawang station, will also be closed from 10am on May 17 to midnight on May 20 to facilitate the construction works.

ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORT AVAILABLE

There will be shuttle bus services to ferry commuters between Woodlands and Yishun stations on May 18 and 19, and between Woodlands and Ang Mo Kio stations on May 20.

A point-to-point bus service between Woodlands and Bukit Panjang — an interchange connecting the North-South Line with the Downtown Line — will also be provided from May 18 to 20.

These shuttle bus services will follow the same fare structure as trains.

Pick-up points for these shuttle bus services will be announced at a later date, an LTA spokesperson said.

“Commuters travelling along the affected sectors are advised to plan their journeys in advance, and factor in the additional time needed for transferring between shuttle buses and trains,” the LTA said.

CANBERRA STATION

With 75 per cent of construction completed, the new Canberra station is on track to open by the end of this year, the LTA said.

When completed, around 17,000 more households will be within a 10-minute walk of an MRT station and enjoy travel time savings of up to 10 minutes towards the city centre or Jurong East.

Canberra station will be the second infill station — built on an existing line — on the MRT network after Dover station.