New MRT station to be built between Yishun and Sembawang - 27Jun2014

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. 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. www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/new-mrt-station-to-be/1213422.html Ground-freezing to be used for construction of Thomson MRT Line SINGAPORE: From a quiet terminus of the North-South Line, Marina Bay MRT Station has since transformed when its Circle Line station opened in Jan 2012. When the third phase of the Thomson Line opens in 2021, Marina Bay will become a major interchange serving three lines. However, construction at one section will pose a challenge, as it needs to cross the existing two MRT lines. Thomson Line will be built below these lines, which means some foundation piles would need to be removed. First, a pedestrian linkway will be built beneath the tunnel. Once sufficient support has been added, about 20 piles in that 40-metre stretch will be removed. Freeze tubes will then be added - a first in the history of Singapore's rail construction. "The key challenge is in constructing the pedestrian linkway and the tunnels, which run directly below the North-South and Circle Lines' existing tunnels, and coupled with the poor soil condition in the area makes the construction of the Marina Bay station very complex and very intricate challenge, said the Land Transport Authority's Director of Civil Team 4 for the Thomson Line Shaik Sha Marican. "To alleviate the problem of soil conditions, what we're going to do is ground-freezing, which technically is to freeze the ground to turn the ground water into ice, to form ice wall, so that to facilitate the construction to solidify the ground and to facilitate the construction of the tunnel." This will prevent water from seeping in and weakening the soil. Construction will then start for the first tunnel, which will be used by the Woodlands-bound train. Finally, the tunnel for the Changi-bound train will be built in between. When completed, the tunnels will be 41 metres below ground surface. Over at Orchard Road, the already bustling station will also be an interchange of the Thomson Line. The new station will be built on the green patch opposite ION Orchard. There will be two links - a platform linkway for commuters who need to change trains, and an underpass for other pedestrians. During construction, the glass canopy at ION Orchard will be dismantled. www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/ground-freezing-to-be/1214580.html