SINGAPORE — The new Brickland MRT station, between the existing Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Gombak stops on the North-South Line (NSL), is set to open in 2034.
This means residents of Keat Hong, Bukit Batok West, Pavilion Park and the Brickland district in the future Tengah town will be within a 10-minute walk of the station when it is ready. The first homes in the Brickland district are scheduled for completion by the end of 2027.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Friday (July 28) that design and construction work on Brickland station is expected to start in 2024 and finish in 2034.
In addition to the station, a viaduct and crossover tracks will be built as a bypass for trains.
This is to maintain connections for the existing tracks on the NSL while modification work is carried out, thus minimising disruption to rail operations, LTA said.
When completed, Brickland station will allow more direct rail access for those at nearby educational institutions, such as ITE College West, Swiss Cottage Secondary School and St Anthony's Primary School.
Right now, the NSL has 27 stations and runs from Marina South Pier to Jurong East.
With the new station, commuters travelling from Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 to Woodlands Regional Centre or the Jurong Lake District could shave 15 minutes off their train journeys.
Commutes from Pavilion Estate in Bukit Batok to Raffles Place via public transport are also expected to be cut from 50 to 40 minutes in future.
The authorities announced plans to build Brickland station in 2019 as part of the Land Transport Masterplan 2040.
It is a key part of LTA's vision of creating a "45-minute city" and "20-minute towns". The "45-minute city", for example, aims to keep most peak-period journeys between homes and workplaces within 45 minutes.
In May, LTA put up a pre-qualification tender for the design and construction of Brickland station as well as its associated viaduct. It closed on June 28 with 18 bids.
Brickland will be the third MRT stop built on an existing elevated rail line here — otherwise known as "infill stations".
It comes after the East-West Line's Dover station, which opened in 2001, and NSL's Canberra station, which started operating in 2019. Dover station took around three years to build, and the Canberra stop took about four years.
Construction on a fourth infill station is under way. Hume station, located underground between the Beauty World and Hillview stops on the Downtown Line, is expected to open in 2025.
As Singapore's MRT network continues expanding, there are more such infill stations in the pipeline.
These include plans for a future Sungei Kadut station on the NSL and Bukit Brown station on the Circle Line.
Low Yen Ling, mayor of the South West District and MP for the Bukit Gombak division of Chua Chu Kang GRC, said LTA carried out extensive studies to determine the location of Brickland station.
Ms Low, who is also Minister of State for Trade and Industry, and Culture, Community and Youth, added that construction of the new station will take longer than usual because most of the work can be done only after NSL services have stopped.
This means LTA has about three hours daily for construction, she said on Facebook.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.