Singapore’s MRT train network just keep getting better and better. As if the opening of seven new Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) stations and Punggol Coast MRT all in 2024 alone isn’t enough, we just got word that the Downtown Line (DTL) will be getting three new stations, one of which will serve as a connection to the North-South Line (NSL).
Currently, the Downtown Line – also known as the blue line – has Bukit Panjang as one of its ends. To get to the red North-South Line from here, passengers currently have to transfer to the LRT network and ride five stops to Choa Chu Kang, as illustrated below:
With the three new stations extending the blue line, Bukit Panjang will no longer be the last stop on its west end. While the stations have yet to be named, station DE 1 (right after Bukit Panjang) will be located at Sungei Kadut, while station DE 2 will connect to the upcoming NS 6 station on the North-South Line – a brand new MRT interchange station that will sit between the existing Yew Tee (NS 5) and Kranji (NS 7) MRT stations.
The new Downtown Line extension spans around four kilometres long, and will offer residents easier access to places like the Rail Corridor, Pang Sua Park Connector, and the future Sungei Kadut Eco-District. Trips to town will also be shortened by up to 20 minutes – specifically, getting from the Yew Tee Village estate to Chinatown will take just 40 minutes instead of the current one hour, while travelling from Marsiling to Promenade will take 45 minutes instead of 55 minutes.
Construction for these three new MRT stations is slated to begin in the last quarter of 2025, with an expected completion in 2035. That’s a whole decade’s worth of anticipation, but hey, good things are always worth the wait.
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