Good news if you live or work in western Singapore. On 31 July 2026, LTA and SLA finally settled a question that had been open for years, what the third phase of the Cross Island Line (CRL3) would actually look like. The new stretch will link Jurong Lake District to Gul Circle, rounding out the western portion of this MRT line that's being built in stages.
Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow delivered the announcement in person at an event held at the Singapore Rail Test Centre.
CRL3 spans approximately 10 km and will extend the CRL line westwards, from CR19 station in Jurong Lake District to CR23 station at Gul Circle. Along this route, four new underground stations will be built: CR20, CR21, CR22, and CR23.
Two of these four stations will serve as interchange stations. CR21 will connect to the Jurong Region Line at JS12 station, while CR23 will link to the East-West Line via the existing Gul Circle station.
Looking at the details, CR20 will be located on Jalan Terusan, near the Ayer Rajah Expressway, serving Jurong Lake Gardens and residential estates at the southern end of Taman Jurong.
Meanwhile, CR21, named Jurong Pier, will serve as an important gateway to Jurong Island via the nearby Jurong Island Checkpoint.
Fifty minutes is the number that makes CRL3 worth waiting for. That's how much travel time commuters stand to save once the line opens, compared to today's journeys that often involve juggling buses and switching between lines to get across the island.
Taman Jurong residents and workers in the western industrial estates are likely to feel this the most, since they're currently the ones stuck relying on that patchwork of buses and transfers just to reach other parts of Singapore.
To support CRL3 operations, a second CRL depot of roughly 23 hectares will be built at the former Raffles Country Club site. This depot will be co-located with a multi-storey bus depot, accommodating parking, charging, and maintenance facilities for public buses in one place.
To make this project possible, the government needs to fully acquire seven industrial properties, while eight others will be partially acquired.
These partial acquisitions mostly affect ancillary features such as green verges and boundary fences rather than main buildings. SLA has already gazetted the acquisition of the affected land.
Construction on CRL3 is expected to begin in 2027, with stations targeted to open by the late 2030s. So if you are planning to move to or invest in western Singapore, this project is worth keeping in mind as a long-term consideration, even though it won't materialise anytime soon.
The Cross Island Line itself will become Singapore's eighth and longest fully underground MRT line, spanning around 67 km once all phases are complete.
The line will connect the eastern, western, and north-eastern corridors, linking major hubs such as Changi, Punggol Digital District, Jurong Lake District, and Tuas.
