SINGAPORE: Sections of Circle Line tunnels serving Mountbatten, Dakota and Paya Lebar stations will be partially closed for nearly three months in early 2026 for strengthening works, following a phenomenon known as “tunnel squatting”.
In a nutshell, this means longer waits of up to 30 minutes for commuters during peak periods.
The trains will arrive at 10-minute intervals – up from the usual three – at the affected stations which will use a single open tunnel. A new shuttle bus service will operate during weekday peak periods to take commuters to unaffected parts of the train network.
This will mark one of the longest scheduled MRT service disruptions to date.
But why does “tunnel squatting” happen in the first place, and what happens if it is left unchecked? To find out, CNA spoke to experts to understand all there is to know about this phenomenon, which is not unique to Singapore’s underground MRT network.
