New Circle Line stations open for public preview, completing MRT line after more than 30 years in the making

At the opening ceremony for the sixth and last stage of the Circle Line, Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said the project had passed through the hands of many engineers, project managers, contractors and workers.

Mr Siow, who was in the Ministry of Transport in 2013 when the decision to build Circle Line Stage 6 was announced, said he was “incredibly grateful” to be opening the stations to the public 13 years later.

Although Stage 6 was part of the Circle Line’s original design years earlier, construction could not begin until the land became available, he said. This included the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and its tracks, which were returned to Singapore only in 2011, and the port terminals in the city, once plans were firmed up to relocate them to Tuas.

“Finally today, people can stop asking LTA why the Circle Line is not a circle,” he said.

Mr Siow said the three new stations will give residents in the area direct access to the MRT, and more than 10,000 commuters are expected to benefit from shorter train rides.