About JRL

The Jurong Region Line (JRL) is a rapid transit line designed to serve the Jurong region in the west of Singapore.

Glossary
To help you, here's a list of the acronyms that may be used on this page.

JRL - Jurong Region Line
CCL - Circle Line
CRL - Cross Island Line
DTL - Downtown Line
EWL - East-West Line
LTA - Land Transport Authority
LRT - Light Rail Transit, a rubber-tired people mover system typically used as an intra-town feeder to the MRT
MRT - Mass Rapid Transit, a steel-wheeled inter-town rapid transit system
NEL - North East Line
NSL - North-South Line
NTU - Nanyang Technological University
TEL - Thomson-East Coast Line

Initial announcement (Circa 2001)
The first announcement of the line came about at the opening of the Dover station along the East-West Line. In the transport minister's speech, three lines were mentioned to be built over the next twelve to fifteen years - the Bukit Timah Line (now Downtown Line stage 2), the Eastern Region Line (now Downtown Line stage 3 and the East Coast Line) and the Jurong Region Line. During this phase of planning, the line was envisioned as an LRT line serving the residents living beyond the then current end point of the EWL at Boon Lay station. Following this announcement, the other two lines gained momentum and were eventually constructed as the DTL and East Coast Line (part of the TEL). However, the JRL was hardly heard of, with only silent murmurs from the LTA mentioning that the line was on hold.

A news article stating that the JRL has been in the works for many years
Source: OrangeTee
Extract of Transport Minister's speech at Dover MRT station opening
Source: Ministry of Transport
Source: LTA


Land Transport Masterplan 2013 (Circa 2013)
In 2013, the LTA announced at the Minister's visit to the DTL Chinatown station that the JRL would be built by 2025. During this announcement, it was not defined if the line would remain as an LRT line or if it would be classified as an MRT line now. Nevertheless, the line would run from Choa Chu Kang, linking with key areas of NTU, Tengah, West Coast and Jurong Industrial Estate.

Source: LTA

Official Announcement (May 2018)
During a ministerial visit to the then under construction Canberra station, then transport minister Mr. Khaw Boon Wan unveiled the alignment for the JRL. To be built in 3 phases, completing in 2026, 2027 & 2028 respectively, the line would span 24km with 24 stations.

JRL route map
Source: LTA

Line & station details
Route length: 23km
Number of stations: 24 + 2 future stations (Within Tengah Forest Hill district & West Coast)

Number of interchanges: 7 

Interchange station
Transfer available to
Choa Chu Kang
North South Line
Bukit Panjang LRT
Tengah
Jurong Region Line west route
Jurong Region Line east route
Bahar Junction
Jurong Region Line west route main line
Jurong Region Line west route south branch
Jurong Region Line west route north branch
Boon Lay
East West Line
Jurong Pier
Cross Island Line
Jurong East
North South Line
East West Line
West Coast (future station)
Cross Island Line

Line type: Elevated

Rolling stock details
Train length: 71m
Number of carriages: Initial - 3 cars; Eventual - 4 cars
Wheel type: Steel wheel on steel rail
System capacity: 15,000 to 25,000 passengers per hour per direction (MRT classification)

The award for contract J151 which is for the supply of an initial 62 sets of 3-car trains was awarded to Hyundai Rotem. Subsequently, the LTA launched an online poll asking respondents to select their preferred interior colour scheme and other minor aesthetic finishes.

Colour palette choices for JRL train interior.
Source: LTA & SgTrains

Future-proofing the system
Future stations
The system is expected to have approximately 2 future stations - 1 at Tengah and another a West Coast.
The station in Tengah will be located between JS2 Choa Chu Kang West and JS3 Tengah stations. Provisions will be made for an island platform station to be located after the curve into Tengah from Choa Chu Kang. The station could be seen marked off at the HDB exhibit at HDB Hub in Toa Payoh for a period of time before being subsequently removed.

Meanwhile, an additional station was planned at West Coast on the eastern branch's route. This would have connected with the CRL and provided the line with another connection. However the station was not announced together with the rest of the JRL route during the initial launch in May 2018.




Civil Contract Awards (2020 - 2022)
Tenders for the Jurong Region Line began in 2019 and all civil contracts were awarded by 18 May 2022. Below is a table detailing the stations, contractors & award dates.



Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on the line
Soon after the line was announced and several contracts put up for tender, the global Covid-19 Pandemic swept across the world. As a result, due to challenges with construction manpower and materials, each of the line's phases completion was delayed by approximately a year:

Phase 1 to 2027
Phase 2 to 2028
Phase 3 to 2029

Additionally, contract J115 was intially tendered and closed without award. Several months later, a replacement contract, J115A, was floated instead with a reduced scope of work, eliminating a proposed remote stabling facility to be located next to the station within the contract.

Updated 17 September 2016
Updated 25 April 2019
Updated 23 May 2022

No comments:

Post a Comment