During the Vesak Day long weekend in May, there’ll be a three-day, staggered closure of up to five stations between Admiralty and Yio Chu Kang.
The closure from May 18-20 is to facilitate the construction of the crossover, LTA said in a Facebook post on Monday, April 8. Shuttle bus services will be provided during the planned closure.
The new Canberra MRT station is expected to be completed this year.
LTA added that the construction is now 75 percent complete. The next stage involves connecting the two existing tracks to and from Canberra station with a new 72-metre long crossover track. This will allow trains to cross from one track to another when necessary.
This comes in useful in the event that, for instance, if one track is faulty, affected trains can use the crossover to bypass the faulty stretch by travelling on the other track. This allows train service for both directions to remain available, LTA said.
On May 18 and 19, Admiralty and Sembawang stations will be closed – for the removal of existing tracks and installation of the new crossover track.
On May 20, Admiralty, Sembawang, Yishun, Khatib and Yio Chu Kang stations will be closed for testing and commissioning of the signalling software for the newly-installed track.
In addition, from 10am on May 17 to midnight on May 20, the leftmost lane on Canberra Link Road, towards the direction of Sembawang station will also be closed. This is to facilitate the construction works.
Train services are expected to resume normal schedule on Tuesday, May 21.
An LTA spokesperson to media that pick-up points for shuttle bus services will be announced at a later date. “Commuters travelling along the affected sectors are advised to plan their journeys in advance, and factor in the additional time needed for transferring between shuttle buses and trains."