NEL Punggol Coast station opens on Dec. 10, North East Line now has 17 stations

Punggol Coast station, located within the Punggol Digital District, on the North East Line (NEL), will open for passenger service at 3pm on Dec. 10, 2024.

The NEL now has 17 stations

This means the NEL will now be 22km long and have 17 stations, from Punggol Coast to HarbourFront, with over 200,000 households within a 10-minute walk from a NEL station, LTA said in a press release.

Commuters from Punggol North near Punggol Coast station can therefore enjoy shorter travel times to the city centre and other parts of Singapore.

For example, commuters travelling from Punggol North to Outram Park will take about 45 minutes, as compared to about 60 minutes previously.

Punggol Coast station will also provide greater rail connectivity to the JTC Business Park and the Singapore Institute of Technology, as well as the upcoming Punggol Coast Mall.

Station has two entrances

LTA added that the station has two entrances: one along New Punggol Road and the other within the Punggol Digital District.

There are also covered linkways to nearby bus stops, taxi stands, as well as pick-up and drop-off points.

In addition, more than 300 bicycle parking lots are available for cyclists.

LTA added that the station was designed in-house, and its construction was jointly managed by LTA and JTC.

It is also first station designed with a public space at its entrance to serve as a venue for events and community programmes, which will foster better community engagement and interaction, LTA said.

The station also features an artwork titled “Trajectories” by local artist, Zul Othman, also known as ZERO.

The piece captures the past, present and future of Punggol through a visual time lapse of Punggol’s developments.

It is also inspired by his personal experiences of growing up in Punggol and currently living in Northshore.

Six new trains have been added to NEL since 2023

Speaking at an opening ceremony for the station on the morning of Dec. 10, Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat highlighted that LTA has also added six new trains to the NEL since 2023.

According to the minister, the opening of Punggol Coast MRT station means the trains can now operate at higher frequency, which translates to shorter waiting times for commuters, especially during peak hours.

"Commuters can also look forward to a more comfortable journey on the NEL, as we continue to refurbish our older NEL trains to provide new seats, upgraded flooring, and increased standing capacity," Chee said.

Other public transport developments for Punggol

As for other public transport developments for Punggol, Chee also said that LTA has procured 25 new two-car trains for the Sengkang-Punggol LRT.

The first set of new two-car trains have arrived in Singapore in November, he added.

These new two-car trains will enter into service progressively from the second half of 2025 after rigorous testing, and they will replace all existing one-car trains by mid-2028.

He also noted that residents are looking to the completion of the Cross Island Line - Punggol Extension, which will connect Punggol station to Pasir Ris station via a 15-minute train ride, when it opens in 2032.

Chee said:

"This will tap on the provisions for an interchange with an additional rail line at Punggol MRT station, which were catered for and safeguarded earlier, well before the completion of the NEL more than 20 years ago.

This fact may not be so well-known to the public, but it shows the long-term planning behind our transport infrastructure development.

The thinking was to keep open options for the future, because in Singapore we care not only about the current generation but also our future generations, so that when the time came, we could design the connection between the North East Line and the Cross Island Line more easily."

Top images via LTA