Photo credit: Caroline Chia (The Straits Times) 

[The full article was published in The Straits Times on 28 June 2026]

Completing the Circle Line loop was more than just adding three new MRT stations. Behind the scenes, SMRT teams worked within a tight three-hour engineering window each night to balance routine maintenance, corrective maintenance and the complex integration of installing and testing new systems for CCL6 — all while keeping the line running safely and reliably. 

For commuters, the completed Circle Line loop means more direct journeys, fewer transfers and shorter travel times between key destinations across the island. But what did it take to bring this long-awaited milestone to life while trains continued to operate every day?

Read the full article to hear behind-the-scene accounts from SMRT's Head of Circle Line, Mr Ng Chan Cheok and Mr Isaac Goh, Deputy Engineering Maintenance Manager, on what it took to complete the Circle: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/3-hours-a-night-what-it-took-to-close-the-circle-line-loop-while-running-it