The 20-km line runs entirely underground from HarbourFront to Punggol with a total of 14 stations, including interchanges to the East-West Line at Outram Park and to the North-South Line at Dhoby Ghaut. The Sengkang and Punggol LRTss also connect to the NEL at their respective stations.
The Land Transit Authority received approval for the construction of the North-East Line on 16 January, 1996. French company Alstom was chosen as the main contractor and manager of the project. The operating license was given to new operator SBS Transit in order to foster competition.
The line was scheduled for completion in 2002, but due to various problems in the automation the opening was repeatedly delayed. The North-East Line was finally opened on 20 June, 2003, with higher fares than existing lines to compensate for heavy construction costs (S$4.5 billion). However, the already built Buangkok station was not opened, as SBS claimed that the number of passengers would be too low to cover even operating costs.History