District 25 · Outside Central Region
Woodlands · Kranji · Admiralty
Singapore's northern gateway... a growing regional centre and the doorstep to Malaysia.
Image: Woodlands Waterfront Park · Sjenghai · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
The History
The island's land gateway for a century.
Woodlands took its name from the rubber plantations that once covered the north, where kampongs and poultry farms sat among the trees before the first HDB flats arrived in 1972 and turned the area into a major town. Kranji — "tamarind tree" in Malay — gained a railway to Malaya in 1903 and, in time, Singapore's only racecourse, while the surrounding district became defined by the sea: Woodlands was chosen in the 1920s as the site of the great British naval base.
That northern coast also carries the island's wartime memory, with the Kranji War Memorial honouring the Commonwealth servicemen who fell defending Singapore. The Causeway to Johor, just offshore, has made this the country's land gateway for a century.
What's Changing
A regional centre, and a new cross-border link.
District 25 is being transformed into the Woodlands Regional Centre, the largest economic hub in the north. It spans two precincts: Woodlands Central, the retail and civic heart anchored by Causeway Point and the Woodlands MRT interchange, and Woodlands North Coast, a newer precinct planned for business, research and innovation.
The headline project is the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link: from the new Woodlands North station, a cross-border rail line runs over the Straits to Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru, slated to begin passenger service by the end of 2026 and set to transform daily travel between the two countries. With the Thomson-East Coast Line already serving the town, Woodlands is fast becoming the connected capital of the north.
Why Live Here
Four reasons District 25 is rising.
The capital of the north
The Woodlands Regional Centre brings offices, retail and a business hub to the north's largest town.
Gateway to Malaysia
The Causeway and the upcoming RTS Link make cross-border travel to Johor Bahru fast and easy.
Waterfront and green spaces
Woodlands Waterfront Park, Admiralty Park and the northern coast offer room to roam.
Strong connectivity
The Thomson-East Coast Line and future RTS Link put the city and the Causeway within easy reach.