Thomson–East Coast MRT line

The Thomson–East Coast line (TEL) is a medium-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line under development in Singapore.[2] Coloured brown on the rail map, it is fully underground serving 32 stations over 43 kilometres (27 mi) in length, and will be among the world's longest driverless rapid transit lines. It will run along a combined north–south and east–west corridor, starting in the north at Woodlands town, passing through Upper Thomson and the towns of Ang Mo Kio and Bishan, before heading south to Orchard and Marina Bay, then running eastwards along the east coast through Kallang, Marine Parade and Bedok South, before ending at Upper East Coast.

Thomson–East Coast line
TEL platforms of Woodlands North MRT station.
Overview
Native name	Malay: Laluan MRT Thomson-Pesisir Timur Chinese: 汤申-东海岸地铁线/汤东地铁线 Tamil: தாம்சன் - ஈஸ்ட் கோஸ்ட் எம்ஆர்டி வழி
Type	Rapid transit
System	Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)
Status	Operational (Stage 1) Under Testing (Stage 2) Under construction (Stages 3-5) Under planning (extension to Changi Airport)
Locale	Singapore
Termini	Woodlands North Woodlands South (till end 2020) Caldecott (2020, till 2021) Gardens by the Bay (2021, till 2023) Bayshore (2023, till 2024) Sungei Bedok (2024, till 2040) Tanah Merah (2040)
Stations	32 (3 operational, 6 testing, 23 under construction)
Services	1
Daily ridership	500,000 (expected)
Operation
Planned opening	2020 (Stage 2) 2021 (Stage 3) 2023 (Stage 4) 2024 (Stage 5) 2027 (Founders' Memorial MRT station) 2040 (extension to Changi Airport)
Opened	31 January 2020 (2020-01-31) (Stage 1)
Owner	Land Transport Authority
Operator(s)	SMRT Trains Ltd (SMRT Corporation)
Character	Fully Underground
Depot(s)	Mandai East Coast (Future)
Rolling stock	CT251
Technical
Line length	4.2 km (2.6 mi) (Operational) 38.8 km (24.1 mi) (Under construction)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC Third Rail[1]
Operating speed	90 km/h (56 mph)
Route map Thomson-East Coast MRT Line  Bukit Chagar  TE1  RTS  Woodlands North  ■ Jurong East – Marina South Pier   TE2  NS9  Woodlands  TE3  Woodlands South Mandai Depot Seletar River  TE4  Springleaf Seletar Expressway  TE5  Lentor  TE6  Mayflower Kallang River  ■ Aviation Park   TE7  CR13  Bright Hill  TE8  Upper Thomson  ■ Dhoby Ghaut   TE9  CC17  Caldecott  ■ HarbourFront  TE10  Mount Pleasant Pan Island Expressway Rochor River  ■ Bukit Panjang – Expo   TE11  DT10  Stevens  TE12  Napier  TE13  Orchard Boulevard ■ Jurong East   TE14  NS22  Orchard ■ Marina South Pier   TE15  Great World Singapore River  TE16  Havelock Central Expressway  ■ Tuas Link  TE17  EW16  NE3  Outram Park  ■ HarbourFront – Punggol   TE18  Maxwell  ■ Pasir Ris   TE19  Shenton Way  ■ Marina South Pier – Jurong East   ■ HarbourFront – Stadium   TE20  NS27  CE2  Marina Bay  TE21  Marina South  TE22  Gardens by the Bay Marina Reservoir  TE22A  Founders' Memorial East Coast Parkway  TE23  Tanjong Rhu  TE24  Katong Park  TE25  Tanjong Katong  TE26  Marine Parade Siglap Canal  TE27  Marine Terrace  TE28  Siglap  TE29  Bayshore  TE30  Bedok South  TE31  DT37  Sungei Bedok Bedok River East Coast Depot  ■ Bukit Panjang  Future extension to Changi Airport T5

The line was announced by the Land Transport Authority on 15 August 2014, with the merger of the previously planned Thomson (TSL) and Eastern Region (ERL) lines. By then, construction of the Thomson line has begun in January 2014. The line is set to be opened in 5 stages, with stage 1 (from Woodlands North to Woodlands South stations) opened on 31 January 2020 and stage 5 (from Bedok South to Sungei Bedok stations) opening in 2024. In January 2019, an infill station Founders' Memorial station was announced, with the LTA considering to integrate the Changi Airport Branch into the TEL. When fully opened, it is expected to serve about 500,000 commuters daily in the initial years, rising to one million commuters daily in the long term. It is the fourth MRT line to be operated by SMRT Trains Ltd and also the fourth to be completely automated and driverless. The line is currently served by Mandai Depot, with another depot East Coast Integrated Depot opening in 2024, and services are operated by CT251 trains.[3]

History

Thomson stretch

The construction of the TEL at Woodlands station.

The Thomson line was first announced on 25 January 2008. Several architectural and engineering consultancy packages were released in 2010 which indicated an increase in the number of stations from 18 in the initial announcement to the current 22 and length of the line from 27 to 30 km (17 to 19 mi).[4]

The Land Transport Authority announced on 16 June 2011 the location of the depot for the line, which was due to begin construction at the end of 2012. It also announced Woodlands as an interchange with the existing North South line and an additional station located near to Republic Polytechnic.[5]

On 29 August 2012, it was announced the Thomson line's deadline was pushed back to 2019 onwards instead of the indicative timeline of 2018 announced in the Land Transport Masterplan.[6] The line's deadline was pushed back to January 2020 as of 19 September 2019. The line officially opened on 31 January 2020.[7]

Construction of the Thomson line began in January 2014.[8]

The groundbreaking ceremony took place on 27 June that year at Woodlands. All the working station names were confirmed as the final names except for Sin Ming station which was changed to Bright Hill.

In addition, a station box located in between Springleaf and Lentor Station named "Tagore" is speculated to be a MRT station once the area is developed enough similar to Hume on the Downtown line and Bukit Brown on the Circle line.[9]

The first stage of the line, involving Woodlands North, Woodlands and Woodlands South, began operation on 31 January 2020 and currently exists on 4.2km length of track.[10]

East Coast stretch

Construction site of Marine Parade station.

The Eastern Region line (ERL) was first announced on 23 October 2001.[11] In its preliminary plans, ERL was to have been a 40 kilometre rectangular loop that would complement the existing East West line and enhance inter- and intra-town travelling in the eastern region. It would have looped around the Jalan Besar and East Coast areas, intersecting the Circle line and other lines along the way, benefiting residents in Tampines, Bedok, Marine Parade, MacPherson and Kaki Bukit.[12] The northern part of Eastern Region line is renamed to Downtown line stage 3, whereas the southern part of Eastern Region line is renamed to East Coast stretch of Thomson-East Coast line. Sungei Bedok became an interchange between the Downtown and Thomson-East Coast lines.

On 11 July 2012, Josephine Teo, Minister of State, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Transport, announced that the Land Transport Authority is starting architectural and engineering consultancy studies for the Eastern Region line, which will eventually connect to the Thomson line.[13]

The director of rail services from the Land Transport Authority, Melvyn Thong, said on 29 May 2013 at the Modern Railways conference that there are plans to extend the Eastern Region line to the future Changi Airport Terminal 4 which was at that time, set to be ready by 2017[14] but on 1 June that year, the Land Transport Authority clarified that the Eastern Region line will not provide an MRT link to the planned Terminal 4.[15] On 30 August that year, Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo unveiled plans that it will be linked to the future Changi Airport Terminal 5, a mega terminal, which will be the largest terminal in Singapore upon completion in the 2030s.[16]

Merger

TEL stations opening timeline

Date	Event
31 January 2020	Stage 1: Woodlands North – Woodlands South
End 2020	Stage 2: Springleaf – Caldecott
2021	Stage 3: Mount Pleasant – Gardens by the Bay
2023	Stage 4: Tanjong Rhu – Bayshore
2024	Stage 5: Bedok South – Sungei Bedok
2027	Opening of infill station Founders' Memorial
2040	Possible incorporation of the Changi Airport branch (Tanah Merah – Changi Airport)

The Eastern Region line was merged with the Thomson line on 15 August 2014 to form the Thomson–East Coast line, extending the project to five stages,[2] with nine more stations.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the East Coast stretch took place at Marine Parade on 21 July 2016. All the working station names, including Xilin on the Downtown line extension, were confirmed as the final names except for Amber station which was changed to Tanjong Katong. The authorities are also considering extending the Thomson–East Coast line to all terminals at Changi Airport, including the upcoming Terminal 5, announced Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan.[17][18]

SMRT Trains Ltd was appointed as the operator of the line on 15 September 2017.[19]

On 28 August 2019, the Land Transport Authority awarded several non-fare businesses along the line, with Asiaray Connect awarded an advertising contract and a consortium, made up of SMRT Experience, JR Business Development SEA and Alphaplus Investments appointed to run retail space. This is the first time the LTA outsourced these non-fare businesses.[20]

On 19 September that year, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan revealed that the opening of the first stage of the Thomson–East Coast line from Woodlands North to Woodlands South was delayed to January 2020 from the indicative time of 2019 announced earlier,[21] subsequently confirmed as 31 January 2020. Self-assistance kiosks were installed at all TEL MRT stations and will be rolled out to all stations.[7][22]

On 11 January 2020, SMRT and LTA hosted an open house for the first stage of the line, with the stage opening for revenue service on 31 January 2020.

Thomson–East Coast line extension

Tanah Merah station, which will be the future terminus of the line when the branch to Changi Airport station is converted to be part of the TEL.

The LTA has announced that studies are ongoing for the possibility of extending the Thomson–East Coast line from Sungei Bedok to either serve Changi Airport Terminal 5 directly or via Changi Airport MRT station, terminating at Changi Village. On 25 May 2019, it was confirmed that it will be extended to Changi Airport Terminal 5, which will start construction in 2020, and Changi Airport. The stretch of rail network between Tanah Merah and Changi Airport on the East West line will be converted to form part of the extension.[23][24] The extension is expected to begin construction after 2022,[25] with train services commencing by 2040.

Network and Operations

Map

Stations

Station Number	Station Name	Image	Interchange/Notes
TE1  RTS	Woodlands North		Possible Interchange with the Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System (Future)
TE2  NS9	Woodlands		Interchange with the North South line
TE3	Woodlands South		Current southern terminus of the line until stage 2 opens later in 2020.
Stage 2 (under testing, to be ready by 2020)
TE4	Springleaf
TE5	Lentor
TE6	Mayflower
TE7  CR13	Bright Hill		Interchange with the Cross Island line (2029)
TE8	Upper Thomson
TE9  CC17	Caldecott		Interchange with the Circle line
Stage 3 (under construction, to be ready by 2021)
TE10	Mount Pleasant
TE11  DT10	Stevens		Interchange with the Downtown line
TE12	Napier
TE13	Orchard Boulevard
TE14  NS22	Orchard		Interchange with the North South line
TE15	Great World
TE16	Havelock
TE17  EW16  NE3	Outram Park		Interchange with the East West line and the North East line
TE18	Maxwell
TE19	Shenton Way
TE20  NS27  CE2	Marina Bay		Interchange with the North South line and the Circle line extension
TE21	Marina South
TE22	Gardens by the Bay
Infill station (under construction, to be ready by 2027)
TE22A	Founders' Memorial[26]		To open in tandem with the Founders' Memorial in 2027.[27]
Stage 4 (under construction, to be ready by 2023)
TE23	Tanjong Rhu
TE24	Katong Park
TE25	Tanjong Katong
TE26	Marine Parade
TE27	Marine Terrace
TE28	Siglap
TE29	Bayshore
Stage 5 (under construction, to be ready by 2024)
TE30	Bedok South
TE31  DT37	Sungei Bedok		Interchange with the Downtown line
Thomson-East Coast line extension (under study, to be ready by 2040)
TE32  CR1	Changi Airport Terminal 5		Interchange with the Cross Island line (2040) Station name not announced.[28][24]
CG2  (till 2040)  TE33  (from 2040)	Changi Airport		Changi Branch line will be converted to become part of TELe by 2040.[28][24]
CG1  DT35  (till 2040)  TE34  DT35  (from 2040)	Expo		Interchange with the Downtown line Changi Branch line will be converted to become part of TELe by 2040.[28][24]
CG   EW4  (till 2040)  TE35  EW4  (from 2040)	Tanah Merah		Interchange with the East West line Changi Branch Line will be converted to become part of TELe by 2040.[28][24]

Train control

The Thomson–East Coast line is equipped with Alstom Urbalis 400 Communications-based train control (CBTC) moving block signalling system with Automatic train control (ATC) under Automatic train operation (ATO) GoA 4 (UTO).[29][30][31] The subsystems consist of Automatic train protection (ATP) to govern train speed, Iconis Automatic Train Supervision (ATS) to track and schedule trains and Smartlock Computer-based interlocking (CBI) system that prevents incorrect signal and track points to be set.

Alstom will also be supplying platform screen doors for the Thomson–East Coast line.[31]

Rolling Stock

The Thomson–East Coast line's first generation of rolling stock, the CT251, seen here at the Mandai Depot.

The first generation of rolling stock being introduced onto the Thomson–East Coast line is the CT251, built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries & CRRC Qingdao Sifang in Qingdao, China. These trains are the first in Singapore to have 5 doors per car, and are completely automated and driverless. 91 of the type are being built, to service both the Thomson–East Coast line (TEL) and the future Singapore–Johor Bahru Rapid Transit System (RTS).[32] The trains will be housed at the Mandai Depot and the future East Coast Integrated Depot (shared with the Downtown and the East West lines).[33]

References

1. http://www.lta.gov.sg/apps/news/page.aspx?c=2&id=f0b205a6-69ab-49b0-b94d-65394ee5e5c0
2. "Joint News Release by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) & Singapore Land Authority (SLA) – Thomson–East Coast Line: New MRT Links in the East". Land Transport Authority. 15 August 2014. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014.
3. "LTA unveils sites for Thomson Line terminal station". CNA. Archived from the original on 18 June 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. "Thomson Line Depot To Be Constructed in Mandai". Land Transport Authority. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
6. "Speech by Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Minister for Transport, at the Inspection of Downtown Line 1 Station and Announcement of Thomson Line alignment, 29 August 2012, 10.00am at Telok Ayer Station". Ministry of Transport. 29 August 2012. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
7. Liu, Vanessa (11 December 2019). "First three stations of Thomson-East Coast Line to begin service on 31 Jan; free travel for commuters for three days". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
8. "Caldecott – It's Beginning". Thomson Line Construction. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
9. "Springleaf and Tagore".
10. "LTA | Getting Around | Public Transport | Rail Network | Thomson-East Coast Line". www.lta.gov.sg. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
11. "Speech by Mr Yeo Cheow Tong at the Official Opening of Dover Station on 23 Oct 2001". MOT. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
12. "Speech by Mr Raymond Lim – Doubling our Rail Network". Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
13. "Speech by Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister of State, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Transport, at DTL3 Tunelling Works Ceremony". Ministry of Transport. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
14. "Direct MRT link to Changi Airport planned". The Straits Times. 30 May 2013. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
15. "No Terminal 4 link on Eastern Region Line". asiaone. 1 June 2013. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
16. "Changi T5 to land by mid 2020s, capacity to handle 50m passenger movements a year". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
17. "Names of MRT stations on Thomson–East Coast Line (East Coast stretch) announced". Today Online. 21 July 2016. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
18. Valerie Koh (21 July 2016). "Upcoming Thomson–East Coast Line may link to all terminals at Changi Airport". Today Online. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
19. "SMRT Trains Appointed to Operate the Thomson–East Coast Line". Land Transport Authority. 15 September 2017. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
20. Abdullah, Zhaki (28 August 2019). "Retail and advertising operations to be outsourced on Thomson-East Coast Line". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
21. Tan, Christopher (19 September 2019). "First phase of Thomson-East Coast Line to open before Chinese New Year next year, with three stations in Woodlands". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 19 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
22. Wong, Kai Yi (31 January 2020). "3 stations on Thomson-East Coast Line begin operations". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
23. "LTA to assess feasibility of new rail line connecting northeast and south Singapore". CNA. 25 May 2019. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
24. "At a glance: Key updates to MRT, bus network and more for 2040 master plan". TODAYonline. 25 May 2019. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
25. "最迟明年中招标进行研究 地铁汤东线延长线2022年后动工". 早报 (in Chinese). 18 November 2019. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
26. Tan, Christopher (7 January 2019). "Thomson-East Coast line to have station at Founders' Memorial in Marina Bay". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
27. "Founders' Memorial likely to open two years later than envisaged". Todayonline. 10 January 2019. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
28. "Land Transport Master Plan 2040: Bringing Singapore Together | Press Room | Land Transport Authority". Land Transport Authority. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
29. 2020-01-31T15:53:00+00:00. "Singapore's Thomson–East Coast metro line opens". Railway Gazette International. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
30. "GE Transportation Chosen by Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) To Supply the Signaling of New Thomson and Eastern Region Lines". Archived from the original on 11 March 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
31. "Singapore's LTA selects GE Transportation for driverless CBTC solution". Railway Technology. 7 May 2014. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
32. "Kawasaki Heavy Industries & CRRC Qingdao Sifang CT251 | Land Transport Guru". 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
33. "4-in-1 rail and bus depot in East Coast saved taxpayers S$2 billion: Khaw Boon Wan". CNA. Archived from the original on 23 February 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2019.

External links

• Thomson–East Coast Line