Thomson–East Coast MRT line

Construction of TEL's Woodlands station in 2017

The Thomson Line (TSL) 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).[8]

On 16 June 2011, LTA announced 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.[9]

On 29 August 2012, it was announced that the completion of the TSL was pushed back to 2019 onwards instead of the indicative timeline of 2018 announced in the Land Transport Masterplan.[10]

Construction of the TSL began in January 2014.[11] 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.[12]

Construction site of Marine Parade station in 2022

The Eastern Region Line (ERL) was first announced on 23 October 2001.[13] 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.[14] The northern part of the Eastern Region Line became the third stage of the Downtown Line. The southern part of the Eastern Region Line became the East Coast stretch of the Thomson-East Coast line. Sungei Bedok would become an interchange between the Downtown and the 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.[15]

The director of rail services from LTA, 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[16] 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.[17] 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.[18]

The Eastern Region Line was merged with the Thomson Line on 15 August 2014 to form the Thomson–East Coast Line, extending the project from three to five stages, with nine more stations.[5]

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.[19][20]

SMRT Trains Ltd was appointed as the operator of the line on 15 September 2017.[21]

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.[22]

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 stations was delayed to January 2020 from the indicative time of 2019 announced earlier,[23] subsequently confirmed as 31 January 2020. Self-assistance kiosks were installed at all TEL MRT stations and will be rolled out to all stations.[24][25]

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.[26]

The opening of the second stage was initially delayed to the first quarter of 2021 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic circuit breaker period; the project was subsequently further delayed to the third quarter of 2021.[27][28][29][30][31][32]

On 30 April 2021, LTA handed over Stage 2 stations along the line to SMRT to get the section ready for operations.[33] On 30 June 2021, Transport Minister S. Iswaran announced that Stage 2 will open on 28 August 2021.[34] LTA announced on 13 August 2021 that there would be a virtual open house held from 23 to 27 August 2021 since all physical open houses were disallowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[35]

The second stage of the line, extending the line from Woodlands South to Caldecott, opened on 28 August 2021.[36]

On 23 November 2021, LTA announced that Mount Pleasant and Marina South stations will only open when housing developments in these areas are ready, instead of opening as part of Stage 3.[37] On 9 March 2022, Transport Minister S Iswaran announced in Parliament that TEL 3 would open in the 2nd half of 2022.[38]

On 17 August 2022, LTA handed over Stage 3 stations along the line to SMRT to get the section ready for operations by the end of 2022.[39][40]

On 7 October 2022, during a visit to the Outram Park and Maxwell TEL stations, Transport Minister S. Iswaran announced that the third stage of the line will commence operations on 13 November 2022.[41][42][43]

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 Thomson-East Coast Line.

On 25 May 2019, LTA confirmed that it will extend the Thomson–East Coast Line from Sungei Bedok to Changi Airport Terminal 5. Construction works to extend the TEL to the existing Changi Airport MRT station, which is a terminal station of the East West MRT line commenced in 2020. The stretch of East West MRT line between Tanah Merah and Changi Airport will be converted to form part of the Thomson–East Coast Line extension.[44][45] The extension is expected to begin construction after 2022,[46] with train services commencing by 2040.

The 30.4-kilometer (18.9 mi) Thomson-East Coast line runs in a north-south direction between Woodlands North and Gardens by the Bay stations and west-east direction between Gardens by the Bay and Sungei Bedok stations.[23] Beginning at Woodlands North, the line runs south passing the neighbourhood of Woodlands. Between Woodlands South and Springleaf, a branch has been implied for trains going to Mandai depot.[47] It continues heading south-east, bypassing Ang Mo Kio, towards Lentor before curving south towards Mayflower station.[34]

After Bright Hill station, the line curves south towards Caldecott station before curving west passing the unopened Mount Pleasant towards Stevens station, which it has an interchange with the Downtown line. From Napier station, the line heads east towards Orchard station, also interchanging with the North-South line. It continues heading south between Orchard and Havelock stations, cutting underneath the Singapore River before heading south-east towards Outram Park station, which has an interchange with the East-West and North-East lines.[43]

It then enters the Downtown Core, by heading in a south-east direction towards Marina Bay station, which also has an interchange with the North-South and Circle lines. The line then heads north-east towards Gardens by the Bay, the current terminus of the line. From 2024, upon the completion of Stage 4, the line will pass underneath the Kallang Basin, before banking north passing Founders’ Memorial station, which it was scheduled to complete in 2027, but then curves eastwards between Tanjong Rhu and Bayshore station, paralleling Marine Parade Road. In 2025, the line will continue east towards Sungei Bedok, the future terminus which it has an interchange with the Downtown line.[19]

Station codes for the line are brown, corresponding to the line's colour on the system map. Most stations are island stations, with the exception of Napier,[48] Maxwell,[49] Shenton Way and Marina Bay stations,[50][51] which have stacked side platforms. Future stations Katong Park and Tanjong Katong are planned to also have stacked side platforms,[52][53] and Tanjong Rhu station is planned to have side platforms.[54]

A station box is located in between Springleaf and Lentor Station provisionally named "Tagore".[55]

Legend

Elevated	Line terminus	Transfer outside paid area
Ground-level	Wheelchair accessible	Bus interchange
Underground	Civil Defence Shelter	Other transportation modes

List

Stage 1 to 3 (Opened, in operation)
Station code	Station name	Images	Interchange; Adjacent transportation	Opening	Cost
TE1 – RTS	Woodlands North		Johor Bahru–Singapore RTS    (2026)	31 January 2020; 3 years ago	S$337 million[lower-alpha 7]
TE2  NS9	Woodlands		North–South Line  ―  Woodlands  Woodlands Temporary		S$292 million[lower-alpha 8]
TE3	Woodlands South		—		S$143.7 million[lower-alpha 9]
					S$421.6 million[lower-alpha 10]
TE4	Springleaf			28 August 2021; 2 years ago	S$189.8 million[lower-alpha 11]
					S$383.3 million[lower-alpha 12]
TE5	Lentor				S$247.2 million[lower-alpha 13]
TE6	Mayflower				S$174.3 million[lower-alpha 14]
TE7  CR13	Bright Hill		Cross Island Line  (2030)		S$454.4 million[lower-alpha 15]
TE8	Upper Thomson		—		S$374.0 million[lower-alpha 16]
TE9  CC17	Caldecott		Circle Line		S$284.8 million[lower-alpha 17]
TE11  DT10	Stevens		Downtown Line	13 November 2022; 11 months ago	S$441.0 million[lower-alpha 18]
TE12	Napier		—		S$188.8 million[lower-alpha 19]
TE13	Orchard Boulevard				S$142.5 million[lower-alpha 20]
TE14  NS22	Orchard		North–South Line		S$498.3 million[lower-alpha 21]
TE15	Great World		—		S$315.8 million[lower-alpha 22]
TE16	Havelock				S$210.3 million[lower-alpha 23]
TE17  EW16  NE3	Outram Park		East–West Line    North East Line		S$300.8 million[lower-alpha 24]
TE18	Maxwell		—		S$221.8 million[lower-alpha 25]
TE19	Shenton Way				S$368 million[lower-alpha 26]
TE20  NS27  CE2	Marina Bay		North–South Line    Circle Line Extension		S$425 million[lower-alpha 27]
TE22	Gardens by the Bay		—		S$331.0 million[lower-alpha 28]
Stage 4 (under construction, to be ready by 2024)
TE23	Tanjong Rhu		—	1H 2024; 1 year's time	S$293.9 million[lower-alpha 29]
TE24	Katong Park				S$293.5 million[lower-alpha 30]
TE25	Tanjong Katong				S$145.6 million[lower-alpha 31]
TE26	Marine Parade				S$555.3 million[lower-alpha 32]
TE27	Marine Terrace				S$360.6 million[lower-alpha 33]
TE28	Siglap				S$175.76 million[lower-alpha 34]
TE29	Bayshore				S$295.9 million[lower-alpha 35]
Stage 5 (under construction, to be ready by 2025)
TE30	Bedok South		Bedok South	2025; 2 years' time	S$188.3 million[lower-alpha 36]
TE31  DT37	Sungei Bedok		Downtown Line  (2025)		S$417.5 million[lower-alpha 37]
Founders' Memorial station (under construction, to be ready in 2027)
TE22A	Founders' Memorial		In tandem with Founders' Memorial[56]	2027; 4 years' time	$242.4 million[lower-alpha 38]
Mount Pleasant station (Unopened, to be ready in the future)
TE10	Mount Pleasant		To be opened in tandem with future developments[37][57][58][59]	TBA	S$207.3 million[lower-alpha 39]
Marina South station (Unopened, to be ready in the future)
TE21	Marina South		To be opened in tandem with future developments[60]	TBA	S$488.0 million[lower-alpha 40]
Thomson-East Coast Line extension (The extension will take over the Changi Airport Branch of the  East–West Line )[61][45]
TBA			Cross Island Line   Changi Airport Terminal 5	2040; 17 years' time	TBA
TBA	Changi Airport		Changi Airport Terminals 1-4  ―  Changi Airport
	Expo		Downtown Line
	Tanah Merah		East–West Line

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).[67][68][69] 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.[69]

The first generation of rolling stock being introduced onto the Thomson–East Coast Line is the T251, built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries & CRRC Qingdao Sifang in Qingdao, China. The trains are built with 5 doors per side per car similar to that of Hong Kong MTR trains or Type A trains in China, which is the very first in Singapore to have this configuration. They are also completely automated and driverless. The trains are housed at the Mandai Depot and the future East Coast Integrated Depot (shared with the Downtown and the East West lines).[70]