T315 - Progress of works at Tanah Merah

6 December 2025 - An aerial view of the expanded Tanah Merah station with new viaducts visible.

Works at Tanah Merah station have been ongoing for a week now. These works would facilitate reconfiguration of the tracks along the East-West Line (EWL) to allow eastbound trains to call at a new platform in the expanded station. The new platform would allow for increased frequencies along the Changi Airport Line (CAL), which will be subsumed into the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) in a few years' time.

With publicly accessible vantage points limited, we were only able to catch views of the majority of the works affecting the eastbound tracks although the works also involved the westbound tracks. In view of this, the update mainly focuses on the works affecting the eastbound tracks.

T315 - A last look at Tanah Merah before transformation

A map of the Tanah Merah station, with exits renumbered following the station upgrade.

You've probably heard all about it by now - East-West Line (EWL), no service, 29th November to 8th December, shuttle buses, alternative routes. Another round of track work modifications are here, to enable the expansion of Tanah Merah station. We're here to repeat most of the information again, but also to add on what may be happening to the best of our knowledge and update the status of works before the big shut down.

TEL5 - A snapshot in October 2025

19 October 2025 - A view of the station name sign at Exit 2 of Bedok South station.

When it comes to the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL)'s phase 5, it can be said that the line is in the more 'boring' phases. This is due to the construction phase being largely completed, hence there are only minor changes taking place at both stations.

T315 - A Tanah Merah update in September 2025

 

29 September 2025 - A view of the new eastbound platform. Noise barrier installation works had
recommenced along the track.

With the official announcement of the Thomson-East Coast Line extension (TELe), we'll now begin coverage of Tanah Merah station on the East Coast Line Construction Blog as well. Works have been underway at Tanah Merah station since 2016 for the reconfiguration of the station to:

• Increase headway/frequency along the Changi Airport Line (CAL); and
• Connect the East-West Line (EWL) & CAL to the new integrated depot.

To do so, an additional island platform is being added to the station complex so that the existing eastbound EWL track can be diverted to this new platform. The existing track and platform will then be freed up to allow double tracking along the CAL, reducing the bottleneck that restricted frequencies on branch line. Eventually, this would also facilitate the conversion from the line being a branch of the EWL into part of the TEL main line.

Initially due for completion in 2024, pandemic-related delays have seen the completion date of the project pushed to 2026 instead. In December 2025, a service shut down was implemented to allow for one of the reception tracks connecting to the depot to be connected to the eastbound main line tracks. We check in with subsequent progress made on the tracks and station expansion works after the jump.

TELe - Officially announced

Alignment map of the Thomson-East Coast Line Extension (TELe).
Source: LTA

Yesterday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced a 14km extension to the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL). The extension consists of 1 new station at Changi Terminal 5 and new tunnels of 7.6km that will connect the 6th phase of the line to the existing stations along the Changi Airport Line (CAL). The three existing stations along the 6.4km long CAL will be absorbed into the TEL as well.

TEL5 - A snapshot in June 2025

A view of the two TEL5 stations as of June 2025.

With half the year since past, how have works on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL)'s final phase progressed? As the stations have largely been completed, changes these days appear to be more minor in nature as compared to station progress along the Jurong Region Line (JRL) or at Xilin station on the Downtown Line (DTL) for example. Join us as we explore the slight progress seen in the first half of the year after the jump.

TEL5 - Aerial snapshot in March 2025

9 March 2025 - An aerial view of Bedok South station.

Recently, en route back from Kuala Lumpur, we managed to get some great views of the two Thomson-East Coast Line phase 5 stations from the air. Despite the team's semi-frequent travel, various factors need to come together in order for us to get these shots - arrival timing, direction of landing, window seat, clear windows and weather - just to name a few.