East Coast Line Construction: TEL - A snapshot in May 2024

An overview of TEL4 & 5 stations as of May 2024.
Top (L - R) : TE23 - Tanjong Rhu, TE24 - Katong Park, TE25 - Tanjong Katong;
Middle (L - R) : TE26 - Marine Parade, TE27 - Marine Terrace, TE28 - Siglap;
Bottom (L - R) : TE29 - Bayshore, TE30 - Bedok South, TE31 - Sungei Bedok.

3 weeks from today, the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL)'s phase 4 stations will open their doors to the public as part of the TEL4 preview. Two days later, trains will roll through the stations on actual revenue service. Ahead of the line's opening come June, we take a look back at how the stations are sprucing up ahead of the open house preview and subsequent revenue operations. Oh, and don't forget that you can participate in our TEL4 Render Vs Reality contest beginning on 21 June 2024 during the TEL4 Preview too.

Phase 4
With opening day a mere 3 weeks away now, all the signs of an MRT station coming to the neighbourhood have begun appearing. There's the new station smell if you happen to walk past one of the station exits or ventilation buildings, signage along connecting streets directing you towards the stations, audio announcements emanating from the public address systems and blasts of cool air from within the air conditioned stations - something for all the senses except taste.

TE23 - Tanjong Rhu (Contract T303)
In a nutshell: The station is ready to open once locality and system maps are added to the information boards at street level. While the station name signs are already in position, the information boards still remain empty. Recently, the bus stops connected to the station's 2 exits have begun service. The bus stop signs do not yet display the station's name & alphanumeric code despite the stops being named after the station's exits.

9 May 2024

TE24 - Katong Park (Contract T305)
In a nutshell: The station was the first to receive it name signage, public transport symbol caplet and information boards completed with, well, locality and connectivity information. More recently, teeny weeny signage hanging from the top of the shelter linkways has been added to direct commuters towards the station's exits.

9 May 2024

TE25 - Tanjong Katong (Contract T306)
In a nutshell: At the end of the month, the temporary barricades at Exit 1 were being removed. At other exits, these have been replaced by plastic chains to keep members of the public away from the exits that are not yet opened to the public. The sheltered linkways connecting to the bus stops are now fully operational, which means that it is possible to walk right up to the large skylight outside Exit 2, undoubtedly one of the station's distinguishing features. Signage along alleys and lanes adjoining to Tanjong Katong Road South, under which the station is located, are also sporting new directional signage pointing to the station.

27 May 2024

TE26 - Marine Parade (Contract T307)
In a nutshell: The station's exits have been progressively opening up to public view and @notkh26 has graciously shared some images with us to mark the progress of the three exits connecting directly to the main station box. The exit directories have been going up at the information boards, making Marine Parade the second station to have this information fitted in. Elsewhere, work is still ongoing to apply finishing touches to facilities such as pedestrian walkways, sheltered linkways and pick-up/drop-off points. Contractor Samsung C&T is cutting it close, completing works down to the wire - especially over at Exit 6.

27 May 2024

1 May 2026
Image by @notkh26

28 May 2026
Image by @notkh26

30 May 2026
Image by @notkh26

28 May 2026
Image by @notkh26

TE27 - Marine Terrace (Contract T308)
In a nutshell: The bus stop at the station's main exit has been pressed into use. Reinstatement works for the pedestrian path and drainage system in front of the neighbourhood police centre are also underway. Meanwhile, the rest of the exits have been tidied up ahead of the preview and revenue operations commencement days coming up. Information display boards at the station's exits still remain empty.

27 May 2024

TE28 - Siglap (Contract T309)
In a nutshell: All four station exits are good to go. Landscaping works are completed, including painting out a path that active mobility users can make use of for first-mile and/or last-mile connections. This path takes a slight detour around the station's ventilation shaft which also conveniently houses bicycle parking stands.

27 May 2024

TE29 - Bayshore (Contract T310)
In a nutshell: As the station has been ready for some time now, we did not visit the exits up close and personal this round. The greatest progress can be seen in the covered linkway that connects Exit 3 with a bus stop along Upper East Coast Road. The linkway is now completed, including a section of elevated shelter across the access driveway for the preschool at the junction of Upper East Coast and Bayshore Roads.

27 May 2024

Phase 5
Unfortunately, the subsequent phase of the TEL will take just a little longer to be opened to the public. Nonetheless, both the stations are making significant progress towards completion.

TE30 - Bedok South (Contract T311)
In a nutshell: All 5 exits are well into the architectural works phase of the construction cycle. With each featuring a distinctive colour scheme, the exits are all currently in the process of being clad with wall tiling according to the individual exit's colour scheme. Work is also progressing with the reinstatement and straightening out of the Upper East Coast Road. Commuter facilities are also being built and will hopefully be opened much sooner than the station for the convenience of commuters.

27 May 2024

TE31 - Sungei Bedok (Contract T312)
In a nutshell: The final station along the line is taking shape as well. Both Exits 1 and 2 are well along their way to being fitted out. Cladding has been installed and other architectural works are being carried out to fit the exits out. Further along, road reinstatement works are underway, placing Upper East Coast Road in its final alignment above the station and connecting cut & cover tunnels. Commuter facilities are currently under construction near the station's exits as well.

27 May 2024

This is likely to be one of our final updates for TEL4 before the big preview day and subsequent revenue operations commencement day. We hope that you'll have fun and participate in the TEL4 Render Vs Reality contest that we're putting together. Do drop by the preview, explore the stations and ride the trains to experience the MRT along the east coast - a dream for many that is weeks or days away from becoming a reality. The blog will continue to bring you updates on TEL5 and subsequently the TELe when more contracts for that project are awarded.

In the meantime, thank you for following along with the blog since we began posting on the then known ERL, approximately 10 years ago. It's been quite the journey, from official announcement to ground breaking, coming through a pandemic and finally seeing the section go live. When you ride the trains, do spare a moment to think of all the planners, engineers, architects and labourers that worked hard to bring the TEL to reality as it would not be possible without them. We'd also like to thank @notkh26 for allowing us to use his photos in this update. If you'd like to share an update with us or tip us off on something you've seen, do feel free to reach out to us.

A similar but consolidated (a.k.a. simplified) post will be available on Instagram & Facebook on 1 June 2024.

East Coast Line Construction

Friday, May 31, 2024

TEL - A snapshot in May 2024

No comments:

Post a Comment