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| 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.
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| A render of the Changi Terminal 5 station's platform level. Source: CAG |
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| 20 May 2020 - A view of the existing Changi Airport station. The photo was taken during the covid lockdown period by the author who was an essential healthcare worker during the pandemic at the airport, hence allowed to travel to work during the lockdown period. The existing station will be absorbed into the TEL. |
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| A view of the Expo CAL station shortly after completion & opening in 2001. Since then, the station has been reconfigured to allow transfers to the DTL. The station will form part of the 6th phase of the TEL. |
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| 19 May 2025 - A view of the existing Tanah Merah station which has been undergoing expansion works over the past decade. The two centre tracks will be used for the TEL while the two outer tracks will remain for EWL use. |
Facts of the TELe
The extension of TEL will allow the line additional connections to the Cross Island Line (CRL) at Changi Terminal 5, Downtown Line (DTL) at Expo station and East-West Line (EWL) at Tanah Merah station. With the additional 14km section, TEL's total length will rise to 57km, making the line the longest & overtaking the EWL's existing 56.7km length, which includes the branch line known as CAL. The number of interchanges along the TEL will also rise to 11 (Woodlands, Bright Hill, Caldecott, Stevens, Orchard, Outram Park, Marina Bay, Sungei Bedok, Changi Terminal 5, Expo & Tanah Merah).
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| Existing stages of the TEL. Source: LTA |
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| Stations along the TELe. Own work created before the official announcement of Changi Terminal 5 station & TELe. |
Early works
Some early works have commenced and are close to completion for TEL's 6th phase. Contracts T315 and T316 were awarded in the years prior and have been underway for some time now.
Contract T315
This contract is for the expansion & alteration of the existing Tanah Merah station along the EWL. An additional platform has been added and the existing concourse area expanded. 2 new exits will connect to the station at the eastern end. These works are at the tail end and are expected to be completed around end-2025 progressively.
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| 7 January 2019 - A view of the model of the expanded Tanah Merah station at the former TEL4/5 PIC at Marine Terrace. As the Marine Terrace station has been completed, the PIC is no longer in operation. |
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| 7 January 2019 - A model of the expanded Tanah Merah station showing Exit C along Tanah Merah Kechil Avenue. |
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| 7 January 20219 - The model also showed Exit D outside The Glades condo, along New Upper Changi Road. |
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| 7 January 2019 - Project information panel as seen at the former TEL 4/5 PIC. |
Contract T316
This contract is for the construction of twin bored tunnels between Changi Airport's Terminal 5 and the existing Changi Airport station. Tunnel boring works were completed recently and the tunnels cross under the existing runway and taxiways at the airport.
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| Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) for contract T316. Image from internet. |
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| TBMs for contract T316 during the factory acceptance test. Source: STEC |
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| April 2022 - TBM launching for contract T316. Source: STEC |
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| April 2022 - TBM launching for contract T316. Source: STEC |
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| April 2022 - TBM launching for contract T316. Source: STEC |
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| 2024 - Ceremony to mark the completion of the eastbound tunnel. Source: LinkedIn |
What's next?
With large components of the phase already existing, what comes next? Several works are still needed in the run up to the line's conversion. These include contract T3206 for the conversion of systems along the existing CAL to support the trains that run on the TEL, a fully automated driverless system, as opposed to the semi-automated CAL & EWL. Platform screen gates at Tanah Merah & Expo stations and the platform screen doors at Changi Airport station will need to be replaced, as the TEL trains feature 5 doors per side as opposed to the 4 doors per side arrangement of the CAL trains. Further engineering hours will be required to support this conversion, with the LTA to detail service changes in future. According to the Straits Times, shuttle buses may be provided as rail replacement services when there are service changes.
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| Screen capture of pre-qualification for a TELe contract by LTA. |
Additionally, contracts will need to be awarded for the tunnels connecting Sungei Bedok with Changi Terminal 5 station. The Changi Terminal 5 station will be sited in the Ground Transportation Centre (GTC) of Changi Airport's Terminal 5 development and hence constructed by Changi Airport Group (CAG). Pre-qualifications for the tender to construct the GTC had been called in May 2025 by CAG and closed on 25 June. Similarly, the LTA had called for the pre-qualifications for a TELe contract in May 2025 as well. Tenders for the construction of tunnels and GTC have yet to be floated by either agency.
TL;DR
Here's a summary of the key information for you:
- The LTA announced TELe yesterday, including an interchange station with the CRL at Changi Terminal 5
- 3 existing stations along the CAL will be absorbed into the TEL
- TELe is to be completed in the mid-2030's
- With the extension, TEL will become the longest MRT line at 57km, surpassing the EWL's current 56.7km which includes the 6.4km CAL branch
- With TELe, the TEL will have 11 interchange stations
- Some early contracts have already been awarded & have been in progress - contracts T315 & T316
- Pre-qualification for contract to construct tunnels were called by LTA in May 2025
- Pre-qualification for contract to construction Changi Airport's Terminal 5 Ground Transportation Centre, which includes Changi Terminal 5 station, were called in May 2025
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