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.

TEL5 - A snapshot in February 2025

A view of the two phase 5 stations of the Thomson-East Coast Line in February 2025.
Top (L - R) : TE30 - Bedok South (Exit 3, Exit 2)
Bottom (L - R) : TE31 - Sungei Bedok (Exit 1, Exit 2)

Its been a while since we've updated on the progress of the phase 5 station of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL). This has largely been due to the two stations being at advanced stages of completion, that there isn't much by the way of progress. Nonetheless, we'll do some periodic updates to check in at the stations and let you know the details of the changes that have taken place on site. As always, details after the jump.

T316 - Changi bound tunnel completed

 

November 2024
Source: LinkedIn

Earlier, we posted that tunneling for the Woodlands-bound tunnel under contract T316 had been completed in late October. We have recently come across a photo indicating that tunneling on the Changi-bound (in future Tanah Merah-bound) tunnel was completed this month as well. Congratulations to the Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co team on the successful completion of both bounds!

This post will also be available on Instagram & Facebook.

T316 - Woodlands bound tunnel completed

 

27 October 2024 - 1421 tunnel rings completed for the Woodlands-bound tunnel under
contract T316.
Source: Instagram

Recently, the team came across a small update for the TEL Extension contract T316 which was for the construction of twin bored tunnels connecting to the existing Changi Airport MRT station from the vicinity of the future Terminal 5. On the 27th October, tunnel boring works for the Woodlands-bound tunnel were completed with 1421 rings constructed. A hearty congratulations to the Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co on the achievement!

This post will also be available on Instagram & Facebook on 15 November 2024.