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| The TEL5 stations at Bedok South & Sungei Bedok and TELe Tanah Merah station as of mid-May 2026. |
With the Circle Line early closures & late openings coming to an end, the next line in queue for such works is the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) for phase 5 testing & integration works. We took a look at the vicinity of the 2 remaining stations due to open later this year and at the progress of works at Tanah Merah's new exits. Find out more after the jump.
The week-long shut down to reconfigure tracks at Tanah Merah station completed a day early last week, allowing for the resumption of train services. With the expanded Tanah Merah station now since reopened for a week, we take a look at the changes made to the station as part of the upgrade.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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:
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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 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 27 October 2024 - 1421 tunnel rings completed for the Woodlands-bound tunnel under contract T316. Source: Instagram |
This post will also be available on Instagram & Facebook on 15 November 2024.
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| A view of both TEL5 stations in October 2024. |
Works at the Thomson-East Coast Line phase 5 (TEL5) stations continues on through Q4 of 2024. With the structural works all completed, the works are focused on the architectural and mechanical & electrical elements. We take a closer look at the two stations in greater detail after the jump.
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| A view of some of the exits at Bedok South & Sungei Bedok stations in mid-August 2024. |
Contracts for Bedok South and Sungei Bedok stations on phase 5 of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) may have had a one year extension to their deadlines, but work on the stations has not slowed down a bit. A recent visit in the middle of the month saw that works were still pushing ahead at both stations, with the exit structures and ancillary buildings really getting dressed up now. With structural completion now behind the project teams, work has shifted to focus on the finer architectural details of the stations' facilities.
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| 17 June 2024 - A view of Exits 1 and 2 of the station near the junction of Upper East Coast Road with Bedok Road in end-Q2. |
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| 17 June 2024 - A view of Exits 2 and 3 in end-Q2. |
With the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL)'s phase 4 now open, the focus of the blog will shift to cover the remaining 2 stations along the line's phase 5 at Bedok South & Sungei Bedok. Over the past quarter, works have continued in the vicinity of the Bedok South station. These focus on the architectural elements of the station's exits and supporting infrastructure such as roads and commuter facilities.
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| 17 June 2024 |
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| 17 June 2024 |
With the opening of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL)'s fourth phase on 23 June, the line is nearly complete as initially envisioned following the merger of the former Thomson and Eastern Region Lines. This leaves the remaining initial fifth phase of 2 stations at Bedok South & Sungei Bedok under construction till their opening in 2026. Over the past month, the contractors have continued to work on the station's exits, commuter facilities and road reinstatement.
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| 21 June 2024 - A view of our small exhibit at the Friends of Land Transport booth at Marine Parade station during the TEL4 Preview event. |
The Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL)'s fourth phase was off to a roaring start this Friday with 9 hours of free rides during the preview event. Visitors to the event got to experience riding the trains on the line for free, while exploring the 7 stations stretching from Tanjong Rhu to Bayshore. Trains operated on an isolated loop along the stretch with trains terminating at Platform A at both termini. A separate shuttle train linked the TEL4's Tanjong Rhu station with TEL3's Garden by the Bay at both station's Platform B. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) really did go all out to make the event possible and accessible for everyone.
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| 9 May 2024 |
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| 9 May 2024 |
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| 27 May 2024 |
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| 27 May 2024 |
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| 27 May 2024 |
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| 27 May 2024 |
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| 27 May 2024 |
With the Thomson - East Coast Line (TEL)'s fourth phase about to open at the turn of the week, we thought it'd be a great time to take a walk down memory lane and look back at how far along the line has come. Join us as we take a stroll along the East Coast through time.
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| Floor plan for Tanjong Rhu station concourse level. Source: Stellar Lifestyle |
Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL)'s operator SMRT has recently added 4 stations along TEL4 to their list of retail units available for lease. The units available are located at Tanjong Rhu, Marine Parade, Siglap & Bayshore stations. We understand that retail units may also be available at Tanjong Katong and Marine Terrace stations although these are not currently listed on the SMRT retail arm's website.
With the listing of the retail units, the various floor plans of the stations have also become available for viewing. The available date provided on the website indicates "Stage 4" currently (which is not a date, but okay), and may roughly indicate that the units will be available in conjunction with the section's opening after 23 June 2024.
