TEL - A snapshot in May 2026

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.

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.

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.

TEL5 - A snapshot in October 2024

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.

TEL5 - A snapshot in August 2024

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.

T312 - Sungei Bedok update Q2 2024

 

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.

Similar to Bedok South station, works over the past quarter for contract T312 have seen a larger focus on architectural works rather than structural works. Various fittings have gone in to the station's 4 exits, allowing them to resemble station exits more closely. It is also interesting to see the architectural features as they begin appearing.

TEL5 - A snapshot in June 2024

17 June 2024

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.

T312 - Sungei Bedok update Q1 2024

 

Layout & numbering of exits at Sungei Bedok station.

17 March 2024 - A view of road reconfiguration works looking westwards to Bayshore.

Contract T312 is for the construction of Sungei Bedok station and associated cut & cover tunnels to the west of the station. These tunnels will house tracks allowing trains to switch directions before or after leaving the station on their westward journeys towards Woodlands North once operational. As a result of the construction technique chosen, there is some incidental space above the tracks which will be sealed up initially. The long-term plan is that this space can eventually be leased out as commercial space - be it for retail, food & beverage or even potentially offices or education centres.

This section of incidental space stretches from the location of the current Upper East Coast bus terminal up to Exits 1 and 2 of the Sungei Bedok station. Due to provisions for fire evacuation once the incidental space is opened up for commercial use in future, several emergency egress points need to be constructed, resulting in the numerous surface structures seen along Upper East Coast Road between the bus terminal and the station building. These structures are often confused by passersby as part of the station building.

T312 - Sungei Bedok update Q3 2023

 

23 September 2023 - A view of the exit in front of Bedok camp with the metal roof frame in place.

The last contract for the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) is T312 for the construction of Sungei Bedok station and cut & cover tunnels. Over the last quarter, the station's exits have begun to take shape with the roofs being installed. Typically, the exits would be the last parts of the station to be completed after all materials have been delivered through the openings into the station's interior. With work on the exits at the station proceeding, the station is entering into the final stages of completion. Once the escalators are installed, unless the station has special openings, it is relatively difficult for big & bulky materials such as ventilation ducts, escalators or pallets to be brought in.

T312 - Sungei Bedok update August 2023

 

9 August 2023 - A view of the station exit behind Bedok Food Centre.

It's been a while since we've had a look at what contractor KTC has been up to over at Sungei Bedok station's work site. Over the last month, we've paid the site a few visits and managed to get some pictures to update on the progress being made. Works are definitely at a less advanced stage than the stations along phase 4 of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) with completion of these stations only due around the first quarter of 2025.

T312 - Sungei Bedok update Q1 2023

 

19 February 2023 - A view of the western exits with the lift shafts coming up.

Sungei Bedok is the final station on this stretch of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), till works on the extension to Changi Airport begin. Thus it is fitting that we end our Q1 2023 update at this station, which will be a stacked interchange station also serving the Downtown Line (DTL). Yes, we will not be including progress at Bayshore station under TEL4 in this Q1 update - largely due to the fact that there is not much to update at that particular site. Nonetheless, let us dive into the Sungei Bedok update.

T312 - 2022 year-end update

 

An aerial view of the station site.
Source: iridium_hexafluoride

The second station on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) phase 5 and the first station on the Downtown Line (DTL) stage 3 extension is an integrated stacked interchange station. The upper platform will house the TEL trains while the DTL will take up the lower platform level. Work at the station has progressed a bit since our last visit round. Although we do not have pictures this round, back-filling has begun as casting for the roof slab of the station has been completed. Work at the exits is continuing as well.

T312 - Sungei Bedok update

19 August 2022 - A view of the station construction site
towards the east.

14 September 2022 - A view of the station construction
site looking eastwards.

Sungei Bedok will become the eastern terminus of both the Downtown and Thomson-East Coast Lines (DTL & TEL) come 2025. According to images released by the Land Transport Authority, the longer trains of the TEL will use the upper platform level while the shorter trains of the DTL will use the lower platforms in the integrated station.

Project Information Centre for East Coast Line

As is common practice for all rail lines being constructed, a Project Information Centre (PIC) has been established for the East Coast section of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL). The PIC also covers Xilin station's construction on the Downtown Line (DTL) extension and the Tanah Merah Modification on the East West Line.

A view of the PIC from Marine Parade Road.

Station renders

Render of Gardens Bay East station
Source: DP Architects

The consultant in charge of the Electrical & Architectural design for a stretch of the Thomson-East Coast Line from Gardens Bay East up to Marine Parade has recently released the first render of the station. Featuring entrance A which is situated in the park, DP Architects describes the design as "been developed with the concept of integrating into Garden’s Masterplan including the station entrances, cooling tower and vent shafts". Numerous water features can be seen in the render allowing the station entrance to blend into the lush green of the park. It is learned that the station may eventually open together with the rest of the stations along the East Coast stretch of the line. For renders of the other stations, do continue beyond the jump.

Civil Defense shelters

Is this logo familiar to you? You may have seen them at some MRT stations on existing lines indicating that these are Civil Defense (CD) shelters.

Source: Singapore Civil Defence Force

Station exit layout

With the LTA road show making its way around the various malls, we've done our research and come up with a few diagrams to show you the locations of the station exits. The exits have been numbered, against LTA's tradition of assigning letters, to help give an idea of the exact number of entry points per station. We hope this will help give you a better idea of where the entry points for the station will be situated. With many thanks to Seloloving at SSC for his help.

Tanjong Rhu station will have 2 exits.

Katong Park, a stacked station, will have 2 entry points. One exit is located at the child learning & development centre.

Amber, another station with stacked platforms, will have 3 entry points. Properties are being acquired to accommodate this station.

Marine Parade station, together with a pedestrian subway above the cripple siding, will feature 6 entry points.
Provisions for linkage to Parkway Parade are in the pipeline and depending on the developer's willingness, will be built eventually.

Marine Terrace station will also feature 6 entry points to expand the station's reach to schools and residents.

Siglap station will see 4 entry points being built, including two exits linked by a 100m long subway.

Bayshore station will see 5 entry points to cater to future developments in the area. A new road will be built over the station.

Bedok South is being built with proposed developments in mind and features 5 entry points.

Sungei Bedok terminus will feature 3 entry points.

Pre-qualification

Today the Land Transport Authority released the pre-qualification for contracts on the East Coast sector of the Thomson - East Coast Line. The following contracts are open for pre-qualification:

T301 - Construction of the 4-in-1 depot
T302 - Construction of station E1 and bored tunnels
T303 - Construction of Tanjong Rhu station (E2) and cut & cover tunnels
T305 - Construction of Katong Park station (E3) and bored tunnels
T306 - Construction of Amber station (E4)
T307 - Construction of Marine Parade station (E5) and cut & cover tunnels and bored tunnels
T308 - Construction of Marine Terrace station (E6) and cut & cover tunnels and bored tunnels
T309 - Construction of Siglap station (E7)
T310 - Construction of Bayshore station (E8) and cut & cover tunnels and bored tunnels
T311 - Construction of Bedok South station (E9) and bored tunnels
T312 - Construction of Sungei Bedok station (E10) and cut & cover tunnels
T313 - Construction of Xilin station (DT36) and cut & cover tunnels
T315 - Modifications to Tanah Merah station (EW4)

Of all the East Coast Line stations, Katong Park and Amber stations will feature stacked platforms. The rest of the stations will feature single-level platforms.