11 new Thomson-East Coast Line MRT stations to open by year-end

Eleven new Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) MRT stations, including Orchard, Marina Bay and Outram Park are on course to open by the end of the year. 

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Aug 17) that they had handed over the 11 stations to SMRT to carry out operational testing over the next few months to prepare the stations for opening.

“This milestone marks the completion of all civil and structural works, as well as our systems integration and testing activities for our TEL3,” said LTA.

The full list of stations under the third expansion stage includes Stevens, Napier, Orchard Boulevard, Orchard, Great World, Havelock, Outram Park, Maxwell, Shenton Way, Marina Bay and Gardens by the Bay.

When this phase of the TEL is completed, more than 180,000 households will be within a 10-minute walk from a TEL station.

Earlier this year, Transport Minister S Iswaran shared in his ministry’s Committee of Supply debate that the expansion of TEL and the opening of new lines are part of the Ministry of Transport’s efforts to reach its goal of having eight in 10 households to be within a 10-minute walk of the nearest train station by 2030.

“When TEL is fully opened over the next few years, more than 240,000 households will be within a 10-minute walk from a TEL station,” he said.

The first stage of the TEL was introduced in January 2020 between Woodlands North and Woodlands South, followed by another six stations in the second stage between Springleaf and Caldecott in August 2021.