SINGAPORE’s prime minister and minister for finance, Mr Lawrence Wong, officially opened Stage 4 of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL4) on June 21, with passenger services starting on June 23.
The 10.8km extension runs from Gardens by the Bay east along Singapore Strait to Bayshore. Free travel was provided after the official opening between 10.00 and 21.00 to give passengers an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the seven new stations.
According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), with the opening of TEL4, around 235,000 households will be within a 10-minute walk of an existing TEL station which now runs from Woodlands North to Bayshore.
“With the opening of TEL4, we are one step closer to the completion of the entire TEL,” Wong says. “It has been more than a decade since we announced TEL. And we have been opening the line in stages - 27 out of 32 TEL stations are now operational.
“The fifth stage of TEL, connecting Bayshore and Sungei Bedok, will be completed by 2026. Beyond that, we will build an extension to connect TEL to Changi Airport. This will be completed in the mid-2030s, together with the opening of Terminal 5.”
The LTA says the East Coast Integrated Depot, which has connecting tunnels to both TEL and the Downtown Line as well as viaducts from the East-West Line, will also open in 2026.
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