The Thomson-East Coast Line Stage 3 (TEL3) will start operating with 11 stations on 13 November 2022. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced that these TEL3 stations that will begin passenger services are Stevens, Napier, Orchard Boulevard, Orchard, Great World, Havelock, Outram Park, Maxwell, Shenton Way, Marina Bay, and Gardens by the Bay. There are four interchange stations which include Stevens, Orchard, Outram Park, and Marina Bay. Another two stations under TEL Stage 3 – Mount Pleasant and Marina South – will open only when housing developments around them are ready.

“This is a very important addition to our MRT system. (The 11 stations) have very important points of intersection with the existing MRT lines. And therefore, it adds much resilience and of course, convenience through interconnectivity for commuters in Singapore,” said Transport Minister S. Iswaran.

Free Travel on November 11, 2022

LTA will be conducting an opening event on November 11, 2022. Commuters can travel for free along the new stations from 10 am to 9 pm on that day. Keep following the social media pages of LTA to stay updated.

How commuters will benefit from TEL Stage 3 opening

With the latest stations, more than 180,000 households will be within a 10-minute walk from one of the 18 TEL stations. The line runs from Woodlands North to Gardens by the Bay.

Commuters can expect travel time savings of around 40 percent. For example, if you’re travelling from Bright Hill to Gardens by the Bay, it will take only 40 minutes via TEL as compared to about 65 minutes currently. 

SMRT will manage TEL Stage 3 stations

On 17 August 2022, LTA handed over Stage 3 stations along the line to SMRT Corporation, Singapore’s leading transport operator. Commenting on the same, SMRT Chairman, Seah Moon Ming, said: “We are working closely with LTA and system suppliers to prepare for a smooth opening of Stage 3 of the new Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL).”

Seah Moon Ming further added: “We’ve started Project Overwatch, an internal initiative to enhance the workings through video analytics and artificial intelligenceat our Operations Control Centre (OCC). Work is in progress to roll out Project Overwatch to the OCCs at NSEWL and ThomsonEast Coast Line (TEL).”

Ngien Hoon Ping said: “We are grateful to all commuters, MOT, LTA, and other stakeholders for their continued trust, confidence, and unwavering support. We will continue to deliver safe, reliable, and commuter-centred services.”

TEL Stages4 and 5 - Work in progress

TEL Stage 4, which comprises eight stations such as Tanjong Katong, Marine Parade, and Siglap, is expected to open in 2024. The final Stage 5, which comprises Bedok South and Sungei Bedok stations, will open in 2025. When fully opened, the 32 TEL stations will serve about 500,000 commuters daily initially and 1 million in the longer term.

Conclusion

Singapore’s mass rapid transit (MRT) network started with five stations in one line 35 years ago. Today, LTA and all stakeholders have worked together to build 190 stations. LTA will continue to build more stations for enhancing the MRT infrastructure. With the opening of 11 TEL 3 stations, public transport will become even more convenient and accessible for all Singaporeans.