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East West MRT Line

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The East West Line (EWL) is the second Mass Rapid Transit line in Singapore. The line is currently Template:Convert long with 35 stations,[1] including four stations completed in 2017, known as the Tuas West Extension (TWE), making it the longest MRT line in Singapore. It currently takes about 70 minutes to travel from one end to the other (Pasir Ris to Tuas Link). The line is coloured green on MRT system maps.

Overview[]

As its name implies, the line connects central Singapore to both eastern and western parts of the island, with an additional branch between Changi Airport and Tanah Merah, operated as a separate shuttle service. The line passes through a short tunnel between Kembangan and Bedok and goes underground between Kallang and Redhill and passes through the median roads of Tanah Merah, Bedok, Queenstown, Commonwealth, Dover, Clementi, Pioneer, Joo Koon, Gul Circle, Tuas Crescent and Tuas West Road. It takes commuters to Jurong Bird Park, Science Centre, East Point Mall, Singapore Polytechnic, Jem, Bugis Junction, Paya Lebar Square, Bedok Mall, Tampines 1, Century Square and Tampines Mall. The line passes through Singapore river, Rochor River and Kallang River.

Constructed alongside the North South Line (NSL) in the 1980s, both the EWL and NSL utilise identical signalling equipment and rolling stock.

History[]

The East West Line is the second line to be built, when the City Hall to Outram Park segment was opened on 12 December 1987, with through services to Yio Chu Kang. It was extended to Clementi on 12 March 1988 and to Lakeside on 5 November 1988. Additionally, the eastern extension to Tanah Merah was opened on 4 November 1989 (when the current name was adopted to reflect the operational split from the North South Line), and to Pasir Ris on 16 December 1989. The last station of the original system, Boon Lay opened on 6 July 1990. On 18 October 2001 Dover station was opened, and then on 25 February 2002 the Expo and Changi Airport stations were opened. On 28 February 2009 the Pioneer and Joo Koon stations were officially opened to the public.

Dover MRT Station[]

Construction on a new infill station Dover station between Buona Vista station and Clementi station began in June 1998. The building of the station was met with reservations by some members of the public over the small area it serviced and there were criticisms over the spending of "taxpayers' money" chiefly for use only by students of one educational institution. Despite some opposition, the Land Transport Authority proceeded with the construction to serve commuters along Singapore Polytechnic with Dover housing estate. On 18 October 2001, Dover was opened. Prior to opening, test runs were conducted from 13 to 17 October 2001 when the trains stopped at this station but did not open their doors. Dover is the first station in the MRT network to be built as an infill station.

Changi Airport Line[]

The idea of extending the Mass Rapid Transit system to Changi Airport was reconsidered when Terminal 3 of the airport was being built. Earlier plans had long been made for a new line branching off from the existing East–West Line at Tanah Merah, with some conceptual plans showing a tentative route alignment up to the airport along Airport Boulevard, continuing beyond the airport to Changi Point, before turning southwest back towards the city along the eastern coasts. The plans were finally announced by then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 15 November 1996. However, the new route alignment showed a deviation from previous plans, where the final plan involved in building only the first two stations of Expo, and Changi Airport, the latter being the underground station built between Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. The alignment of the station at the airport also switched perpendicularly to an east–west direction, such that the station leads to two of the terminals directly from either end of the station. The station's designs were unveiled on 10 February 1998 with construction starting on 29 January 1999. Expo and Changi Airport were opened on 10 January 2001 and 8 February 2002 respectively and operates under a shuttle service. Prior to 22 July 2003, train services from Boon Lay commences after the opening, but were later reverted to shuttle services due to low patronage. On 25 May 2019, it was announced that the Changi Airport Extension will be converted to become part of Thomson-East Coast line Extension (TELe) by 2040.

To achieve greater operational efficiency and improve train frequency, in July 2003, the Boon Lay to Changi Airport through-train service was converted to a shuttle train service operating between Tanah Merah and Changi Airport stations. This conversion reduces waiting time for passengers travelling to Changi Airport from 12 minutes to 7 minutes during the peak period from 7.30 pm to 10.15 pm. With this improvement, passengers from Pasir Ris to Simei stations are also better served, as the peak period train frequency has increased.

We are committed to maintaining the system at the peak of operating performance, which involves an ongoing programme of investment in our physical infrastructure, and our rolling stock. As our MRT system approaches its seventeenth year of operations, parts of the rolling stock, the signalling systems and sub-systems are facing obsolescence or reduced supportability. Likewise, our first generation of 66 Kawasaki trains now require extensive renewal work. An upgrading project, to be completed in phases over the next four years, will incorporate physical enhancements to ensure a more pleasant transit experience for passengers, as well as greater reliability and safety.

Tuas West Extension (TWE)[]

Prior to the Tuas West Extension announcement, Tuas is only for their factories, and Raffles Marina where Bert Koh brought everyone to eat in 2002 - 2003 when at Ivory Heights. Later on, in 2010, they started making noise on providing connectivity to the city area. In the meantime, bus service 869 was introduced, from Tuas to Shenton Way. Construction began on 2012, during the time when it was extended to Legoland. Looks like they want to have some sense of having the Malaysia scene, their industries and don't want any hindrance here.

On 11 January 2011, the Tuas West Extension was announced. It is an extension of the East West Line from Joo Koon to Tuas Plaza (Tuas Link), and consists of a 7.5 km long twin-tracked MRT viaduct, four aboveground stations and a 26-hectare depot to provide stabling and maintenance facilities for the additional trains that will be bought for the extension and to cater for future expansion of the line.[2] The viaduct is integrated with part of a 4.8km long road viaduct along Pioneer Road, which will increase the road capacity to cope with anticipated increase in traffic. The stations — Gul Circle, Tuas Crescent, Tuas West Road and Tuas Plaza — will extend MRT connectivity to the Tuas area. When opened, the extension is expected to serve more than 100,000 commuters daily.[3]

Similarly to the preceding Circle and Downtown MRT Lines announced earlier, the four stations along the Tuas West Extension were open for public consultation from 16 December 2011 to 15 January 2012. The finalised station names were announced on 13 April 2012 and before the opening respectively.

On 4 May 2012, the Land Transport Authority marked the start of construction of the Tuas West Extension with a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the future Tuas Plaza station.[3]

On 26 October 2016, it was announced that that the stations will be opened in the second quarter of 2017 instead, so that the stations on the extension can take advantage of the new CBTC signalling system, which is being implemented on the North South and East West lines. On 27 April 2017, the Tuas West Extension was officially announced to open on 18 June 2017.

Half-height platform screen door installations[]

There were calls for platform screen doors to be installed at above-ground stations after several incidents in which passengers were killed or seriously injured by oncoming trains when they fell onto the railway tracks at above-ground stations. Underground stations already featured the doors since 1987. The authorities initially rejected the proposal by casting doubts over functionality and concerns about the high installation costs, but made an about-turn when the government announced plans to install half-height platform screen doors on the above-ground stations in January 2008, citing lower costs due to its becoming a more common feature worldwide. They were first installed at Jurong East and Pasir Ris stations in 2009 as trial runs. Installation of platform screen doors began at Clementi and Lakeside stations on April 2010. On 31 August 2011, the last station, Expo, began installation of half-height platform screen doors.

Tuas West Extension Timings[]

Monday to Friday[]

Time Frequency
7.00am - 8.50am 4 minutes
5.00pm - 6.00pm
(Eastbound)
5.00pm - 7.30pm
(Westbound)

Saturday[]

Time Frequency
2.00pm - 3.00pm 15 minutes
4.20pm - 5.00pm 8 - 9 minutes

Timeline of Stations Opened[]

Stations[]

Station Name Interchange/Notes Images First Train EB First Train WB Last Train EB Last Train WB
Pasir Ris Cross Island Line (2030) 05:25 00:41 23:23
Tampines Downtown Line 05:22 06:10 00:37 23:26
Simei   05:19 06:04 00:34 23:28
Tanah Merah Cross-Platform Interchange with train services to Expo or Changi Airport. Thomson-East Coast Line (2040) after conversion of the Changi Branch Line. Changi Branch Line will be converted to become part of TELe by 2040.   05:16 05:36
05:41 		00:31 23:31
Bedok   06:19 05:39 00:28 23:34
Kembangan   06:17 05:41 00:26 23:36
Eunos   06:14 05:44 00:23 23:38
Paya Lebar Circle Line
12545532 448499012018903 1461374357 n
06:12 05:46 00:21 23:41
Aljunied 06:09 05:49 00:18 23:43
Kallang   06:07 05:51 00:16 23:45
Lavender   06:05 05:53 00:14 23:48
Bugis Downtown Line 06:03 05:55 00:12 23:50
City Hall North South Line 06:01 05:57 00:10 23:52
Raffles Place 05:58 06:00 00:07 23:55
Tanjong Pagar   05:56 06:02 00:05 23:57
Outram Park North East Line
Thomson-East Coast Line		 05:54 06:04 00:03 23:59
Tiong Bahru   05:52 06:06 00:01 00:01
Redhill   05:50 06:08 23:59 00:03
Queenstown   05:48 06:10 23:57 00:05
Commonwealth   05:46 06:12 23:54 00:08
Buona Vista Circle Line 05:43 06:15 23:51 00:12
Dover   05:41 06:17 23:49 00:14
Clementi  Cross Island Line (2032) 05:39 06:19 23:46 00:17
Jurong East North South Line
Jurong Region Line (2028) 		05:42 05:15
05:55
06:01 		23:42 00:22
Chinese Garden   05:18 23:39 00:25
Lakeside   05:20 23:37 00:27
Boon Lay  Jurong Region Line (2027) 05:23 23:34 00:31
Pioneer   05:25
Joo Koon   05:29
Gul Circle 05:32
Tuas Crescent 05:34
Tuas West Road 05:36
Tuas Link 05:19 05:39
Changi Airport Branch Line (CAL) - service to be handed over to Thomson-East Coast Line in 2040
Tanah Merah Cross-Platform Interchange with train services to Tuas Link or Pasir Ris. 05:20 05:39 00:14 23:50
Expo Downtown Line 1794563 10203312619403032 1080292689 n 05:23 05:36 00:11 23:53
Changi Airport   05:28 05:31 00:06 23:58

SMRT used to operate the branch sector of Tanah Merah to Changi Airport as a through line from Boon Lay from 18 November 2001 until 22 July 2003, when it was replaced with a shuttle service.[4] SMRT operates a through line from Tuas Link to Changi Airport only when train services are disrupted between Tanah Merah and Pasir Ris, with peak-hour trains being withdrawn at Tanah Merah.

Pasir Ris MRT Station is a terminus for train services under the Specialised Module and Elective scheme (SME) from 18 June to 15 November. It could be either Tuas Plaza or Joo Koon. Platform 1 (Networking) is under Mr Oh Chee Kiat, and is for trains to Joo Koon. Platform 2 (Multimedia) is under Ms Florence Hu, and is for trains to Tuas Plaza. After the train accident on 15 November 2017, the SME scheme was permanently removed and all trains terminate at Joo Koon.

Joo Koon MRT Station is an ex-terminus and terminus for the half of the westbound trains before 18 June 2017, before the collisions.

First and Last Train Timings[]

Station First Train EB First Train WB Last Train EB Last Train WB
Paya Lebar 06:12
Bedok 06:19
Tanah Merah 06:22
Pasir Ris 05:51 (Sundays/PH)

Services[]

Services From To Day
Eastbound Boon Lay Tampines Weekdays (Digital)
Tuas Plaza Pasir Ris Saturdays (Digital)
Joo Koon Jurong East Sundays
Jurong East Tampines Sundays (Digital)
Westbound Pasir Ris Boon Lay Weekdays (Digital)
Tampines Saturdays
Tampines Tuas Plaza Saturdays (Digital)
Jurong East Joo Koon Sundays
Tampines Jurong East Sundays (Digital)
Eastbound Tanah Merah Changi Airport Weekdays (Digital)
Saturdays (Digital)
Sundays
Westbound Changi Airport Tanah Merah
  • Weekdays: 26/26 (100%) (Eastbound) / 25/26 (95.65%) (Westbound) = 96.15%
  • Saturdays: 31/32 (96.88%) (Eastbound) / 31/32 (96.88%) (Westbound) = 96.88%
  • Sundays: 22/27 (81.48%) (Eastbound) / 22/27 (81.48%) (Westbound) = 81.48%

Total signalling - 91.50% Complete.

Rolling stock[]

Six batches of rolling stock are in service on the line, C151, C651, C751B, C151A, C151B and R151. These trains operate from the two depots along the line, the Ulu Pandan Depot near Jurong East, Changi Depot after Tanah Merah and Tuas Depot near to Tuas Checkpoint.

Model Direction Weekday Saturday Sunday
C151 Eastbound Boon Lay - Tampines Joo Koon - Tampines
Westbound Pasir Ris - Tampines
C651 Eastbound
Westbound
C751B Eastbound
Westbound
C151A Eastbound Tuas Plaza - Joo Koon
Westbound Outram Park - Tuas Plaza
C151B Eastbound
Westbound
R151 Eastbound City Hall - Simei Clementi - Simei Outram Park - Simei
Westbound Tampines - Redhill Tampines -

Train control[]

The East West Line is currently equipped with Thales SelTrac fixed block signalling system with Automatic train control (ATC) under Automatic train operation (ATO) GoA 2 (STO). The subsystems consist of automatic train protection (ATP) to govern train speed, NetTrac MT Automatic Train Supervision (ATS) to track and schedule trains and a Computer-based interlocking (CBI) system that prevents incorrect signal and track points from being set.

The current signalling system is currently phasing out and will be replaced by a new Thales SelTrac® Communications-based train control (CBTC) moving-block signalling system.[5]

The stretch of the line from Jurong East to Tuas Plaza has been equipped with the new signalling system which came into use on June 2017. As the section of the track from Jurong East to Joo Koon are equipped with a mixed-mode system of both signalling systems, trains terminating at Tuas Plaza need to change drivers and systems at Jurong East, whereas trains terminating at Joo Koon do not need to change. The review will be conducted before subsequent implementation. The remainder was completed on 28 June 2017.

Automatic platform screen doors by Westinghouse were originally installed when the line opened, and Automatic Platform Screen Gates were later installed on elevated stations except for Tuas West Extensions stations, where they were manufactured by Fangda Group.

External links[]

References[]

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Template:Cite press release

Template:Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)

Template:Singapore railway lines


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