Ridership on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) of Singapore’s MRT system has increased sharply over the last few months. This is largely due to the launch of 11 new stations on the TEL back in November last year.
Since the launch of the stations from Stevens to Gardens by the Bay, the number of commuters using the TEL has jumped nearly three times.
The most popular stations in February were Maxwell and Great World.
Responding to queries from MS News, a spokesperson from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the average weekday ridership on the TEL increased from 60,000 commuters in Oct 2022 to 160,000 in Feb 2023.
The new TEL3 stations primarily serve locations in the central business district (CBD), such as Tanjong Pagar and Chinatown.
It has also made the previously unserved River Valley and Kim Seng Road areas more accessible.
The TEL3 interchange stations have also elevated the commuting experience for busy Singaporeans. The interchange stations connected to other MRT services are:
Before the launch of the newest line, the only ‘tri-line interchange’ was the Dhoby Ghaut station, which sees commuters from the NSL, CCL, and the NEL. Now, Outram Park and Marina Bay have also joined its ranks.
Outram Park TEL station
The LTA saw the number of commuters travelling between Orchard and Outram Park going up by around 10% since the launch of the TEL3 stations. 80% of commuters riding on TEL3 also save 10 minutes or more in travel time.
Statistics provided to us said that it used to take 44mins for someone who stays in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 near the Mayflower station to get to the CBD, near Shenton Way. Now, it only takes them 31mins to get there with the TEL.
The TEL also serves as an alternative travel option for commuters travelling to-and-fro the North and the city. This enhances the resilience of the rail network, and allow people to have more travel options.
As trip distances are reduced, train rides for commuters on the TEL are also slightly cheaper than before.
The TEL opened in January 2020, when its first phase was launched with three stations: Woodlands North, Woodlands, and Woodlands South.
In August 2021, the second phase was launched after some delay, with a line of new stations connecting Springleaf to Caldecott.
Including the new stations under Phase 3, a TEL station can be reached with a walk of no more than 10mins from 180,000 households in Singapore.
According to LTA, 10 more stations will be added to the TEL in two phases over the next two years. Most of them will serve the east side of Singapore, connecting the East Coast/Katong area to the areas currently served by the TEL.
They are:
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Featured image by MS News.
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