East Coast Integrated Depot
The depot will be located beside the current site of Changi Depot, which will be demolished. It will be the first MRT depot in Singapore to serve three MRT lines and also the third to be integrated with a bus depot in Singapore after the Tuas Depot on the East–West Line and Gali Batu Depot on the Downtown Line.
With this design, it is estimated that there will be a 44 hectares of land will be saved, equivalent to approximately 60 football fields. The depot will be able to house approximately >200 trains of varying sizes and lengths and >550 buses within the site.
History
It was first announced in August 2014 with an expected completion by 2024 but was delayed to 2026 due to COVID-19 pandemic. Contract T301 for the construction of East Coast Integrated Depot, reception tunnels and its associated facilities was awarded to GS Engineering & Construction Corporation at a sum of S$1.99 billion on 21 March 2016. Construction began in 2016 and was initially planned for completion in 2024.
On 20 September 2022, the Land Transport Authority updated that structural works has reached 75% and the depot will be operational in 2026.
Description
The East Coast Integrated Depot consists of a multi-level train depot and a multi-level bus depot.
Train depot
The train depot will have three levels containing three separate depots for three different MRT lines. The underground portion will house a 66-track depot for the Downtown Line, and will be brought into use following the opening of Stage 3e of the line. The at-grade portion will house a 62-track depot for the future Thomson–East Coast Line, to be used following the completion of Stage 5 of the line. Finally, the elevated portion will house a 72-track depot for the East–West Line, which will replace the existing Changi Depot. All three depots will operate independently of each other, a first for Singapore, and will be designed to be able to handle trains of different lengths, of 3, 4 and 6 respectively of the lines they operate on.
The facility will be located between Simei station and Tanah Merah station on the East–West Line, between Xilin station and Sungei Bedok station on the Downtown Line, and off Sungei Bedok station on the Thomson–East Coast Line. It will also connect to Tanah Merah station on the Thomson–East Coast Line after the Changi Airport Branch is absorbed into the line.
Bus Depot
The bus depot is a separate three-storey structure situated next to the train depot on the same site. Similar to Soon Lee Bus Park and Woodlands Bus Depot, it will contain workshops on the ground level, while the upper two levels will contain parking spaces.
References
- ^ "LTA Awards Contract to Build World's First Four-In-One Depot". Land Transport Authority. 21 March 2016. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ^ "Thomson-East Coast Line (East Coast Stretch) Breaks Ground Today". Land Transport Authority. 21 July 2016. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ Gabriel, Anita (21 March 2016). "LTA awards S$1.99b contract to build world's first four-in-one depot". The Business Times. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ^ Lim, Adrian (21 March 2016). "Korea-based construction firm to build four-in-one train and bus depot for $1.99 billion". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ "S'pore's largest train and bus depot to open in 2025, structural works 75% complete". 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.