Commuters on the East-West Line (EWL) will experience disruptions from December 7 to December 10 as train services between Tanah Merah and Tampines stations will be temporarily halted for essential track works. According to CNA, this is due to the suspension to allow for the transfer of tracks from the EWL to the new East Coast Integrated Depot.
Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operator SMRT have announced the implementation of a shuttle bus service, Shuttle 7, to facilitate travel between Tampines, Simei, and Tanah Merah stations during the affected period. The shuttle buses, which will number up to 55 double-decker buses and leave every three to five minutes, will charge the same fare as the MRT for the same distance.
Although the actual travel time between Simei and Tanah Merah stations is about 15 minutes, the Simei to Tampines leg will take about 18 minutes give and take traffic. Passengers commuting between Tampines and Tanah Merah stations are encouraged to consider using the Downtown Line (DTL) or other available travel alternatives during the service suspension.
Despite the disruptions in the specified segment, trains will continue to operate every five minutes between Tampines and Pasir Ris stations and at intervals of eight minutes between Tanah Merah and Expo stations, along with an eleven-minute frequency between Expo and Changi Airport stations.
Approximately 100,000 daily commuters are expected to be affected by the temporary service suspension, with their travel times possibly extended by 20 to 30 minutes. Now that westbound trains will take additional time to reverse direction at Tuas Link, LTA, and SMRT have explained the operational changes that will occur while the disruption is in effect.
On Dec 7 and 8, all westbound EWL trains leaving from Tanah Merah will turn around at Tuas Link. To cope with the expected high volume of passengers on Dec 9 and 10, all EWL trains will take turns terminating at Paya Lebar and Tuas Link stations during peak hours; therefore, train frequency will be shortened to 2 1/2 to 5 mins.
Due to the changes in service, metro riders should expect crowding at the stations and bus stops, a and allowtra travel time for the following four days. To ease travel planning, the LTA’s MyTransport.SG mobile app has been recommended for efficient trip scheduling.
These works are critical to the linking of the EWL tracks to the East Coast Integrated Depot and thus the old tracks, sleepers, and power-supplying third rails must all be removed over this 80-meter section. The new combined depot, scheduled to be completed by 2026 will house a large number of trains from the DTL, Thomson-East Coast Line, and EWL, and also a large bus depot.
