Tampines Expressway (Punggol Road) Bus Interchange

The Tampines Expressway (Punggol Road) Bus Interchange (as we like to call it) is a pair of extended bus stops along the Tampines Expressway (TPE), located at the slip road of Punggol Road. These bus stops (or bus hubs) allow for transfer between the many bus services along the Tampines Expressway corridor.

The Tampines Expressway (Punggol Road) Bus Interchange comprises two long bus stops along the slip road of Tampines Expressway (TPE) leading up to Punggol Road. The bus stops are designed as transfer stops, for convenient bus transfer between the many bus services that serve the Tampines Expressway corridor.

Each interchange stop is designed as two separate bus stops two parts, a rearmost stop (denoted as 1a) and a frontmost stop (denoted as 1b), as indicated by the yellow boxes, Each stop handles different bus services and can accommodate two regular 12-metre buses at a time. Essentially, when a bus enters the stop, the first bus bay is 1a while the one in front is 1b.

The extended length of the bus bays allows for simultaneous boarding and alighting of commuters from more buses, providing shorter waiting and boarding times and a smoother journey for commuters. This is consistent with LTA’s initiative to upgrade bus stops to bus hubs, by lengthening bus bays and bus stop shelters at selected bus stops experiencing high commuter traffic.

The pair of interchange stops entered service on Sunday, 24th August 2014 with an initial six services (SBS Transit Services 3, 27, 34, 88, 89 and 89e) calling at the stops.

SBS Transit Bus Services 39, 109 & 168, as well as SMRT Buses Services 858 & 969, started calling at the pair of bus stops from Sunday, 5 October 2014.

New SBS Transit Bus Service 118 calls at the pair of bus stops from its launch date on 20 December 2015, while New SMRT Bus Service 110 calls at the pair of bus stops from its launch date on 22 October 2017.

With the second wave of bus services made to call at the pair of bus stops, commuters from the Northeast towns (such as Punggol, Sengkang, Buangkok and Hougang) can enjoy greater connectivity to various Eastern towns (Pasir Ris, Tampines and Bedok), as well as Changi Airport. From the interchange stop, Service 858 plies TPE/PIE express to the Airport directly, without winding through Tampines as with Service 27 and 34. Also, 969 plies express to Tampines Regional Centre via TPE, Tampines Avenue 9 and Tampines Concourse, providing an alternative route for commuters of Service 3, 27, 34, 39 and 168.

Service 39 no longer serves this pair of bus stops from 24 October 2021 with the amendment to Punggol Central via Pasir Ris Industrial Drive 1.

Construction:

LTA Contract ER413 titled “Roadworks and Bus Stops at TPE/Punggol Road Interchange” was awarded to CHC Construction Pte. Ltd. on 28 May 2012, for a sum of S$10,588,000.00. Construction work involved widening the existing slip road on both sides of the expressway, construction of the bus stop, and extension of sheltered linkways to connect with the pre-existing overhead bridge.

Modification to Westbound stop for improved traffic flow:

Owing to regular traffic congestion at the westbound bus stop (65191 Bef Punggol Road), the bus-only passageway was amended to allow shared vehicular traffic on the outer lane. The Mandatory Give Way to Buses scheme gives priority to buses filtering out of the bus bays.

Guide to Bus Services:

Bus Services by Stop:

For the Westbound bus stop, 1a caters to bus services which are either turning right into Punggol Road (towards Punggol) or continuing straight on the TPE. Bus stop 1b caters to bus services which are turning left into Punggol Road (towards Sengkang).

For the Eastbound bus stop, 1a caters to bus services which are either continuing to Tampines Avenue 10 (towards Tampines) or continuing straight along the TPE. Bus stop 1b caters to bus services which are continuing to Pasir Ris Drive 12 (towards Pasir Ris). Service 89e is an exception, continuing to Loyang Avenue towards Pasir Ris.

Posters

External Links & References:

• Tuen Mun Road Bus Interchange – Hong Kong Transport Department
• CNA – New Bus Stop Along TPE benefit commuters but causes traffic bottlenecks

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