Mandai MRT Depot
Overhead view of Mandai Depot (Photo: TSL Construction Blog)
Location	320 Mandai Road, Singapore 779405
Opened	2020
Type	At-grade; integrated with bus depot
Rolling stock	CT251
Operator	SMRT Trains
Line(s) served	Thomson-East Coast Line

Mandai MRT Depot is an at-grade MRT train depot serving the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL). The Mandai Depot facility is an integrated rail and bus depot, with the focus of this article being the rail depot.

The depot is built in Mandai just off the Seletar Expressway (SLE), covering an area of 320,000 square metres, making it the largest rail depot in Singapore by land area occupied. It is bordered by Mandai Road, Seletar Expressway (SLE) and Lorong Lada Hitam. The area was formerly Mandai Agrotechnology Park, and land previously occupied by Orchidville (Singapore’s largest orchid farm) was acquired to make way for the depot, along with the diversion of the Ulu Sembawang Park Connector.

See also: Mandai Bus Depot

Overview

The rail depot administration building houses the TEL Operations Control Centre (OCC) and Depot Control Centre (DCC). Maintenance and repair works on rolling stock are carried out at the Main Workshop, capable of servicing 11 trains concurrently. Trains are parked at the Stabling Yard, which has a capacity of up to 90 trains. Other supporting facilities include a train wash, permanent way maintenance facility, locomotive maintenance facility, and a 66kV substation.

With respect to the TEL, Mandai Depot is situated between Woodlands South and Springleaf stations, with a total of 3 reception tracks: 2 heading southbound towards Springleaf, joining the mainline after Woodlands South station, and 1 heading northbound towards Woodlands, joining the mainline before Woodlands station.

The east end of the Mandai Depot facility houses Mandai Bus Depot, which is capable of supporting at least 550 buses. In a space-saving move, the bus park is located on the roof of the Stabling Yard, with bus maintenance workshops and administrative offices adjacent to it.

Mandai Depot layout (Satellite photo: Google)

Stabling capacity at Mandai Depot will be complemented by the East Coast Integrated Depot due for opening in 2024.

A Rail Discovery Centre (RDC) will also be built at Mandai Depot, designed with a Learning Journey to cater to school students and adults. It aims to showcase the story of Singapore’s railway industry and our commitment to improve rail reliability, educate visitors, and instil a sense of pride in Singapore’s MRT network.

Construction:

Contract T201 for the construction of Mandai Depot was awarded to Jurong Primewide Pte Ltd in October 2013, at a contract sum of S$329 million. Construction began in December 2013 and the depot was completed in 2019.

Contract T206 for the construction of tunnels between Woodlands, Woodlands South and Mandai Depot was awarded to Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co., Ltd, at a contract sum of S$421.6 million.

Rolling stock:

Mandai Depot maintains CT251 trains operating on the TEL.

RTS Link Depot Plans

Mandai Train Depot was originally planned to support the Singapore–Johor Bahru Rapid Transit System Link (RTS Link) with the adoption of similar rolling stock, signalling systems and operations control facilities as the TEL to leverage economies of scale. This plan was affirmed in the legally-binding Bilateral Agreement signed by both countries on 16 January 2018.

However, technical changes to the project initiated by Malaysia to reduce project cost led to the full decoupling of the RTS Link from the Thomson East Coast Line. The RTS Link depot was be built at Wadi Hana in Johor Bahru, replacing Mandai Depot. These plans were affirmed in the Restated Bilateral Agreement signed on 30 July 2020.