Early Closure, Late Opening of Thomson-East Coast Line (April – July 2020)

Early Closures & Late Openings along the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) between Woodlands North and Woodlands South will take place on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays from 3 April 2020 to 19 July 2020 to facilitate additional engineering hours to test the systems and trains in preparation for the opening of TEL Stage 2 later in 2020.

This will include:

• Early Closure between Woodlands North & Woodlands South
  Every Friday, Saturday & Sunday from 3 April 2020 to 19 July 2020
• Late Opening between Woodlands North & Woodlands South
  Every Saturday & Sunday from 4 April 2020 to 26 July 2020

Temporary extension of ECLO:

Due to reduced train frequencies and shortened operating hours as a result of the Singapore COVID-19 Circuit Breaker Measures (from 17 April 2020 till 1 June 2020, subject to extension), operating hours of the TEL are shortened to 6:30am to 8:00pm daily.

Change in ECLO arrangements for 24, 25 & 26 July 2020:

On 15 July 2020, SMRT released a new set of arrangements for TEL Early Closures & Late Openings for July & August 2020. This supersedes the previous arrangements on 24, 25 & 26 July 2020.

Covered in this article:

• Affected MRT Stations
• First & Last train timings
• Alternate Bus Services

Affected MRT Stations

Thomson-East Coast Line

• TE1 Woodlands North
• TE2NS9 Woodlands
• TE3 Woodlands South

As a result, TEL train services will be unavailable during the periods of closure.

Affected Hours & Dates

TEL operating hours were further shortened to 6:30am to 8:00pm daily due to the Singapore COVID-19 Circuit Breaker Measures (from 17 April 2020 till 18 June 2020).

Revised TEL operating hours with Early Closures & Late Openings will take effect from 20 July 2020 till 30 August 2020.

These arrangements supersede planned Early Closures & Late Openings of the TEL.

Early Closure

On Fridays during Early Closure, train service will end at about 10:00 pm.

• 3, 10, 17 & 24 April 2020
• 8, 15, 22 & 29 May 2020
• 5, 12, 19 & 26 June 2020
• 3, 10, 17 & 24 July 2020

Early Closure & Late Opening

On Saturdays and Sundays during Early Closure & Late Opening, train services will start at about 6:30 am and end at about 10:00 pm.

• 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 & 26 April 2020
• 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 & 31 May 2020
• 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 & 28 June 2020
• 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 & 26 July 2020

First & Last Train Timings at Affected Stations

Alternate Bus Services

During Early Closure & Late Opening of TEL, commuters can take alternative bus services to the affected train stations.

• SMRT Bus Service 856
  – At Woodlands Temp Int for TE2NS9 Woodlands
  – At Bus Stop 47201 – W’lands Nth Stn, Woodlands North Coast Rd for TE1 Woodlands North
• SMRT Bus Services 901 & 901M
  – At Woodlands Temp Int for TE2NS9 Woodlands
  – At Bus Stop 46981 – W’lands Sth Stn Exit 2, Woodlands Ave 1 for TE3 Woodlands South from Woodlands
  – At Bus Stop 46989 – W’lands Sth Stn Exit 1, Woodlands Ave 1 for TE3 Woodlands South towards Woodlands

See Also:

• Shortened Operating Hours for Rail Renewal Work
• DTL Rail Replacement Services (May – Aug 2017)
• Early Closure, Late Opening of Thomson-East Coast Line (July – August 2020)

This series of Early Closure & Late Opening for TEL is similar to that of the Downtown Line back in 2017, where it had late openings to facilitate testing in preparation of the opening of Downtown Line Stage 3.

External Links & References:

• Joint News Release by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) & SMRT: Shorter Operating Hours for Thomson-East Coast Line from April to July 2020 – LTA