Image Credit: Land Transport Authority About the Thomson-East Coast Line The Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) will be the sixth rail line and the fourth fully automatic and driverless system line in Singapore. The line was announced on 15 August 2014 by the Land Transport Authority as the merger of the Thomson Line (TSL) and the Eastern Region Line (ERL). The 13km East Coast stretch of the TEL will connect commuters living in the eastern parts of Singapore and who are not directly served by the rail network currently, such as those in Tanjong Rhu, Siglap, Marine Parade, Upper East Coast and Bedok South, to the heart of the city. As part of the 43km long TEL, the East Coast stretch will also connect commuters to the North- South corridor. Fully underground, this new stretch will have nine stations, including one interchange station with the Downtown Line (DTL). In all, TEL will have 31 stations, of which seven are interchanges. New MRT Links in the East of Singapore Thomson-East Coast Line THE BACKGROUND Time Savings and Greater Accessibility TEL will create new links in the east and bring about time savings for commuters who travel to the Central Business District today by bus, or to the northern part of Singapore. For instance, a resident from East Coast travelling to Orchard will almost halve his journey time from 75 minutes to 45 minutes. A Republic Polytechnic student staying at Marine Parade can reach home in an hour, 20 minutes faster than the bus ride currently. In addition, the TEL stations are designed with more entrances and exits. As part of LTA’s efforts to improve first and last mile connectivity, some of these entrances on the East Coast stretch will also be connected to longer underpasses of up to 400 metres. These underpasses shelter commuters against the weather, reduce the time taken to walk to and from the station, and improve safety, particularly for the elderly and children, by removing the need to cross roads. KEY BENEFITS