The Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) has announced the rail alignment and 22 station locations for 30km long fully underground Thomson Line (TSL). The line will connect commuters living along the North South corridor directly to the heart of the city and developments in the Marina Bay area.
TSL will run from Woodlands in the north to Marina Bay. Of the 22 stations, six will be interchange stations linking the East West Line (EWL), North South Line (NSL), North East Line (NEL), Circle Line (CCL) and the future Downtown Line (DTL), for greater accessibility and improved travel time.
Running parallel to the existing NSL, TSL will serve commuters living and working along its corridor in Woodlands, Sin Ming, Thomson, Kim Seng and Marina Bay areas that are not served by the existing MRT network. With six interchange stations, commuters can reach their destinations in the shortest possible time, directly or by making transfers at the interchanges.
The TSL will be completed in three stages, with the first stretch (three stations from Woodlands North to Woodlands South) to be completed in 2019. The second stretch (six stations from Springleaf to Caldecott) will be completed in 2020 and the final stretch (13 stations from Mount Pleasant to Gardens by the Bay) in 2021. When fully operational in 2021, the 22 stations on TSL will serve about 400,000 commuters daily.
While all efforts have been made to minimise land acquisition, the Government will need to acquire four full lots, including a post office along Upper Thomson Road and two landed properties along Stevens Road and Robin Close. Pearls Centre will also be affected by the TSL construction as a TSL tunnel will run under part of the building. To optimise land use around the future TSL station at Outram Park, Pearls Centre at Eu Tong Sen Street will be acquired and amalgamated with the adjoining State land for a high-density mixed-use development. Five other part lots will be acquired but the acquisition will not affect the main building structure.
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has gazetted the lands affected by acquisition today. Landowners who are directly affected will receive acquisition notices. SLA will also get in touch with them over the course of the next few weeks to assist them with their queries and concerns.
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