J101 - An update in Q1 2025

 

8 March 2025 - A view of Tengah Depot in end-Q1 2025.

It has been a while since we've done a deep dive into the progress of the various contracts along the Jurong Region Line (JRL). Hence we thought it'd be about time to restart the deep dives seeing how we're quickly coming to the end of Q1 of the year. We'll start with one of the most integral pieces of infrastructure along the line - Tengah Depot. Without the depot, the line would not be able to operate given that this is where the trains will be housed & maintained and the nerve centre of operations will be located. Without further ado, let's dive in after the jump.

To recap, here's an idea of the layout of Tengah Depot which will service trains on the JRL, buses via a bus depot and also house workers in dormitories.

J101 / Tengah Depot - A 2024 progress report

 

Top: Tengah depot on 11 January 2024
Bottom: Tengah depot on 5 December 2024

As the year draws to an end, we'll take a look back at the progress made at the various projects to see how far they've come. To kick things off, we'll begin the 2024 progress report at Tengah Depot on the Jurong Region Line (JRL). 

J101 - Tengah depot update Q2 2024

 

2 June 2024 - An aerial view of the Tengah depot in end-Q2.

Bit by bit, the Tengah depot - home of the Jurong Region Line (JRL)'s trains and operations, is inching towards a semblance of completion. The depot is one of the keys to enabling the line to function and be commissioned. Without the depot, it becomes a tremendous task to ensure that all the line's systems are able to integrate and function collectively as the line is commissioned ahead of opening. In the months prior to the line's opening, testing of the rolling stock (trains) will need to be done within the depot. This process requires the stabling shed, workshops, test tracks and operations control centre to be ready.

At present, none of these buildings are in a state ready to receive any units of the rolling stock. There are no paved roads within the compound to facilitate the delivery of the rolling stock either. Based on how the site looks, the stabling yards may be the first buildings to be ready for the delivery of the rolling stock. In this post, we'll take a deeper look at the progress made at the depot over the past quarter and size up what needs to be done to get it in basic shape for rolling stock delivery to happen.

J101 & J150 - Trackworks commence at Tengah Depot in Q1 2024

 

10 January 2024 - A view of Tengah depot at the beginning of Q1.

18 February 2024 - A view of Tengah depot in the middle of Q1.

18 March 2024  - A view of Tengah depot at the end of Q1.

As we reach the tail end of Q1 2024, we're beginning our quarterly updates with the Jurong Region Line (JRL) depot at Tengah. Built as part of contract J101, there still appears to be some way to go. According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA)'s press release, the J151 trains for the line are anticipated to arrive in the second half of the year. Judging from the work progress on site, 2025 might be a more appropriate window to see the arrival of the JRL trains instead. We'll take a dive in to the progress of the various elements at the depot during Q1.

J103 - Reception tracks update Q2 2023

28 May 2023 A view of viaduct piers that will support the reception tracks to Tengah Depot.

 Reception tracks are a not-so-talked-about but yet critical part of a rail line. Several years back, when the second generation of trains on the North East Line were undergoing system testing on the main line, one of the train's pantographs (power collecting device that receives power from the supply line) snagged the overhead electrification line while returning to the depot on the reception track. The single train thus managed to cause a service disruption even though the fault occurred off the main line.

What exactly are reception tracks? These are non-revenue tracks that link the main line (revenue service tracks) to the depot where trains go to be cleaned and maintained. If you happen to be travelling along the East-West Line (EWL) between Simei & Tanah Merah, you'll have noticed a lot of viaduct construction taking place. We did a video a few weeks back to explain which are the main line tracks and which are reception tracks. Perhaps you'd like to check that video out if you haven't yet done so? In any case, here's an update on the progress of the reception tracks being built under contract J103.

Contract awards - J101 & J105

Concept design options for Tengah Depot.
Source: LinkedIn

Over the last few weeks, several contracts for civil construction packages have been awarded by the Land Transport Authority to China Railway 11 Bureau Group who previously completed stations on the East West Line's Tuas West Extension in 2016. These consist of back-to-back awarded contracts J101 for the construction of Tengah depot and J105 for the construction of Jurong West & Bahar Junction stations.

Contract J1018 - Advanced earthworks for Tengah Depot

Ahead of the award of contract J101 for the construction of Tengah depot, advanced works contract J1018 has been underway for the clearing of the land. Formerly a densely vegetated area, work has been going on steadily for about a year and progressively, the land is being leveled out in preparation for the commencement of civil works (building of the physical structures).

06 August 2001
Source: Google Earth

10 February 2018
Source: Google Earth

30 September 2018
Source: Google Earth

Contract tendering update - J101, J102, J103, J105, J110

Following the official announcement of the Jurong Region Line (JRL) in May 2018, the tendering process for the civil contracts began around November last year. To date several large civil works contracts have been floated for tender.

Contract list as of 18 February 2019.

These include the civil works contracts for the construction of Tengah depot (contract J101), Choa Chu Kang interchange, Choa Chu Kang West and Tengah stations (contract J102), Hong Kah and Corporation stations (contract J103), Jurong West and Bahar Junction stations (contract J105) and Jurong East interchange (contract J110). In total, there should be approximately 13 civil works contracts for the line. To date 5 of these contracts have been floated and 1 contact - J102 - has been closed.

Contract awards can be expected approximately 6 months after the closure of the tender while tender of the remaining contracts should be expected to be completed by the year-end. Once the contracts have been awarded, a ground breaking ceremony will be held - potentially some time after the first quarter of 2020. This is when construction along the line will begin to ramp up in intensity. In the meantime, advanced work contracts are underway to facilitate the relocation of utilities, with the bulk of these contracts due for completion by September 2020.