Contract awards - J151, J106, J107 & J110

Render of the contract J151 trains by Hyundai Rotem.
Source: LTA

February has been a milestone month in the progress of the Jurong Region Line (JRL) with the award of 4 major contracts for the line. These include contracts for supply of trains for the line as well as the construction of 2 stations and 2 interchanges.

The interior of the JRL trains by Hyundai Rotem.
Source: LTA

Contract J151, which is for the provision of 62 trains of 3-cars, was awarded to Korean rail manufacturer Hyundai Rotem. This marks the first entry for the company in supplying rolling stock to Singapore although they have been involved in refurbishing the first generation trains on the existing North-South & East-West lines in 2008. The trains will be capable of being lengthened to a 4-car configuration once demand warrants and will feature slightly wider doorways than on current MRT trains.

Based on renders of the interiors, it appears that the transverse seating will feature 7-seat long benches once again, after 5-seat benches were introduced on the recently launched Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL). Each bench is also accompanied by two windows, as opposed to single windows per bench as featured on the TEL and Downtown Line, in line with older rolling stock on other existing lines. We expect that most of the other features of the passenger cabins on these trains will be similar to those on other existing MRT lines.

A render of Boon Lay station looking westwards.
Source: LinkedIn

Also awarded were 2 contracts for the construction of interchange stations at Boon Lay and Jurong East. Both contracts also include addition & alteration works to the existing stations. At Boon Lay, it is expected that the existing East West Line platform will be lengthened on the western end to connect to the bottom of the JRL station. Escalators, stairs & elevators will provide transfer to the JRL concourse which will sit above the existing viaducts towards Pioneer station. From here passengers can access the JRL platforms within the new station itself.

A render of Boon Lay interchange looking eastwards.
Source: LTA

This contract, J106, was awarded to China Communications Construction Company Limited. Construction of the interchange station will be the company's first railway contract in Singapore.

Station footprint showing a cross section of the Jurong East interchange.
Source: LTA

The second contract awarded for the construction of an interchange is J110, for the Jurong East interchange, which was won by Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd. The company is currently involved in the construction of the Outram Park interchange station on the TEL.

An interior view of the iconic space frame roof from the original station built in the 1980s. 22 September 2019.

An interior view of the space frame roof at the new platform constructed by 2011. 22 September 2019.

As part of the contract, Jurong East interchange will undergo massive reconstruction to unify the interchange which has been continually expanded. The original station built in the 1980s featured 2 island platforms serving 3 tracks. In 2011, another platform and track were added and the station extended. With the addition of the JRL in a stacked formation at the station, it is necessary to modify the station further to accommodate the new line. As an entire new floor to house the upper platform is necessary, the station will gain a new roof to replace the existing iconic space frame roof.

An exterior view of the existing station with the space frame roof.
Source: Straits Times

An external render showing the new station design with the JRL.
Source: LTA

As part of the station redesign, the upper platform level will be extended so that passengers can transfer to any of the 6 existing platforms for access to the North South Line (NSL) & EWL. A new roof will be built over the entire structure which will now span across 4 island platforms and 5 tracks.

A render of Gek Poh station from the north.
Source: LTA

The last contract awarded, J107, is for the construction of 2 stations at Gek Poh and Tawas. Both stations will be built by Sembcorp Design & Construction Pte Ltd, which was previously involved in the construction of other stations on the existing MRT network.

A render of Tawas station.
Source: LTA

Both stations will feature side platforms with the tracks kept in the centre of the station. With the award of these contracts, all civil contracts for JRL1 have been successfully tendered. We expect that within the next couple of months, a ground breaking ceremony will be held for JRL1 which will mark the beginning of construction.