J102 - Tengah area update Q2 2023

 

31 May 2023 - A view of the Tengah Junction. The completed viaduct spans of the west route are
visible along with the first span of the east route in the distance. This picture is taken from the
reception track ascending to meet the upper level viaducts at Tengah station.
Source: LinkedIn

It has been a while since we've posted about the work going on within Tengah, so it'd be a good opportunity to cover this area which has seen a significant amount of progress. Since the start of the year, two launch gantries have been set up within Tengah new town to begin constructing the network of viaducts that will allow the Jurong Region Line (JRL) to run onwards to both Jurong Pier and Pandan Reservoir. We explore more of the progress of the Tengah junction point and briefly on Tengah station in this post - do note that this is a picture-heavy post.

8 April 2023 - A view of the viaduct construction within Tengah new town seen from the south.

8 April 2023 - A close up of viaduct pier construction works.

8 April 2023

8 April 2023 - Launch gantry Gaia with completion of the first few viaduct spans.

First span construction by gantry Gaia.
Source: LinkedIn

15 April 2023 - Gantry Gaia visible in the distance while gantry Mulan is about to be lifted into
place.
Source: LinkedIn

15 April 2023 - Gantry Mulan after being lifted into place.
Source: LinkedIn

16 April 2023 - Gantry Mulan seen from flats along Bukit Batok Road.

16 April 2023 - Gantry Mulan as seen from the south of Tengah.

16 April 2023 - Gantry Gaia along with viaduct construction works in Tengah, seen from the south.

17 April 2023 - A view of both gantries in position.
Source: LinkedIn

4 May 2023 - Night works for gantry Mulan before span construction begins.
Source: LinkedIn

4 May 2023 - A view of the Reception Track being constructed by the lifting frames and the
viaduct for the west route in the midground. Viaducts for the east route can be seen in the
background as well.
Source: LinkedIn

4 May 2023 - A view of all viaduct span construction equipment at work at Tengah Junction.
Source: LinkedIn

4 May 2023 - Gantry Mulan almost ready to commence work.
Source: LinkedIn

11 May 2023
Source: LinkedIn

11 May 2023 - A panoramic view from the top of gantry Mulan.
Source: LinkedIn

11 May 2023 - A panoramic view to the south from the top of gantry Mulan. Piers for the
non-revenue connecting viaduct can be seen.
Source: LinkedIn

11 May 2023 - Progress on the Reception Track and west route viaduct.
Source: LinkedIn

28 May 2023 - A view of ongoing viaduct construction works seen from the south.

28 May 2023 - A view of gantry Mulan's first span under construction.

31 May 2023 - Progress on the viaduct construction.
Source: LinkedIn

31 May 2023 - A view of gantry Gaia from the Reception Track viaduct.
Source: LinkedIn

31 May 2023 - Gantry Mulan and the first span constructed.
Source: LinkedIn

Tengah Junction
The point we're referring to as Tengah Junction is the diverging point south of Tengah station where the two branches of the JRL diverge. The west route will continue in a south-western trajectory and occupies the lower level of the viaduct from Tengah station. The east route running towards Pandan Reservoir will head in a south-eastern trajectory and occupies the upper level of the viaduct from Tengah station. Where the routes converge, the viaducts will be constructed in a stacked configuration.

At the point where the two routes diverge will be an additional non-revenue track connecting the east route's Tengah-bound track to the west route's Jurong Pier-bound track. This will serve to allow trains to be withdrawn from service and subsequently enter into the Tengah depot via reception tracks located south of Hong Kah station. Additionally, one of the reception tracks from Tengah depot will run through Hong Kah station, parallel to the Choa Chu Kang-bound trackway. This reception track will thereafter rise to the upper level to connect with the east route tracks and will run through Tengah station's upper platform level as well, parallel to one of the terminating tracks of the Tengah-bound trackway.

2 launch gantries have been erected around the Tengah Junction to begin constructing the viaducts. The first gantry, called Gaia, was officially launched in January this year. Actual viaduct construction works began some time after as the gantry was shuffled further north from its original starting position. Gaia has been constructing the viaduct for the west route of the JRL. As of the time of writing, Gaia has completed roughly 11 to 12 spans of viaduct and has been moving in a southerly direction, away from Tengah station towards Hong Kah station, since the first viaduct span was completed. It is anticipated that upon reaching the contract boundary at Hong Kah station, Gaia will begin constructing the lower level viaduct towards Tengah station from the pier where the first span was constructed as it is easier for the gantry to maneuver along without any overhead obstructions.

Subsequently, the second gantry called Mulan was recently erected in quarter 2 of the year and began construction of the viaduct for the east route of the JRL. As of the time of writing, the first span of viaduct has been completed. It is anticipated that Mulan will continue construction of the viaduct spans towards Tengah Plantation station to the east, up to the contract boundary just slightly ahead of the station. Mulan may then be repositioned to begin its northward crawl to construct the viaduct along the upper level of the stacked configuration, once Gaia has completed the construction of the lower level viaducts and the upper level piers completed. More information on the features of the 2 launch gantries can be found at the end of this post.

Separately, the reception track connecting to the upper level viaducts of the east route have also commenced construction by way of a lifting frame. As of the time of writing, approximately 8 segments on either end of the first pier have been lifted and secured into place through the balanced cantilever method.

8 April 2023 - Tengah station seen in the mid-ground with blue scaffold netting.

16 April 2023 - Tengah station in the mid-ground, partially blocked by the white mobile crane.

7 May 2023 - A concrete beam visible at the Tengah station site, roughly where the lower platform
should be located.

28 May 2023 - Another view of Tengah station in the midground at dusk.

Tengah station
The construction of Tengah station is well underway, although it is somewhat difficult to observe being hidden behind the tangle of viaducts, piers and construction equipment of Tengah Junction to the south of the station. Through a narrow opening to the west, we have been able to observe the progress as the construction netting at the station has climbed steadily.

It is anticipated that the station will have at least 3 levels - the concourse level, lower platform level & upper platform level - as seen in render flythroughs of the station. Construction work appears to have reached the lower platform level, with a concrete beam just visible where the platform should be located.

An escalator heading downwards from the Tengah station concourse.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia

In a render available on ChannelNewsAsia, separate from the contract J102 renders that we had posted previously, it appears that there is an escalator at Tengah station's concourse descending below. This escalator is noticeably absent in the render flythrough video that we had posted. This could potentially lead to a future exit or linkage to an underground bus interchange as the road network at Tengah town centre is supposed to be hidden below ground. At this point, we are uncertain about whether there is a basement level being constructed as part of the station.

Technical information on launch gantries
Gantry name - Gaia
Gantry model - LG550
Maximum designed span weight - 550 tonnes

Maximum designed span length - 45m

Maximum turning radius - 185m

Maximum designed gradient - 3%

Gantry name - Mulan

Gantry model - LG500

Maximum designed span weight - 500 tonnes

Maximum designed span length - 45m

Maximum turning radius - 400m

Maximum designed gradient - 3%

In the coming months leading up to quarter 3, we can expect that more spans of the viaduct will be completed and that construction will begin in the northwards direction towards Tengah station. Do stay tuned as we bring you continued updates on the JRL construction.

This post will be available on Instagram & Facebook on 9 June 2023.