Tampines East update

Tampines East station has made great progress with excavation starting at the station box as well as the cut & cover cripple siding section. Tunnel boring began on 5th December towards Tampines Central station. Once there, the internal parts of the TBM will be stripped out and a new shield used for re-assembly of the TBM before driving the Bukit Panjang track towards Tampines Central. Already, the Expo bound track under C923A has been completed and final breakthrough will take place once the excavation has reached formation level. TBM Argo by C923A contractor Shanghai Tunneling has been stripped out with the shield abandoned in-situ and the machine redeployed for its drive towards Upper Changi from the PIE shaft.

Panoramic view of the Tampines East worksite - the middle is the cut & cover portion, the right is the launch shaft.

Excavation in the main station box has reached the second strut level and is progressing steadily with soil being removed and struts being installed as the soil level descends further. The Tampines Avenue 7 roadway above has also been diverted over the worksite to allow excavation to continue.

View of cut & cover site looking towards the station box

A view of the launch shaft where the trailer is delivering further tunnel rings

Overview of one of the station entrances as seen from the nearby HDB

Station excavation near one of the entrances

Station excavation is in close proximity to the HDB blocks nearby

The extent of the excavation - 2 strutting layers down

More struts being delivered to support the retaining system as excavation progresses down

Additionally, nearby, there is a holding area where the second TBM shield can be seen. As mentioned earlier, this will be used once the TBM has completed its first drive to Tampines Central station where the internal components will be salvaged for the second drive while the outer layer known as the shield will be abandoned in the ground. This second shield will then be used together with the internal components to form a new TBM for the second drive.

Construction of both bounds towards Tampines Central station is expected to be completed by mid-2015.