December Tunnel Progress

Nov 29

S761 has just completed excavation of the Expo Bound tunnel between UPC and XPO, marking the end of its second and final drive.

Dec 5
After a long and arduous drive, the BP bound machine from the prison shaft has docked at Bedok Reservoir at last. The machine will begin to dismantle while the cutterhead and essential electrical components within the backup gantry be brought back to the surface to be reused for the second drive to Tampines West. It will join its sister machine to be the final TBM launch of the entire Downtown Line, estimated in February 2015. 6 tunnels remaining.

We thank Karthik & Sankar from KTC & Tritech for the consistent updates.

DTL3 Tunnel Progress as of 13 December. 4 tunnels remaining.

Dec 12
The final Herrenknecht TBM along the entire Downtown Line has just docked at the completed Tai Seng Facility Building this morning. S693 (TBM2) completed a 1445-ring drive (2.0km) from the Ubi launch shaft to TSFB for the Reception Track 6, tunnelling one of the longest drives along the DTL. This is Nishimatsu's final breakthrough within C929A as the tunnel contract wraps up.

This is also the DTL's final breakthrough for a single-driven TBM, with the remaining 5 TBMs along DTL3 executing or preparing their second drive.

With great thanks to the tunnelling team from Nishimatsu for the frequent progress updates.

Dec 13
The Expo Bound TBM from the Stadium Shaft has docked into Tampines Central Station. 4 tunnels to go.

Herrenknecht, Nishimatsu and LTA C929A team gracing the breakthrough of S693 at Tai Seng Facility Building

October Tunnel Progress

Tunnelling milestones achieved towards the end of October:

- Launch of S761 from UPC to XPO EP bound

- Breakthrough of Expo bound TBM from Prison Shaft to BDR

October Tunnel Progress

FSC completed in BP bound tunnel between JLB and BCL this month

Upper Changi & Tampines East progress

Following the line down from Expo station, we passed by Upper Changi station. As there aren't many viewing points for this station, not much is known about the progress.

Having passed through Upper Changi, the line cuts through Tampines East. From the nearby HDB blocks, one can look deep into the excavation trench. Part of the tunnel walls are up at the cripple siding cut-and-cover section just to the west of the station. Concrete pumping was still going on despite the fact that it was a public holiday. Additionally, work for entrances C and D have commenced with the clearing of land. These additional entrances were designed as part of the station though they were only approved for construction at a later stage after the main station had commenced construction. As such, these entrances will open later than the station itself, some time in 2018.

Tampines East station seen from Avenue 7. The area in front of the HDB block is being cleared for Exit C.

TBM Theia completes Expo bound tunnel

Today, TBM Theia of C930 completed the Expo bound tunnel from Ubi to MacPherson station. The completed tunnel joins a string of breakthroughs along Downtown Line stage 3 that signal the line inching towards completion day. To date, the longest completed section could see one walking from the Bendemeer station all the way to Bedok Reservoir.

TBM Theia, having successfully broken through at MacPherson station

Brief overview of Stage 3 in 1st Quarter

It is already coming to the end of April, so we'll just cover the stage in brief for the first quarter of the year in this post, taking a look at some updates from the station sites today. Starting with the terminal point at Expo.

Expo
The station has been fully excavated and work now progresses on to the structure itself. Rebar is first installed and then concrete is poured to form the structural skeleton of the station. Currently, work is focused on the platform and under-platform levels.

A view of the work area for the future exit next to the Singapore Expo foyer.

DTL3 October update

In this post, we bring you up to date on the goings on of construction on Downtown Line stage 3 for the month of October.

Firstly, a listing of the TBM shields that we have.

C923 - S-761
C923A - TBM1 (Argo) & TBM2 (Hermes)
C925 - TBM1
C926 - TBM1 (Chloe), TBM2 (Beatrix), TBM3 (Hayley) & TBM4 (Lizzi)
C927 - TBM1 (Tierra) & TBM2 (Kaida)
C928 - TBM1
C929A - S-685 (Harmonica), S-686, S-693 (Jupiter) & TBM4
C930 - TBM1 (Gaia) & TBM2
C931 - S-737 (Jet)
C932 - TBM1 (Xena) & TBM2 (Gabrielle)
C933 - S-739 (Whampoa), S-740 (Bendemeer), S-741 & S-742
C935 - S-759 & TBM2
C937 - TBM1, TBM2 & TBM3

Green - completed
Orange - tunneling in progress
Aqua - launching soon

So here's an update on some of the TBM tunneling progress. We don't have all the progress available unfortunately. More details and an easy display will be coming up down the line in November and beyond.

C923A PIE shaft to TPE
TBM1 - Completed
TBM2 -
Total: 1074 rings

C926 Stadium shaft to TPW
TBM1 50+ rings at end August
Total:

C927 BDN to BDR
TBM1 678 rings. TBM2 75 rings.
Total:

C937 FCN to BCL
TBM1 at 105 rings
TBM3 - - - - -
Total:

FCN to CNT
TBM 2 at 54 rings
Total:

 In addition, excavation seems to be progressing pretty well overall.

C922 - Expo station has already reached the base slab level at portions of the station.

C925 - Tampines East station is in the process of constructing the retaining walls. The TBM was lowered within the last month and assembled at the launch shaft ready for the Expo-bound drive to Tampines Central station.

C926 - Tampines West is still in the process of constructing the retaining walls as the Tampines Avenue 4 was only shifted over the completed portion a few months ago.

C928 - Bedok North has excavated most of the soil from the station pit area. They will be progressing onto the structural works soon.

C929 - Kaki Bukit station has the top layer casted and excavation work is progressing below using the top-down method where the permanent structure is cast before moving lower to commence excavation at the preceding level below.

C933 - Bendemeer station has seen some under-platform level work go on. Concrete pouring has also been taking place.

 C935 - Jalan Besar station is also employing the top-down method of construction. Most areas have progressed to level 2 of excavation.

C937 - Fort Canning station is progressing swiftly with the top-down method as well. Excavation continues on.

Do check back for more updates as we begin filling up the individual station pages with photos. Feel free to drop us a line if you have anything to contribute too, via the comments section. Have a great day all!