Work on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) is progressing, with the first stage of the MRT line on track to open in 2019.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday that structural work on the line's first three stations - Woodlands North, Woodlands and Woodlands South - is expected to be finished by the end of this year. Tunnels connecting the three stations have been completed. Architectural, electrical and mechanical works on these stations will begin early next year.

Work on the Mandai depot, which serves the TEL, is also in progress, with more than half of the rail tracks laid.

Tunnels for the six stations making up the second stage of the line are about three-quarters complete.

The stations - Springleaf, Lentor, Mayflower, Bright Hill, Upper Thomson and Caldecott - are expected to open in 2020.

Structural work for these stations is ongoing, and other work such as track-laying is expected to begin in the second half of next year.

Work on the remaining 22 stations on the line is also in progress.

The 43km TEL, comprising 31 stations, is expected to be fully operational in 2024.

Separately, tunnelling work on a 60m-long pedestrian underpass connecting Stevens MRT station to the Singapore Chinese Girls' School is expected to be completed by January next year. The underpass, which was built using a unique rectangular tunnel boring machine, will open in 2020, a year ahead of the completion of the TEL section of the Stevens station in 2021.

Zhaki Abdullah