Teacher who took first MRT ride in 1987 among first to go on TEL2

At 5.15am yesterday, minutes before the Thomson-East Coast Line gantry at Caldecott MRT station officially opened to the public, a man in a blue shirt and black shorts walked up to station personnel and said: "I want to take the first train."

It was a nostalgic trip for school teacher Yap Siew Meng, 49, because, in the 1980s, he was among the first to ride an MRT train when services for the mass rapid transit system started.

Yesterday, Mr Yap joined at least three other passengers who were the first to travel along the newly opened extended stretch of the Thomson-East Coast Line, spanning six stations from Caldecott to Springleaf.

The first train at Caldecott MRT station departed at 5.50am, at the crack of dawn.

At around 7am, trains were starting to fill up slowly, with a few passengers scattered around each car.

The highly anticipated six-station stretch, named TEL2, connects the new Springleaf, Lentor, Mayflower, Bright Hill, Upper Thomson and Caldecott stations.

The line's first three stations - Woodlands North, Woodlands and Woodlands South, collectively called TEL1 - opened in January last year.

Mr Yap, who lives in Bedok, woke up at 4.45am and took a cab to Caldecott station to catch the first train.

He works in a school in Bishan and said he is likely to take the Thomson-East Coast Line more frequently in the coming years when the line extends to the east.

"I saw many reports on (TEL2). It is brand new and I was excited. I wanted to be the first in Singapore to take the train."

The MRT ride yesterday from the newly opened station was also a symbolic one for the teacher.

In 1987, Mr Yap - then 15 years old - was one of the first to board an MRT train when operations began with just five stations on the North-South Line, from Toa Payoh to Yio Chu Kang. "I still have the train ticket from 1987 - a golden-coloured ticket," he said.

When fully completed around 2025, the 43km Thomson-East Coast Line will run from Woodlands North to Sungei Bedok in the east, covering 32 stations.

Yesterday was the second stage of the line's opening, with nine stations in operation. The rest of the stations will progressively open in three more stages over the next few years.

For Madam Lim Guek Lin, who lives near Caldecott, the extended train line will save a lot of travel time as she can now travel on a single train line up to Woodlands, where she works in an electronics factory. The 63-year-old was also one of the passengers on the first train yesterday.

Previously, to get to work, she had to take a bus to Braddell station on the North-South Line and ride up to Sembawang station, before taking a bus to her workplace.

With the TEL2, not only is her travel route more straightforward, but Madam Lim can also get to work earlier. On her old route, the first North-South Line train reaches Braddell only at 6.05am.

"It's very late for me because by the time the bus I take arrives, it is often very packed and I can't board it. With the new line, it's much more convenient for me," said Madam Lim in Mandarin.

TEL2 will have two interchanges - Caldecott station on the Circle Line and Bright Hill on the future Cross Island Line.

Trains along the Thomson-East Coast Line will arrive at stations every five minutes during peak hours and every nine minutes off-peak.

TEL2 was initially set to roll out in the second half of last year. The delay was due to the pandemic and a review of the rail system software because of a major signalling fault on TEL1 last December.

The current stretch from Woodlands North to Caldecott will benefit about 100,000 households. Once completed, the entire 32-station line will cost more than $25 billion, and it will also link to the upcoming cross-border rapid transit line to Johor Baru.