LTA calls tender for linking Singapore Rail Test Centre and Tuas Link MRT station

The Singapore Rail Test Centre (SRTC) is a train testing facility that allows comprehensive round-the-clock trains and systems testing. (Image: LTA)

A recent call for tender by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) revealed that a rail viaduct may be constructed to link the Singapore Rail Test Centre (SRTC) and Tuas Link MRT station of the East-West Line (EWL) in the near future.

This comes after the authority requested a quotation in November last year for trial trenching works to survey and assess the area before construction work for this project can proceed.

Tender called for the construction of a Rail Viaduct Link

The Singapore Rail Test Centre (SRTC) will have three different test tracks. (Image: LTA)

Contract 1906 (C1906) for the design and construction of a rail viaduct link between the Tuas West Extension on the EWL and train testing facility SRTC was put up for tender by the LTA last Thursday (Apr 25).

Slated to be fully operational in 2025, the SRTC, previously known as the Integrated Train Testing Centre (ITTC), is a train testing facility that allows MRT trains and systems to be tested around the clock without affecting passenger service on operational lines.

The SRTC has three test tracks: a 3-kilometre straightline high-speed test track, a 3-kilometre looped endurance test track, and a 2.8-kilometre looped performance & integration test track.

The Tuas Depot, Tuas Link MRT station and Singapore Rail Test Centre are within close proximity. (Image: Screengrab via Google Earth)

Tuas Link MRT station on the EWL is situated less than a kilometre away from the SRTC, such that its turnback tracks could likely be extended and directly linked to the train testing facility.

A rail viaduct linkage can bring economic benefits and streamline testing processes by requiring fewer road shipping works to transfer trains between the SRTC and an MRT depot.

The direct launch of new MRT trains from the SRTC to conduct mainline testing on the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL) is a possible way to eliminate nearby road shipping costs, especially since Tuas Depot, Tuas Link MRT station and SRTC are all within close proximity.

Looking at the bigger picture, this effectively links the SRTC with other NSEWL depots – the Ulu Pandan and Bishan depots – and the East Coast Integrated Depot (ECID), which will house trains for NSEWL, the Downtown Line (DTL) and Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL).

The Changi Depot will be decommissioned and replaced by the 4-in-1 bus-and-train East Coast Integrated Depot when it becomes fully operational in 2026. (Image: LTA)

Given that ECID becomes effectively linked to the SRTC, albeit across the country, there is a slight chance, but not a wide possibility, that even non-NSEWL trains can be hauled through this rail viaduct linkage, further streamlining testing processes and increasing efficiency.

Moreover, since all Singapore MRT lines use the standard track gauge of 1,435 millimetres, trains from other lines can theoretically be ‘shipped’ on rail tracks to and from the SRTC.

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Related Links
East-West Line – SGTrains

External Links
New Integrated Train Testing Centre for Greater Rail Reliability – LTA
LTA Awards Civil Contract to Construct Integrated Train Testing Centre – LTA
Factsheet: Singapore’s Integrated Train Testing Centre to be Fully Operational in 2024 – LTA
Factsheet: East Coast Integrated Depot – LTA

Images: LTA, LTA, Screengrab via Google Earth, LTA.
This article first appeared on SGTrains.