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| Requirements for Wafer Fab industries restrict the line from travelling too close. |
We've received some questions on why Elias station must be located at the angle & location that was ultimately chosen. As such, we have done up some visuals and an analysis to help you better understand the factors that play a part in choosing a location for the station.
Requirements of Pasir Ris Wafer Fab(rication) Park
In the early part of the alignment studies, some soil investigations were carried out near the location of Meridian Junior College (now Meridian - Tampines JC) along Pasir Ris Drive 1. This would have been the most straight forward of all routes with the line following the length of Drive 1 from east to west. However, at the end of Pasir Ris Drive 1 is Pasir Ris Wafer Fab Park. The requirements for Wafer Fab industries limit the amount of vibrations that can be experienced due to the nature of the products being manufactured. With the Cross Island Line (CRL) running underground, the trackways will be exposed to a greater amount of soil as opposed to an overground route, potentially resulting in stronger vibrations as trains roll past.
As such, this rules out an alignment in the picture that we have labeled as Alternative 2, with the station along Pasir Ris Drive 1. Similarly, even though the line were to be diverted along Pasir Ris Drive 3, it would still be too close to the Wafer Fab buildings located at the park. As such, an alignment along Pasir Ris Drive 3, labeled Alternative 1, is also ruled out.
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| Tunneling underneath existing housing blocks will add inconvenience to residents & incur additional project costs. |
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| Where possible, future and current land use is safeguarded by running tunnels underneath roads as far as possible. |
Kindly allow us to preface that future development potential of existing estates as indicated in our diagrams refers to the long-term potential (think SERS) and we are not aware of any plans in the near or mid-term to redevelop existing estates.
In selecting an alignment for the running tunnels, engineers have to factor in that when a line runs underneath a block of flats, the foundations of the block will be encountered. This will incur extra works to transfer the loads away from that foundation before it is removed to allow the tunnels to pass underneath - a process referred to as underpinning. This will involve works at the HDB block and hence brings about greater inconvenience to the residents. Additionally, extra cost will also be incurred for the project - as it is, the existing contract for Elias station and tunnels at the final released location amounts to half a billion dollars. As such, this finds routes labeled Alternatives 3, 4 & 5 unfeasible.
Also of an issue is the future development potential of the land. The station should be located in an area that would allow new development to be spurred or serves the highest density of users. This is why most stations are typically located at town centres, accompanied by various amenities such as bus interchanges, shopping malls or dense residential developments. As such, the final location of Elias station offers opportunities for the further densification of the area, unlocking new development potential as the station can be prepared for future loading & integration of buildings above (think stations like Clarke Quay or Sengkang where buildings sit atop). A station along Pasir Ris Drive 3 as shown in Alternatives 3 & 4 would not allow such benefits to be reaped, in addition to causing traffic congestion during the station's construction. With works for the Cross Island Line (CRL) already affecting a major thoroughfare in Pasir Ris Drive 1 with road closures in the east & central portions of the town, engineers would avoid adding on further potential closures to the alternate major thoroughfare available.
In contrast to stations, tunnels are less likely to be built to accommodate future loading above, especially when they are constructed using the bored method as opposed to cut & cover. This will affect the ability of planners to use the land above the tunnels in future, when the lease of the existing buildings above expires and redevelopment is required.
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| Stations have the ability to be built to withstand & tolerate additional loading atop in future. This helps to unlock potential for new development of the surrounding & offers potential for convenient links through knock-out-panels built in advance. |
The final location of Elias station allows developers to tap onto the potential unlocked for the development of buildings atop the station. Similar to how Clarke Quay station was built with potential development atop in mind, the same will be replicated at Elias station. Early planning will allow the installed of knock-out-panels (KOPs) - sections of walls built with structural loading provisions taken into account that the section may be torn down in future to allow linkways to be built to connect to neighbouring developments.
As a summary, here are some of the factors that likely influenced the positioning of Elias station and the tunnels connecting to Pasir Ris station:
- Requirements of industries at Pasir Ris Wafer Fab Park on vibrations
- Avoiding residential blocks as much as possible to minimise underpinning works that will cause inconvenience to residents & add to project cost
- Retain current & future land development potential
- Offer the best future development potential
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