Something is afoot in the west
A very interesting picture got posted onto the internet and Land Transport Guru dug it up. Or would “leaked” be a better word?
What does it tell us? A bit of a backgrounder first. In the Government financial year 2015/16, a contract for “Advance Engineering Consultancy Services for the Expansion of Ulu Pandan Depot” was awarded. The name should make the point obvious.
The big question mark is on timing. This contract was awarded in the same year as the design consultancy contracts for the JRL and CRL; but details on both these lines, as well as the contracts to actually build them, have been announced already. For this, however, there’s been nothing so far, not even a pre-qualification exercise where the credentials of prospective contractors are verified before they are allowed to participate in the tender for the actual civil contract, as is common for rail projects of this scale.
Of course, when I discuss this kind of thing there’s always the risk of being a spanner in the works and a busybody, and also the fact that some other people can also politicize this kind of project. There are many such angles; as part of the past sins of underinvestment or maybe as an example of extravagant government waste. For what it’s worth, I just wish people would read more than they write, but that’s just me. You never know what you can find.
Track to track
Let’s talk about what the expansion may look like first.
Right now, the current Ulu Pandan Depot sits on a relatively small site, and is only capable of housing 34 trains according to LTG, but when I physically count the number of tracks in Google Maps, I get 39. LTG and the contractor claim that the depot will be expanded to hold at least 94 trains, so nearly tripling its existing capacity.
How will this be done? The picture above gives us some clues. There are areas marked in green, blue and red.
- Green: 8 tracks. Given that there’s another patch of green where the existing depot workshop is, this is likely to be another workshop for train maintenance.
- Red: 18 tracks, some short, some long. Based on how the red patches are sorted, the long tracks should hold two trains, the short tracks only one. This area should be able to hold 31 trains.
- Blue: 16 tracks, some short, some long, see above for explanation. Since they’re placed on a side of the image, it’s likely on another level, probably above given how the tracks leading out go. This area should hold 24 trains.
In total, the new red and blue areas should give us 55 extra train storage spaces, making 94. Of course, with the depot geography it’s going to be complicated to use some of this space. There’s a section of red track that expands all the way to the side of the existing workshop; in order to access the red stabling area, it’s likely that trains will have to run into this so-called “shunt neck” to reverse into the red stabling area.
This arrangement would be pretty acceptable and quite easily done on the automatic lines, but for now on the compass lines where there are drivers and manual operation in the depot (look out for flashing lights on the front), it’s likely that drivers will require assistance. Note that the layout of existing depots will still need this to be done — but unlike the expanded Ulu Pandan, it is only needed for a minority of storage tracks.
Another possibility is that the depot expansion project could also come with automation of depot operations — allowing such moves to be done without a driver in the first place. This would allow those small metal platforms built on depot reception tracks to be put to good use, allowing drivers to meet their trains there instead of trekking out to the stabling tracks. But this may mean additional costs; as one can see at Gali Batu, automated depots require grade separated walkways and fencing to separate staff from trains that can move without warning. Making provision for this could be a cost factor.
The blue stabling presents another problem, in addition to the above. It does not appear to have any direct connection to other depot facilities. This means that a train must reverse at least twice to get to workshop facilities — once in the shunt neck, and another time on the tracks leading out of the top of the picture which are likely access tracks. Again, acceptable in a completely automated system, not so much here. Or perhaps this can be more acceptable if it’s thought of as a de facto separate facility.
Line to line
A second key component of the depot upgrading project is to provide,
New reception tracks and proposed structures to directly launch trains into the North South Line (NSL)
Now this presents some interesting concepts. This tells us that there will be, at least, a third track to provide a direct connection to one of the NSL platforms from the depot, such that NSL trains entering service no longer need to merge onto the EWL first between the depot and Jurong East station, and eliminating a key source of grief for a lot of people — myself included, given that my work hours nowadays tend to bring me through Jurong East at a time when the PM peak service is ramping up, so getting stuck behind off-service trains entering the NSL is very real for me.
I know I proposed some stuff before when I was young and stupid, but this third track, along with the station reconfiguration and addition of an additional JRL transfer level to improve passenger circulation, may just be a far better idea than whatever I cooked up. Listen to the science, people. A third track could allow off service trains leaving the depot to run directly to the Platform A track stub outside Creative Headquarters and vice versa. But they might need to be creative in order to negotiate the various buildings that have sprung up next to the MRT tracks, especially within the International Business Park. It’s not impossible, but not going to be easy either.
But that’s not all. The picture above may indicate a potentially more ambitious plan — the relocation of the existing mainline tracks to run along Boon Lay Way, which could relegate the current tracks through Tradehub21 to non-revenue trackage, settling part of the problem of having to find space for a new track for trains coming from the depot to directly access the North South Line. Other renders also show that the grassy forested patch the trains currently run through will be replaced with the washing and refuelling area for a bus depot to be built together with the MRT depot expansion, which given the uneven terrain could be challenging to do.
This will be interesting to watch. Why? If the bus depot moves, that frees up a lot of land right next to the IBP. The shutdown of Ulu Pandan water reclamation plant as part of the DTSS project may free up even more land behind Tradehub21, creating quite a fair bit of potential when it comes to urban redevelopment. Relocating the mainline tracks could then be the final piece in the puzzle to enable the construction of a new station to serve this area, if the relocated tracks have available space for platforms to be built alongside. But that really depends on what the URA wants to do with the surrounding land in the medium to long term, given that they’re still classified as reserve sites under the latest Master Plan.
Pocket to pocket
I think the hard part is justifying the money, especially in a time when the government is short on money to pay for it. Already it was stated that funds to combat the current public health situation were being drawn from development projects that were delayed, and the migrant worker dormitory outbreak doesn’t help. That is, even if they are now taking a more open mind towards borrowing to pay for infrastructure projects. And given how long this project has been put on ice, is there still even any pressing need for it, given that other projects to fulfill coverage goals, such as the Cross Island Line, would rightfully have priority over this.
Looking at the likely scope of works — more than a doubling of existing depot space, many new facilities, much rebuilding of tracks, perhaps even a new station — I’m not sure how much of a benefit, in terms of dollars, can this project bring. After all, the business case for the Kim Chuan Depot expansion, a comparable case where the depot was practically doubled in size, likely had to factor in the completion of the circle with CCL6 and the 23 extra trains needed for that service, and maybe throwing in whatever future line could interchange at Prince Edward station too.
That said, what can form the business case for this particular project? The first, and possibly simplest reason, would be an imbalance of stabling space — with there being much more to be found on the EWL than on the NSL. Tuas has 30 tracks storing 2 trains each, and the size of the trainshed at the ECID (measured by Google Maps Satellite) indicates to me that we could see more tracks than this number over there. Bishan Depot is stuck at 40-plus tracks, and that may be hard to expand given the land use situation around it as well as what it sits on (a swamp). Furthermore, the strategic location of Ulu Pandan means that it is also well suited to provide additional trains towards Clementi and points east.
We also know that there are two new stations planned for the NSL, and as mentioned, a third new station in the area would be a good idea if there are significant plans for urban development in the immediate area. A fleet expansion may then be welcome to provide additional service for these new stations — I would not rule out this being a further expansion of the R151 order, especially with precedent that Canberra Station was used as an excuse to purchase the 12 C151C trains, according to 2019 Budget documents. Such a fleet expansion for expected traffic increases from the new stations will then need a home.
It’s also a bit of a wasted opportunity that this space cannot be used by the JRL as well, especially when you consider the operational awkwardness of using the blue stabling area for the NSEWL. The JRL will likely need another stabling facility should the West Coast Extension be built — with the distance from Tengah Depot, even if it can store 100 trains, I’m not of the opinion that that would be enough. Ulu Pandan, while a detour, would provide the necessary space to construct stabling facilities while reducing the land take of public transport infrastructure. Another possibility would be to construct a new 66kV intake substation as part of the depot expansion, allowing the one at Buona Vista to be fully dedicated to the Circle line and increasing system reliability of the MRT power system.
It’s very well possible that the above benefits are not enough to justify the cost, and that the project may have died in ignominy somewhere inside government archives. Personally I won’t keep my hopes up, considering that there are far more pressing things to do with the money, but if it happens, it’ll be interesting to see.
