The first phase of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) will be operational from Jan. 31, 2020.

Free travel on TEL from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2

The stations opening at the end of this month are Woodlands North, Woodlands and Woodlands South.

For the first three days of operations (Jan. 31, 2020 to Feb. 2, 2020), commuters will get to travel for free between these three stations.

With the opening of Woodlands North MRT station, there will also be a change in route for bus service 856 to connect commuters to the new station.

The whole Thomson-East Coast Line will be fully operational by 2025.

The entire TEL is expected to serve approximately 500,000 commuters daily by 2025 and about 1 million commuters daily in the long term.

First look at features in the TEL stations

The TEL stations will look different from the rest of the MRT station in terms of their wayfinding signage.

Some of the new features include larger fonts, sharper colour contrast and improved sign box design.

Exits are now marked by numbers instead of letters of the alphabet.

Here's how the new stations will look:

A new MRT map will also be used in the TEL stations.

Here's a close-up shot of the map:

These redesigned signage will be added to older stations when they are up for upgrading.

Retail concept pioneered by Japanese rail operator JR East

The upcoming Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) will also feature a retail concept that is pioneered by Japanese rail operator JR East.

According to Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan in Sep. 2019, the retail operator for TEL stations, Stellar Singapore-Japan, will bring in the retail concept of ekinaka which means "inside the station".

Ekinaka refers to small scale shopping complexes that are found inside ticket gates in Japanese train stations.

For example, at Tokyo Station, you can find ekinaka such as Gransta, ecute Tokyo, and ecute Keiyo Street.

These retail shops can offer anything from food to books to even services like haircuts and massages.

According to Nippon.com, the shopping experience is very smooth for commuters because they can use their transit cards to pay for their retail purchases.

There is no word yet on how this retail concept will turn out here.

For one, food and drinks are not allowed in our train stations and platforms.

Top photo collage via LTA and by Joshua Lee