Acting Minister for Transport, Mr. Chee Hong Tat, said the Government plans to open the fourth stage of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL4) in the first half of 2024. He had spoken about the TEL4 in an interview with Chinese-language national daily, Lianhe Zaobao, which was published on 9 January.

While the authorities would like to commence passenger service as soon as possible, it is also in their interest to ensure the safety and reliability of the rail service before doing so, Mr. Chee added. 

In LTA's 2023 Rail Report, the authority had updated that train testing on TEL4 is underway. It had also said that the stations will be progressively handed over to the operator, SMRT, early this year. However, it seems no timeline has been firmed up as of now. 

When open, TEL4 will feature seven new stations: Tanjong Rhu, Katong Park, Tanjong Katong, Marine Parade, Marine Terrace, Siglap and Bayshore.

According to industry experts, the testing of the trains could take at least three months, up to six months. The completion would hinge on issues that cropped up during the tests. Mr. Chee raised the example of the delayed opening of the second stage of the TEL (TEL2) in 2021, owing to signalling problems. 

Stage One of the TEL, comprising three stations from Woodlands North to Woodlands South, had opened in January 2020. The six-station TEL2 from Springleaf to Caldecott commenced operations in August 2021. In November 2022, TEL Stage Three stretching from Stevens to Gardens by the Bay was opened. 

In the interview, Mr. Chee also spoke about the possibility of having a separate Certificate of Entitlement (COE) category for corporation-owned private-hire vehicles (PHVs). This is because many owners of individually owned private-hire vehicles use them for private purposes, while also providing ride-hailing services. 

However, he cautioned that the potential trade-offs of such a decision would first have to be studied carefully. 

This comes amidst chatter on the ground and from industry experts that the purchase of PHVs have fuelled the dizzying highs in COE premiums during the last few bidding cycles of 2023.  

Mr. Chee emphasised that the COE quotas from Categories A and B will need to be diverted to the newly created COE category, if it materialises. The reason for this is because there is not sufficient supply for private-hire cars to draw from Open category COEs. 

The diversion of more COE quota to corporate-owned PHVs will not be such a "straight-forward exercise" since it is dependent on the assumed demand for vehicles, which fluctuates from quarter to quarter. 

Care must be taken to make sure there is no over or under-provision of COE quotas as it could have "unintended knock-on effects". These include an insufficient supply of PHVs to match consumer demand and a plunge in COE supply for Categories A and B, which would then drive COE premiums up.