new line were approved by the government in January 1996, it was announced by communications minister Mah Bow Tan in March 1996 that the station will interchange with NEL. The East West line station upgrading was completed on 12 October 2002. Construction began in September 2000 for their lift access in the station for the disabled. Thomson–East Coast line On 29 August 2012, LTA announced Outram Park station would interchange with the proposed Thomson Line. At the same time, the Singapore Land Authority announced the acquisition of Pearls Centre, giving residents three years to vacate the premises, so as to facilitate tunneling works under the complex. On 15 August 2014, LTA announced that the Thomson Line will be integrated into the Thomson–East Coast line (TEL). Outram Park will be constructed as part of Phase 3, consisting of 13 stations between Mount Pleasant and Gardens by the Bay. On 9 March 2022, Transport Minister S Iswaran announced in Parliament that Stage 3 (Caldecott to Gardens by the Bay via Napier), would open in the second half of 2022. Contract T220 for the design and construction of Outram Park TEL Station and associated tunnels was awarded to Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd at a sum of S$301 million in May 2014. Construction started in 2014, with completion expected in June 2022. As part of the construction works, the existing station complex was upgraded to improve capacity. A new entrance was constructed on the other side of Outram Road, providing access to the healthcare developments opposite the East West Line station. The existing, narrow linkway connecting the North East line and East West line was replaced with a new linkway on 29 May 2022, featuring improved directional signages and travelators. The former linkway will connect to the Thomson-East Coast Line platforms. As announced during a visit by Transport Minister S. Iswaran at the Outram Park and stations on 7 October 2022, the TEL station began operations on 13 November 2022. Incidents On 6 March 2008, the North East line sector of the station was the site of a rare police shooting incident, in which a 43-year old Lim Bock Song, who had earlier fatally stabbed odd-job worker Tan Ah Chang at a coffeeshop at Jalan Kukoh, was shot by a police officer after threatening the officer with the knife. Four platform screen doors in the centre in the direction of HarbourFront were affected due