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Chinese Garden MRT station

Coordinates: 1°20′33.76″N 103°43′56.88″E / 1.3427111°N 103.7324667°E / 1.3427111; 103.7324667
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 EW25 
Chinese Garden
裕华园
சீனத் தோட்டம்
Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station
A bird-eye view of Chinese Garden MRT station
General information
Location151 Boon Lay Way
Singapore 609959
Coordinates1°20′33.76″N 103°43′56.88″E / 1.3427111°N 103.7324667°E / 1.3427111; 103.7324667
Owned byLand Transport Authority
Operated bySMRT Trains Ltd (SMRT Corporation)
Line(s)
  East–West Line
Platforms2 (1 island platform)
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus, Taxi
Construction
Structure typeElevated
Platform levels1
AccessibleYes
History
Opened5 November 1988; 35 years ago (1988-11-05)
ElectrifiedYes
Previous namesJurong Lake[1]
Passengers
June 20249982 per day[2]
Services
Preceding station Mass Rapid Transit Following station
Jurong East
towards Pasir Ris
 East–West Line Lakeside
towards Tuas Link
Location
Singapore MRT/LRT system map
Singapore MRT/LRT system map
Chinese Garden
Chinese Garden station in Singapore

Chinese Garden MRT station is an above-ground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East–West line in Jurong East, Singapore. Operated by SMRT Trains, the station primarily serves the Yuhua residential estate, as well as various tourist attractions of the Jurong Lake District such as the Chinese Garden, where the station derives its name from.

It was first announced in October of 1983 to be part of Phase II of the MRT system as Jurong Lake station, later being changed to Chinese Garden station to better reflect its location. It commenced operations on November 5, 1988, along with the other stations on the Jurong stretch of the EWL. When it opened, the station lacked direct access to Chinese Garden despite being next to it, as well as to the opposite side of the road where most of its commuters lived. Both issues were fixed within a few years. Half-height platform screen doors and high-volume low-speed fans were installed by March 2012 and the first quarter of 2013, respectively.

Built with an island platform, the station's curved roof supported by decorative red and green beams took inspiration from traditional Chinese architecture. Additionally, there are four paintings created by students from the Yuan Ching Secondary School that feature traditional Chinese cultural icons, which are displayed at the ticketing concourse as a part of SMRT's Community Outreach Programme.

History

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The station was first announced to be on the East-West Line (EWL) of Phase II of the MRT system in October 1983 as Jurong Lake MRT station.[3] It was later changed to Chinese Garden station in September of 1984 to tentatively better reflect its location.[4]

The station's viaduct was built by a joint venture between the Aoki Corporation and Lim Kah Ngam Construction for S$64.75 million (US$48.32 million) in November of 1985 as a part of Contract 404.[5] The subcontract for the supply of post-tension cables and pre-cast beams for the viaducts was awarded to Swiss-Singaporean company VSL Systems in July of 1986[6] while the design of the station's Chinese-style roof was awarded to Parson Brinckerhoff Asia Ltd and Maunsell Consultants in September 1985 as a part of a S$3.6 million (US$2.69 million) contract to give the Phase II MRT stations an "ethnic touch".[7] A week before the opening, there was an open house event for the Jurong stretch of the EWL, which included Chinese Garden station.[8] The station was opened on 5 November 1988, as part of the first portion of Phase II of the MRT system.[9] There was a primary school band performing in the station as a part of the opening ceremony.[10]

Upon its opening, the station had a number of issues. Firstly, despite its name, the station had no actual direct access to Chinese Garden, forcing commuters to alight at Lakeside station and either take a bus or walk 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) to Chinese Garden.[11] Even though there were plans to build a bridge connecting the two, it was only built after the station's opening.[12] To solve the problem, the Jurong Town Corporation (which owns the garden) devised a plan divided into two phases; The first phase is the construction of a 250 metres (270 yd) concrete footpath as well as a temporary timber footbridge and garden entrance. The second phase is the construction of a permanent bridge based on the Sui Dynasty An-Chi Bridge as well as a grand 1,200 square metres (1,400 sq yd) entrance plaza.[11] The first plan was effectuated in February 1989 whilst the second plan was to be implemented by 1991-92.[13] Additionally, there was no actual path to get to the station from the opposite side despite most commuters living there. This caused them to quickly and unsafely cross the road. Even though a S$200,000 (US$149,253.73) overhead bridge was to built by April of next year, the lack of thought for pedestrian safety was criticised by some residents and commuters.[14]

As with most of the elevated stations along the East-West line, the station was initially built without platform screen doors. Following a rise in track intrusions as well as commuters slipping when rushing for the train, the LTA and SMRT decided to install platform screen doors.[15] After several successful tests at Jurong East, Yishun and Pasir Ris, half-height platform screen doors were eventually installed and commenced operations at Chinese Garden station by March 2012.[16] The station was installed with high-volume low-speed fans by the first quarter of 2013.[17] A 5.6 km cycling path to the station and Lakeside station was opened on October 2021 as a part of a 10km cycling route in Taman Jurong.[18]

Station Details

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The roof of Chinese Garden station is based on traditional Chinese architectural design.

Chinese Garden station is on the EWL with the station code of EW25, situated between Jurong East and Lakeside station. Operated by SMRT Trains, the station runs alongside Boon Lay Way[19] and has three exits which primarily serves the Chinese Garden/Japanese Garden and the Yuhua residential estate.[20] It is an elevated train station with an island platform layout. A feature of the station, the curved roof is based on traditional Chinese architecture. The roof was a part of SMRT's idea to give the stations an "ethnic touch".[7] Specifically, designer of the station Scott Danielson of Parson Brinckerhoff said that "the more [he traveled], the more disturbed [he became by] architects failing to reflect their own culture" and therefore incorporated a Chinese roof design due to the station's proximity to the Chinese Garden.[21] The fake beams of the roof have been described as "chili-green and hongbao-red".[8]

As part of SMRT's community outreach programme, four artworks created by three Secondary school students from Yuan Ching Secondary School are displayed at the ticketing concourse of the station, which features paintings of a pigeon, goldfish, Chinese porcelain sculpture, and Chinese masks.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Names for 42 MRT stations". Singapore Monitor. 20 September 1984.
  2. ^ "Land Transport DataMall". mytransport.sg. Land Transport Authority. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Phase 2 gets go-ahead to ensure continuity". The Straits Times. 26 October 1983. p. 8. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Names for 42 MRT stations". Singapore Monitor. 20 September 1984.
  5. ^ "MRTC gives $64m job to contractor who cared for residents". The Straits Times. 8 November 1985. p. 11. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  6. ^ "VSL Systems clinches MRT supply deals". The Business Times (Singapore). 8 July 1986. p. 2. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  7. ^ a b Dhaliwal, Rav (16 September 1985). "Ethnic touch for MRT stations". The Straits Times. p. 24. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  8. ^ a b Tang, K. F. (31 October 1988). "10,000 take in Jurong stations". The Straits Times. p. 18. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Three more stations for MRT system". The Business Times. 5 November 1988. Retrieved 20 October 2017 – via NewspaperSG.
  10. ^ "11 to cut ribbon at MRT ceremony". The Straits Times. 4 November 1988. p. 44. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Chinese Garden, MRT station link-up soon". The Straits Times. 12 November 1988. p. 3. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Bridge to link Chinese Garden, MRT station". The Straits Times. 15 February 1988. p. 12. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  13. ^ "New station shortens walk to Chinese Garden". The New Paper. 17 February 1989. p. 4. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  14. ^ "MRT commuters take risk crossing this road". The Straits Times. 29 November 1988. p. 22. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  15. ^ Wong, Siew Ying (26 January 2008). "Above-ground MRT stations to have platform screen doors by 2012". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  16. ^ "LTA completes installing elevated MRT station screen doors early". CNA. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Enhancing Connectivity and Comfort for Commuters". LTA. 13 October 2011. Archived from the original on 25 December 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  18. ^ "9.6km of New Cycling Paths in Taman Jurong and Tampines". LTA. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  19. ^ "Chinese Garden - Map". SMRT. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  20. ^ "Chinese Garden - Exits". SMRT. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  21. ^ "MRT station roofs to show Singapore's cultural mix". The Straits Times. 13 April 1987. Retrieved 20 October 2017 – via NewspaperSG.
  22. ^ Tung, Cathleen (9 November 2001). "Gallery for Passengers". TODAY. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
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