Orchard Boulevard MRT station

Mass Rapid Transit station in Singapore

TE13
Orchard Boulevard
乌节大道
ஆர்ச்சர்ட் பொலிவார்ட்

Preceding station	Mass Rapid Transit	Following station
Napier towards Woodlands North		Thomson–East Coast Line		Orchard towards Gardens by the Bay

Preceding station

Mass Rapid Transit

Following station

Napier

towards Woodlands North

Thomson–East Coast Line

Orchard

towards Gardens by the Bay

History

The station was first announced on 29 August 2012 as part of the Thomson line (TSL).^[4]^[5] Contract T218 for the design and construction of Orchard Boulevard Station was awarded to KTC Civil Engineering & Construction Pte Ltd at S$143 million (US$114.3 million) in May 2014. Construction started in 2014, with an initial expected completion date of 2021.^[6]

On 15 August 2014, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced that the TSL would merge with the Eastern Region line to form the Thomson–East Coast line (TEL). Orchard Boulevard station, part of the proposed line, would be constructed as part of TEL 3, consisting of 13 stations between Mount Pleasant and Gardens by the Bay.^[7]^[8] With restrictions imposed on construction due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the TEL3 completion date was pushed by one year to 2022.^[9]

On 9 March 2022, Transport Minister S Iswaran announced in Parliament that TEL 3 would open in the second half of that year.^[10] As confirmed during a visit by Iswaran at the Outram Park and Maxwell stations on 7 October 2022,^[1]^[11]^[12] the station began operations on 13 November.^[13]

Description

Construction progress of the station

Station site in July 2017

The entrance in November 2020

The entrance in November 2021

Orchard Boulevard station serves the TEL and is between the Napier and Orchard stations. The official station code is TE13.^[14]^[15] Being part of the TEL, the station is operated by SMRT Trains.^[16] Train frequencies on the TEL range from 5 to 6 minutes.^[17]

The station is located along Orchard Boulevard at the junction with Grange Road and Rochalie Drive.^[18] Surrounding landmarks of the station include: Camden Medical Centre, the Chinese embassy, the US embassy, Jen Singapore Tanglin by Shangri-La, Orchard Rendezvous Hotel, Tanglin Shopping Centre and Tudor Court Shopping Gallery.^[19]

Orchard Boulevard station was designed by SAA Architects, who had to resolve the contradicting requirements of providing adequate ventilation and natural daylight, while being situated in a confined site also reserved for future development near the station. Hence, the main entrance was integrated with ventilation shafts, cooling towers, and skylights built right above the station box. This allowed for a three-tiered mezzanine and a wall created by the shafts where the station artwork would be placed, with sunlight streaming into the interior. Throughout the day, the changing position of the sun results in varying interactions between sunlight, the installation artwork, and the walls of the shafts, intended to bring vibrancy and animation to different sections of the station. The station entrances' materials, such as aluminium, granite, and glass, complement the surrounding architectural landscape.^[20]

Pulse (stylised in all caps) by Twardzik Ching Chor Leng is a network of industrial-scale pipes that hang over the station concourse. The work is intended to depict the constant circulation of people on the MRT system and its importance in keeping the city alive, paralleling the functions of the human circulatory system that maintains the flow of nutrients.^[21]^[22]

References

^ ^a ^b Yong, Clement (7 October 2022). "11 new TEL stations, from Stevens to Gardens by the Bay, to open on Nov 13; free rides on Nov 11". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
^ "LTA | News Room | News Releases | Public Poll for Thomson Line Station Names". Land Transport Authority. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
^ "LTA | News Room | News Releases | Thomson Line Station Names Finalised". Land Transport Authority. Archived from the original on 6 January 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
^ Sim, Royston (29 August 2012). "New Thomson MRT line to open from 2019, and have 22 stations". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
^ "Thomson Line to open from 2019 with 22 stations". Channel NewsAsia (CNA). 30 August 2012. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
^ "LTA Awards Four Contracts for Thomson Line's Orchard Boulevard, Great World, Outram Park and Shenton Way Stations". Land Transport Authority. 27 May 2014. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
^ "Joint News Release by the Land Transport Authority & Singapore Land Authority – Thomson-East Coast Line: New MRT Links in the East". Land Transport Authority. 19 August 2014. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
^ "Thomson–East Coast Line". Land Transport Authority. 13 February 2020. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
^ "Written Reply by Minister for Transport Ong Ye Kung to Parliamentary Question on Updates on Thomson East Coast Line, Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line". mot.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
^ "11 more Thomson-East Coast stations to open in the second half of 2022; more 'inclusive' changes for vulnerable commuters". CNA. 9 March 2022. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
^ "Factsheet: Thomson – East Coast Line Stage 3 to Open for Passenger Service from 13 November 2022". Land Transport Authority. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
^ Yeoh, Grace (7 October 2022). "11 Thomson-East Coast Line stations to open on Nov 13; free rides available on Nov 11". Channel NewsAsia. Mediacorp. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
^ Lim, Jessie (13 November 2022). "Stations buzzing on first day of operations for third stage of Thomson-East Coast Line". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
^ "MRT System Map" (PDF). Land Transport Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 November 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
^ "System Map". TransitLink. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
^ "Getting Around – Public Transport – Rail Network". Land Transport Authority. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
^ Kok, Yufeng (7 November 2022). "Opening of Thomson–East Coast Line Stage 3 to cut off-peak train intervals to 6 minutes". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
^ "Orchard Boulevard – Map". SMRT Journeys. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
^ "Orchard Boulevard – Exits". SMRT Journeys. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
^ "Orchard Boulevard Station". SAA Architects. 20 June 2023. Archived from the original on 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
^ Yong, Clement (29 October 2022). "Charcoal drawings, quirky book titles: 7 art works in Thomson-East Coast Line stations you should not miss". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
^ "LTA | Art in Transit". Land Transport Authority. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.

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Stage 4 (2024)