Queenstown MRT Station

Queenstown MRT station is an elevated Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East–West line (EWL) in Queenstown, Singapore. Located on Commonwealth Avenue, it serves nearby landmarks such as Queenstown Primary School and the Princess House as well as a few nearby churches. Like other elevated stations in the Tiong Bahru-Clementi stretch, it features grilles and a blue colour scheme. It is wheelchair accessible.

First announced in May 1982 as Princess, it was later announced to be an extension of Phase I of the MRT system as Commonwealth. In order for the station to be constructed, ten blocks in Commonwealth Avenue and Stirling Road was torn down, with plans for Commonwealth Avenue to be realigned so that the station will not straddle the road. During the construction of Commonwealth, there was labour dispute between the contractor, Sumitomo Construction, and its construction workers, temporarily halting construction for the station. In March 1987, it was announced that Commonwealth and Queenstown will switch names as the areas closer to Commonwealth have the name "Queenstown" and vice versa. The station commenced operations along with the entire MRT system on 12 March 1988 by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Half-height platform screen doors and high-volume low-speed fans were installed by August 2011 and the first quarter of 2013, respectively.

History

Queenstown station was first included in the early plans of the MRT system as Princess in May 1982. It was later announced in June 1983 to be part of an extension of Phase I from Outram Park to Clementi stations as Commonwealth station.

By October 1983, eleven local companies, nine of which are joint ventures with foreign businesses, were chosen in the pre-qualification stage for the design work of the Tiong Bahru-Clementi Stretch out of 38 applications. In January 1984, it was announced that a five member team consisting of Mott, Hay and Anderson, Sir William Halcrow and Partners, BSK-BS Konsult, DP Architects, and the Public Works Department (PWD), won a contract for architectural and engineering consultancy as well as the design of said stretch. In June, it was announced that ten blocks in Commonwealth Avenue and Stirling Road will be torn down in order to provide room for the station and ease construction, the largest so far. Once torn down, it was planned to realign Commonwealth Avenue so that the station will not straddle the road.

Nine single tenderers and joint ventures were prequalified for Contract 202 by October 1984, which detailed the construction of Redhill and Commonwealth stations as well as viaducts from Delta Swimming Complex to Queensway Circus, with the PWD calling for tenderers in the same month to realign Commonwealth Avenue so that the station would not straddle the road. MRTC awarding the contract to Sumitomo Construction in February 1985 for . Construction for Commonwealth started in April, and was expected to be finished by December 1987. However, in September, there was a dispute between 130 Thai workers and Sumitomo over living conditions and income tax deduction from their salaries, resulting in the station's construction to be halted. By October, a westbound section of Commonwealth was diverted for the station, resulting in two bus stops being replaced by a new bus stop. In March 1987, it was announced that Queenstown and Commonwealth stations will swap names as Queenstown station is closer to areas with the name "Commonwealth" and vice versa. In February 1988, it was announced that Queenstown, along with Tiong Bahru station, will have an open house on 13 and 14 February, with expected operations moved to the middle of March. On 12 March 1988, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew officially launched the entire system, including stations in the Tiong Bahru-Clementi stretch. During the opening ceremony, Lee addressed to a crowd of 500 guests before riding a train to Queenstown.

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. After several successful tests, half-height platform screen doors were eventually installed and commenced operations at Queenstown station by August 2011. The station was installed with high-volume low-speed fans by the first quarter of 2013. The station was expanded starting mid-2012 and was opened on 23 August 2015 with a new overhead bridge and two new exits, the same day as Commonwealth MRT station.

Incidents

On 29 November 2010, a Chinese man in his 40s was knocked by an incoming train at about 8.15 pm, was found lying on the tracks below the last carriage and was pronounced dead by SCDF medics. Train services were disrupted for about 1 hour and were resumed at 9.15 pm.

Details

Queenstown station is on the EWL with the station number of EW19, situated between Commonwealth and Redhill stations. When it opened, it had the station number of W5 before being changed to its current station code in August 2001 as a part of a system-wide campaign to cater to the expanding MRT System. As a part of the EWL, the station is operated by SMRT Trains. Like many stations on the initial MRT network, Queenstown has an island platform and is elevated. The station operates between 5:47am to 12:44am daily, with train frequencies varying from 2 to 5 minutes.

The station is on Commonwealth Avenue. It has two exits and serves surrounding landmarks such as Queenstown Primary School, the New Optometry and Ocular Care Centre (NOOCC), Queenstown Stadium, Princess House, and Rainbow Centre Margaret Drive Special School. It also serve several nearby churches such as The True Way Presbyterian Church, Church of the Good Shepherd, Queenstown Baptist Church, and Hephzibah Christian Fellowship. Redhill is mostly wheelchair-accessible (except for Exit B) and has bicycle facilities.

Like other stations in the Tiong Bahru- Clementi stretch of Phase 1, it features what ''The Straits Times'' has described as "brashly coloured grilles which run right round the station, interrupted only by the regularly spaced columns". The station has blue walls, which was done to make the station "be pleasant to the eye" and to distinguish it from other stations in the stretch.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Queenstown MRT station
Railway stations in Singapore opened in 1988
Queenstown, Singapore
Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) stations