Redhill MRT Station

Redhill MRT station is an above-ground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station in Singapore on the East West line (EWL). Operated by SMRT, the station serves nearby landmarks such as the Delta Swimming Complex and Thye Hong Centre.

First announced in May 1982 as Alexandra, it was renamed to Redhill in June 1983. The station commenced operations along with the entire MRT system on 12 March 1988 by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Bicycle facilities for the station were expanded in July 1990. Half-height platform screen doors and high-volume low-speed fans were installed by August 2011 and the first quarter of 2013, respectively. In March 2017, a linkway was installed between Redhill and the Enabling Village, a community space for the disabled to be integrated into society.

Like other elevated stations on the Tiong Bahru–Clementi stretch, the station feature grilles and horizontal louvres. Despite its name, Redhill features a pink colour scheme. Its roof also has clerestory windows.

History

Redhill station was first included in the early plans of the MRT system as Alexandra in May 1982. Initially meant to be part of Phase II of the system, it was later announced in June 1983 to be part of Phase IA, an extension of Phase I from Tiong Bahru to Clementi stations, of the MRT as Redhill 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.

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 Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRTC) awarding the contract to Sumitomo Construction in February 1985 for . It was also expected that construction of Redhill and Commonwealth will start in the same month and be finished by December 1987. By April and November 1987, the pink tiles for the station were already up, and operations were expected to start in April 1988, respectively. In February 1988, it was announced that Red Hill, 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.

In July 1990, it was announced that as part of the cycle-and-ride scheme, 10 stations, including Redhill, would have their bicycle stands extended. 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 Redhill station by August 2011. The station was installed with high-volume low-speed fans by the first quarter of 2013. In December 2017, works were completed for a linkway from Redhill station to the Enabling Village, a community space for people with disabilities to be integrated in society, to make it more accessible for those with mobility issues. Prior to the linkway, the journey between the two places was a "challenge" for people with disabilities due to hills in the area. It was announced in March 2017 that as part a collaboration between the LTA and SG Enable, Redhill will serve as a test bed for "new mobility technologies and infrastructure" in order to improve accessibility for those with disabilities.

Details

Redhill station is on the EWL with the station number of EW18, situated between Tiong Bahru and Queenstown stations. When it opened, it had the station number of W4 before being changed to its current station number 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, Redhill has an island platform and is elevated. The station operates between 5:49am and 12:08am daily, with train frequencies varying from 2–5 minutes peak hour to an average of 5 minutes for off peak hours.

The station is bounded by Tiong Bahru Road. It has two exits and serves surrounding amenities such as the Delta Swimming Complex, Thye Hong Centre, and Leng Kee Community Club. Redhill is mostly wheelchair-accessible (except for Exit B) and has bicycle facilities.

Like other stations in the Tiong Bahru-Clementi stretch of Phase IA, it was designed to have an identity similar to Singaporean traditions, according to BSK-BS Konsult's Michael Granit, who was in charge of the design philosophy for Phase IA. Its horizontal louvres, what ''The Straits Times'' has described as "brashly coloured grilles which run right round the station, interrupted only by the regularly spaced columns", are equated to French windows in shophouses. Its platform columns can also be equated to the paladium columns in shophouses. Despite the station name being "Redhill", it features pink walls. This was done to make the station "be pleasant to the eye" and to distinguish it from other stations within the stretch. According to the MRTC, the pastel shade of the wall are reminiscent of traditional colours used for shophouses. Additionally, the roof for Redhill was an important design element as it would be able to be seen from high rise flats, with its roof featuring clerestory windows that makes the roof "look like huge lanterns" as well as being cantilevered to reduce rain shedding on platforms. It also has horizontal slats to reduce sun exposure to the trains and the apparent height of the upper roof line.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Redhill MRT station
Railway stations in Singapore opened in 1988
Bukit Merah
Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) stations