Loading
  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Eunos MRT Station

Eunos MRT station is an elevated Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East–West MRT line in Geylang, Singapore. It is located next to the Eunos Bus Interchange.

First announced to be on initial MRT plans in May 1982, it was later announced to be constructed as part of Phase II of the MRT system on October 1983. The contract for the station was awarded to a joint venture between the Okumura Corporation and Oh Teck Thye on December 1985. However, about a year later, the joint venture was terminated due to Oh Teck Thye having financial difficulties and being placed under receivership, with Okumura taking over the project. In December 2000, a man fell on a set of tracks and was ran over by a train. He was rescued and transported to Changi General Hospital, where he later died.

There were issues with the design of the station's stairs after its opening. In 1996, a set of steps connecting the station's terrace to the ground was sinking, which created a drop that was potentially harmful for the elderly and young children. It was promptly repaired. A similar issue occured in 2006

History

View of the island platform of Eunos MRT station.

Eunos station was first announced in May 1982 in the initial MRT plans. It was later announced that the station would be part of Phase II of the MRT system in October 1983.

There were several joint ventures between companies that prequalified for Contract 303 by May 1985, which initially detailed the construction of Paya Lebar station as well as a viaduct from Paya Lebar to Eunos stations. Ultimately, the contract was awarded to a Japanese-Singaporean joint venture between the Okumura Corporation and Oh Teck Thye for S$60 million (1985) (US$27.27 million) on December 1985, with Okumara having 60% interest in the contract whilst Oh Teck Thye having 40%. By then, the contract expanded to include the construction of Eunos station as well as viaducts to Kembangan station. Work began in the same month. However, on 30 December 1986, the joint venture between the two companies was terminated, with the Okumura Corporation undertaking all the responsibilities of Contract 303 and Oh Teck Thye to cease all interests in said contract. It was later found out that Oh Teck Thye owed S$3 million (1987) (US$1.42 million) to the United Overseas Bank (UOB) and was placed under receivership when it failed to repay its debts. Meanwhile, Okumura requested to take over Oh Teck Thye's part of the contract. It was described to the first instance of a joint-venture split in the MRT Project. By February 1986, 41% of the contract has been completed. In July 1986, Swiss-Singapore company VSL Systems Pte Ltd won the subcontract for the supply of post-tension cables and pre-cast beams for the station's viaducts.

On 6 December 2000, a man fell on the eastbound track just as a train was approaching him. The driver did activate the train's emergency breaks but could not avoid hitting the man. This resulted in the man trapped between two cabins, who was breathing. He was rescued by the Singapore Civil Defence Force, who transported him to Changi General Hospital where he died an hour later.

As with most of the above-ground stations along the East–West Line (EWL), it was built without platform screen doors. The installation of half-height platform screen doors started on 5 October 2010 and operations started on 16 December that year. This station is installed with high-volume low-speed fans, which started operations on 11 September 2012 together with Queenstown MRT station. Installation of a privacy screen from Eunos Road 5 to Eunos Road 2 began in January 2017 and was completed in July 2017.

Details

Eunos station is on the EWL with the station code EW7, situated between Kembangan and Paya Lebar stations. Being part of the EWL, it is operated by SMRT Trains.

The station runs alongside with Sims Avenue and is next to Eunos Crescent and Jalan Eunos. It has three exits serving the Eunos Bus Interchange, Masjid Darul Aman, Eunos Crescent Market and Food Centre,

It is an elevated station with an island platform. The station has a traditional Malay roof structure (Atap Minangkabau) and with a shape similar to the stations in the western part of the East-West Line (Chinese Garden to Boon Lay stations), and the northern part of the North South Line (Bukit Batok to Khatib stations) except for Woodlands, using modern materials such as steel beams, similar to that of the Eunos Bus Interchange. This is to provide a sense of identity to the area, as Eunos Bus Interchange lies close to Geylang Serai and the Malay Village.

The station did have issues with the design of its stairs. In February 1996, a flight of stairs from the station's terrace to the ground underwent repairs due to it sinking in the ground. The difference between the concrete of the terrace and the soft soil of the ground resulted in a 40 centimetres (16 in) drop, which posed a risk for the elderly and young children. A similar issues arose in August 2006 along with another stair-related issue. According to a letter by a commuter, the "granite-clad steps of grandiose design" at the station's south front exit "[led] to nowhere". The other flight of stairs was a set of steps connected to a ramp near Eunos Food Centre in the east side of the station, which was criticised for appearing to being "wheelchair accessible". SMRT clarified that the first set of stairs was meant to connect a carpark to the station whilst the ramp was originally not meant for wheelchair users, respectively. It added that works were underway to fix the first set of stairs as it was uneven due sinking into the ground as well as to remove the stairs from the ramp to make it more wheelchair accessible.

As a part of SMRT's heritage-themed Comic Connect public art display, there are two murals created local artist Erica Wee. The first mural depicts the history of Katong and Joo Chiat as well as businessman Chew Joo Chiat (the namesake of Joo Chiat), Zubir Said (who composed Singapore's national anthem Majulah Singapura), and Old Palace Theatre. Meanwhile, the second mural depicts the history of Eunos, including Malay community leader Mohammed Eunos Bin Abdullah (the namesake of of Eunos), the Telok Kurau English school, and Geylang Serai Kampong/Village.

References

  1. ^ "Land Transport DataMall". mytransport.sg. Land Transport Authority. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Proposed MRT stations". The Straits Times. 23 May 1982. p. 1. Retrieved 23 September 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  3. ^ "Phase 2 gets go-ahead to ensure continuity". The Straits Times. 26 October 1983. p. 8. Retrieved 14 September 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  4. ^ "MRTC prequalifies 37 for 11 engineering contracts".
  5. ^ "List of pre-qualified contractors — MRT Phase IIA, IIB".
  6. ^ "Japanese-local venture wins $60m MRT deal".
  7. ^ "Parting of the ways for two MRT venture partners".
  8. ^ "Page 12 Advertisements Column 1".
  9. ^ "Oh Teck Thye placed in the hands of receivers".
  10. ^ "VSL Systems clinches MRT supply deals". Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Death on MRT track at Eunos".
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "Enhancing Connectivity and Comfort for Commuters". Land Transport Authority. 13 October 2011. Archived from the original on 25 December 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  14. ^ Railway Noise Barriers on Track
  15. ^ "System Map" (PDF). Land Transport Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 June 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  16. ^ "Getting Around – Public Transport – Rail Network". Land Transport Authority. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Eunos - Map".
  18. ^ "Ethnic touch for Eunos MRT station". The Straits Times. 20 June 1986. Retrieved 23 June 2017 – via NewspaperSG.
  19. ^ "MRT station roofs to show Singapore's cultural mix". The Straits Times. 13 April 1987. p. 13.
  20. ^ "Eunos MRT station steps under repair".
  21. ^ Lim, Soon Heng (29 August 2006). "Building designs that make no sense". TODAY (Letter). p. 21. Retrieved 6 October 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  22. ^ Low, Dawn (14 September 2024). "Granite steps at Eunos station cordoned off for safety reasons". TODAY (Response to letter). p. 34. Retrieved 6 October 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  23. ^ "Commuters & Communities - Comic Connect". SMRT. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  24. ^ "Early Days of Joo Chiat and Katong" (PDF). SMRT (File). Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 September 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.