Dover MRT station

 EW22 
Dover
杜弗
டோவெர்
Dover
Rapid transit
The 2 side platforms of Dover MRT station. A train is seen arriving at the station.
Location 200 Commonwealth Avenue West
Singapore 138677
Coordinates 1°18′40.73″N 103°46′43.17″E / 1.3113139°N 103.7786583°E / 1.3113139; 103.7786583
Operated by SMRT Trains (SMRT Corporation)
Line(s)
  East West line
Platforms Side
Tracks 2
Connections Bus, Taxi
Construction
Structure type Elevated
Platform levels 1
Parking Yes (Singapore Polytechnic)
Bicycle facilities Yes[1][2]
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code  EW22 
History
Opened 18 October 2001 (2001-10-18)
Electrified Yes
Previous names Polytechnic
Services
Preceding station   Mass Rapid Transit   Following station
towards Pasir Ris
East West line
towards Tuas Link
Location
An exterior view of the Dover MRT station, which was built around existing elevated railway track and has overpasses leading to Singapore Polytechnic and bus stops on both sides of the road.

Dover MRT station (EW22) is an above-ground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East West Line in Queenstown planning area, Singapore.

It is the first infill station on the Singapore MRT network.[3] It is also the first elevated station in Singapore with two side platforms on either side of the tracks, as opposed to having an island platform commonly found in other elevated MRT stations. A similar layout will be adopted at the upcoming Canberra MRT station.

As the second above-ground MRT station built in the late 1990s and the early 2000s (the other being Expo MRT station), it has a distinctive architectural design. Like most projects of this period, the use of glass and steel is extensive.

Dover station provides MRT access to students and staff of Singapore Polytechnic, as well as residents of the nearby Mount Sinai and Dover estates.

History

Adjacent to the Singapore Polytechnic on one side, and undeveloped land on the other, the building of the station was met with reservations by some members of the public over the small area it serviced when construction began in June 1998. There were criticisms over the spending of "taxpayers' money" chiefly for use only by students of one educational institution.[4] The Land Transport Authority, the government department in charge of public transport operations, proceeded with the construction anyway, to serve commuters along Singapore Polytechnic with Dover housing estate.[5][6] Originally, it was named Singapore Polytechnic MRT Station in the planning stage. With the change of plans, it was renamed to Dover.

Dover MRT station. Taken 2016.

Originally, the station was not assigned a station code, but since 18 July 2001, there has been a criticism on whether it would be assigned a code called W7A, or would it be renumbered. Eventually, it was assigned the station code EW22, the reason for this being that code derivations were running out.

Trains were running slower due to the construction.[7] There were test runs from 13 to 17 October 2001 when the trains stopped at this station but did not open their doors.[8]

Shuttle buses were provided from this station to National University Hospital (NUH), previously from Buona Vista. However, services ceased with effect from 1 November 2011 due to the opening of Kent Ridge MRT station on the Circle Line, which is located within NUH premises.[9] Half height platform screen doors (HHPSD) were installed in this station and they became operational on 5 August 2011.[10]

Incidents

On 19 September 2009 a retiree Muhammad Osmail Paiman, 61, was pulled out to safety after he fell onto the MRT tracks at the station.[11] A similar incident happened the next day when a retiree Carolyn Quek was saved by a man. The retiree felt giddy and fell into the tracks.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "SMRT > Trains > NetworkMap > Dover". www.smrt.com.sg. SMRT. 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017. Station Amenities
  2. ↑ "SMRT Journeys". journey.smrt.com.sg. SMRT. 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017. Amenities
  3. ↑ Fook Kong, Lau (13 July 2001). "Next Stop: Dover". The Straits Times. p. 8.
  4. ↑ Leong, Yit Chun (19 August 2002). "Public should not subsidise new MRT stations". The Straits Times Forum.
  5. ↑ "S'pore Poly to be linked to MRT". The Straits Times. 30 July 1997. p. 3.
  6. ↑ "Doorstep train". Today news. 5 October 2001. p. 8.
  7. ↑ "Trains slower near Dover Station". The Straits Times. 30 May 2000. p. 25.
  8. ↑ "Trial Runs at Dover". Today news. 13 October 2001. p. 6.
  9. ↑ "Take the Circle Line to NUH". Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  10. ↑ Wong, Siew Ying (January 26, 2008). "Above-ground MRT stations to have platform screen doors by 2012". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Close Call: SMRT staff pulled retiree Muhammad Osmail Paiman to safety". The NEw Paper. 22 September 2009. p. 8.
  12. ↑ "Man who fell onto tracks saved". The Straits Times. 21 September 2009. p. 23.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.