Jurong East MRT station


 NS1  EW24  JE5 
Jurong East
裕廊东
ஜூரோங் கிழக்கு
Jurong East

Rapid transit
East West Line platform of Jurong East MRT station
Location 10 Jurong East Street 12
Singapore 609690
Coordinates 1°20′00″N 103°44′32″E / 1.333415°N 103.742119°E / 1.333415; 103.742119
Operated by SMRT Trains (SMRT Corporation)
Line(s)
  East West line
  Jurong Region line
  North South line
Platforms Triple Island
Tracks 4
Connections Jurong East Bus Interchange, Taxi
Construction
Structure type Elevated
Platform levels 1
Parking Yes (Jem, Westgate)
Bicycle facilities Yes
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code  EW24  JE5  NS1 
History
Opened 5 November 1988 (1988-11-05) (Platforms C (Eastbound), D (Southbound), E (Southbound) & F (Westbound))
27 May 2011 (2011-05-27) (Platforms A (Southbound/Peak hour only) & B (Eastbound/Peak hour only)
Opening 2027 (2027) (Jurong Region line)
Electrified Yes
Previous names Jurong, Jurong Town
Services
Preceding station   Mass Rapid Transit   Following station
towards Pasir Ris
East West line
towards Tuas Link
TerminusNorth South line
One-way operation
Jurong Region line
East Service
Future service
One-way operation
Jurong Region line
North Service
Future service
towards Tengah
Location
Exterior view of Jurong East station, showing a Siemens C651 Train pulling in.

Jurong East MRT station (NS1/EW24/JE5) is an above-ground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange station on the North South Line and East West Line in Jurong East, Singapore. It is the terminus for the North South Line. It is located at the heart of the Jurong Lake District, within the vicinity of JCube, Jem, Westgate, IMM, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Jurong East Bus Interchange.

Currently, it is one of the three MRT interchange stations on the Singapore MRT/LRT network to be fully elevated; the other two being Tanah Merah MRT station and Choa Chu Kang MRT/LRT station. It is currently the only elevated station with a triple island platform. According to preliminary plan, Jurong East station is slated to become an interchange with the Jurong Region Line in 2027.

Jurong East station is one of the busiest MRT stations in western Singapore.

Etymology

Jurong East MRT station was so named because it is physically located within the Jurong East planning area. The name "Jurong" was taken from Sungei Jurong, and could originally be derived from the Malay word for shark, "jerung"; or the Malay term for gorge, "jurang"; or the Malay word for corner, "penjuru".

Before the station was completed, it was known by its working titles "Jurong" and "Jurong Town". The former was a reference to the geographic region that the station is situated in, while the latter refers to the settlement that was later built in the area.

Design

The station was designed by Scott Danielson, and it has a roof which utilises a geometric design similar to the original Jurong East Bus Interchange, in order to fit with the adjacent structure.[1]

History

Originally known as Jurong Town,[2] the station opened on 5 November 1988, as part of the first stage of Phase 2 of the system.[3]

In 1999, upgrading work was carried out at Jurong East to cater to rising passenger volumes. Six existing openings between the concourse level and platform level were covered to make the platform more spacious. Construction cost $350,000 and took around 6 months to complete.

The Jurong East Modification Project (JEMP) was a key infrastructural upgrading project involving the construction of two new platforms and a new track at Jurong East, allowing two trains along the North South Line to enter and depart the station at the same time. Previously, trains had to take turns to arrive and depart from the station using a shared middle track. The new platforms and track allow for shorter train intervals, reducing waiting times and reducing the crowding in trains.[4]

The station was retrofitted with half-height platform screen doors in 2009 which commenced operations on 18 December 2009.[5] It was the third above-ground station to have half-height platform screen doors installed and in operation. Platform screen doors were also installed for the new platforms from the JEMP and went into operation on 27 May 2011.

Originally projected to be opened in 2012, then Minister for Transport, Mr Raymond Lim, announced on 12 February 2009 that the date was pushed forward by a year, to 2011. Construction started in 2009 and was completed and handed to the operator at around the first quarter of 2011, with the new platforms and track being tested since then, before the announcement on 16 May 2011 about its operation date on 27 May 2011.[6][7]

To connect the new train tracks to the existing tracks, train services between Joo Koon and Clementi were halted on 4 & 5 September 2010 (affected substation is Chinese Garden, Ulu Pandan and possibly Dover),[8] followed by train services between Jurong East and Bukit Gombak on 18 & 19 September 2010 (affected substation is Bukit Gombak).[9] SMRT deployed high-frequency bus bridging services across the affected stretches -

  • Service A: Joo Koon to Lakeside (operates on 4 and 5 September 2010)
  • Service B: Clementi to Jurong East (operates on 4 and 5 September 2010)
  • Service C: Jurong East to Bukit Gombak (operates on 18 and 19 September 2010)

During the initial operation period, the new platforms and track were only operated on weekdays except public holidays, during the morning peak hour period, from 7:00 am to 9:00 am, as there were only five new C151A trains ready for revenue service. Evening peak hour operation from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm on weekdays started from 27 December 2011 while the morning peak hour period was extended to end an hour later at 10:00 am after the next batch of trains became ready for revenue service.[10][11]

The station has the most high-volume low-speed fans installed due to station's size, out of the 36 elevated stations. The fans commenced operations on 30 June 2012 together with Ang Mo Kio.[12]

Aerial perspective of Jurong East Interchange

Noise barriers (from PIE to Block 266 Jurong East Avenue 1) and privacy screens (from Block 266 Jurong East Avenue 1 to Boon Lay Way and Block 108 Jurong East Street 13 to Jurong Town Hall Road) were also installed to reduce the amount of noise generated towards residential areas, between January 2011 and September 2014.[13][14]

Incidents

  • On 4 February 2005, a 29-year-old man, Mak Hoy Meng went up to an SMRT employee at this station and gave him two handwritten notes that declared there was a bomb at one of the stations.[15] The restaurant supervisor told Yeow Meng Chai that he saw a man drop the notes and even described the fellow in detail, down to the brand of the bag he was carrying. But under questioning by the police, he admitted he had written them himself and there were no bombs. His story came apart when his description differed in later versions. By then, police officers had searched extensively for the man. However, trains were not stopped. On 10 March 2005, he pleaded guilty under the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Regulations to trying to hoax Yeow about a bomb on 4 February 2005 at 8 pm and was jailed for 2​1⁄2years. He admitted that at the time he tried to fool Yeow, he was disgruntled with the police and society in general, because he had been charged with theft and was out on bail. The theft charge – stealing $50 from a restaurant was considered during sentencing.
  • A 62-year-old woman was found injured at the station at about 2:35 pm on 24 November 2011. The woman was taken to the National University Hospital where she subsequently died from her injuries. Police subsequently arrested a 55-year-old man for the alleged murder the following day.[16]

The station appeared as one of the four MRT stations in the original Singapore edition of the board game Monopoly.

References

  1. ↑ "MRT station roofs to show Singapore's cultural mix". The Straits Times. 13 April 1987. Retrieved 29 October 2017 – via NewspaperSG.
  2. ↑ "A Journey Into Singapore's MRT past".
  3. ↑ "Three more stations for MRT system". The Business Times. 5 November 1988. Retrieved 20 October 2017 – via NewspaperSG.
  4. ↑ "The Jurong East Modification Project (JEMP)". Archived from the original on 27 May 2011.
  5. ↑ "Speech by Mr Raymond Lim, Minister for transport, at the visit to Kim Chuan Depot, 25 January 2008, 9.00 AM". Singapore Government Media Release. 25 January 2008.
  6. ↑ "New Platform at Jurong East Station To Open on 27 May". Archived from the original on 7 August 2011.
  7. ↑ "Waiting times cut with new platform at Jurong East MRT station".
  8. ↑ Temporary MRT service disruption
  9. ↑ LTA and SMRT gear up for disruption over the weekend
  10. ↑ "New platforms at Jurong East Interchange to operate in evenings".
  11. ↑ Jamie Ee Wen Wei (28 May 2011). "Jurong East platform opens". The Straits Times.
  12. ↑ "Enhancing Connectivity and Comfort for Commuters". Land Transport Authority. 13 October 2011. Archived from the original on 25 December 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  13. ↑ Mustafa Shafawi (14 June 2011). "LTA to study noise levels along elevated MRT tracks". Channel News Asia.
  14. ↑ Railway Noise Barriers on Track
  15. ↑ The Straits Times, "Man Jailed For Bomb Hoax", 11 March 2005
  16. ↑ "Murder at Jurong East MRT station". AsiaOne. 24 November 2011. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
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