Orchard Boulevard MRT station

History

The station was first announced on 29 August 2012 as part of the Thomson Line (TSL). Contract T218 for the design and construction of Orchard Boulevard Station was awarded to KTC Civil Engineering & Construction Pte Ltd at S$143 million (US$ million) in May 2014. Construction started in 2014, with an initial expected completion date of 2021.

On 15 August 2014, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced that the TSL would merge with the Eastern Region Line to form the Thomson–East Coast Line (TEL). Orchard Boulevard station, part of the proposed line, would be constructed as part of TEL 3, consisting of 13 stations between Mount Pleasant and Gardens by the Bay. With restrictions imposed on construction due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the TEL3 completion date was pushed by one year to 2022.

On 9 March 2022, Transport Minister S Iswaran announced in Parliament that TEL 3 would open in the second half of that year. As confirmed during a visit by Iswaran at the and stations on 7 October 2022, the station began operations on 13 November.

Description

Orchard Boulevard station serves the TEL and is between the Napier and Orchard stations. The official station code is TE13. Being part of the TEL, the station is operated by SMRT Trains. Train frequencies on the TEL range from 3 to 6 minutes.

The station is located along Orchard Boulevard at the junction with Grange Road and Rochalie Drive. Surrounding landmarks of the station include: Camden Medical Centre, the Chinese embassy, the US embassy, Jen Singapore Tanglin by Shangri-La, Orchard Rendezvous Hotel, Tanglin Shopping Centre and Tudor Court Shopping Gallery.

Orchard Boulevard station was designed by SAA Architects, who had to resolve the contradicting requirements of providing adequate ventilation and natural daylight, while being situated in a confined site also reserved for future development near the station. Hence, the main entrance was integrated with ventilation shafts, cooling towers, and skylights built right above the station box. This allowed for a three-tiered mezzanine and a wall created by the shafts where the station artwork would be placed, with sunlight streaming into the interior. Throughout the day, the changing position of the sun results in varying interactions between sunlight, the installation artwork, and the walls of the shafts, intended to bring vibrancy and animation to different sections of the station. The station entrances' materials, such as aluminium, granite, and glass, complement the surrounding architectural landscape.

Pulse (stylised in all caps) by Twardzik Ching Chor Leng is a network of industrial-scale pipes that hang over the station concourse. The work is intended to depict the constant circulation of people on the MRT system and its importance in keeping the city alive, paralleling the functions of the human circulatory system that maintains the flow of nutrients.

References

References

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3. "LTA {{!}} News Room {{!}} News Releases {{!}} Thomson Line Station Names Finalised".
4. Sim, Royston. (29 August 2012). "New Thomson MRT line to open from 2019, and have 22 stations".
5. (30 August 2012). "Thomson Line to open from 2019 with 22 stations".
6. (27 May 2014). "LTA Awards Four Contracts for Thomson Line's Orchard Boulevard, Great World, Outram Park and Shenton Way Stations".
7. (19 August 2014). "Joint News Release by the Land Transport Authority & Singapore Land Authority – Thomson-East Coast Line: New MRT Links in the East".
8. (13 February 2020). "Thomson–East Coast Line".
9. "Written Reply by Minister for Transport Ong Ye Kung to Parliamentary Question on Updates on Thomson East Coast Line, Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line".
10. (9 March 2022). "11 more Thomson-East Coast stations to open in the second half of 2022; more 'inclusive' changes for vulnerable commuters".
11. Yong, Clement. (7 October 2022). "11 new TEL stations, from Stevens to Gardens by the Bay, to open on Nov 13; free rides on Nov 11". [[Singapore Press Holdings]].
12. "Factsheet: Thomson – East Coast Line Stage 3 to Open for Passenger Service from 13 November 2022".
13. (7 October 2022). "11 Thomson-East Coast Line stations to open on Nov 13; free rides available on Nov 11". [[Mediacorp]].
14. (13 November 2022). "Stations buzzing on first day of operations for third stage of Thomson-East Coast Line". [[Singapore Press Holdings]].
15. "MRT System Map".
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19. "Orchard Boulevard – Map".
20. "Orchard Boulevard – Exits".
21. (20 June 2023). "Orchard Boulevard Station".
22. (29 October 2022). "Charcoal drawings, quirky book titles: 7 art works in Thomson-East Coast Line stations you should not miss".
23. "LTA {{!}} Art in Transit".