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Toa Payoh MRT station

Coordinates:01°19′58″N103°50′51″E/ 1.33278°N 103.84750°E/1.33278; 103.84750
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

NS19
Toa Payoh
Đại ba diêu
தோ பாயோ
Mass Rapid Transit(MRT) station
The rectangular-shaped station entrance with a connecting linkway (with a blue canopy) from the right
Exit D of Toa Payoh MRT station
General information
Location510 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh
Singapore 319398[1]
Coordinates01°19′58″N103°50′51″E/ 1.33278°N 103.84750°E/1.33278; 103.84750
Operated bySMRT TrainsLtd (SMRT Corporation)
Line(s)
North–South Line
Platforms2 (1 island platform)
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus (Toa Payoh Bus Interchange), taxi
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Platform levels1
AccessibleYes
History
Opened7 November 1987;36 years ago(1987-11-07)
Passengers
November 202025,731 per day[2]
Services
Preceding station Mass Rapid Transit Following station
Braddell
towardsJurong East
 North–South Line Novena
towardsMarina South Pier
Location
A map of the Singapore rail system, with a color for each line and a red dot highlighting the location of Toa Payoh station
A map of the Singapore rail system, with a color for each line and a red dot highlighting the location of Toa Payoh station
Toa Payoh
Location within Singapore Rail central area

Toa Payoh MRT stationis an undergroundMass Rapid Transit(MRT) station on theNorth South line(NSL) inToa Payoh,Singapore.Located in the town centre of Toa Payoh, it is integrated with theToa Payoh Bus Interchangeand the HDB Hub, headquarters of theHousing and Development Board.The station is underneath the intersection of three roads: Lorong1 Toa Payoh, Lorong2 Toa Payoh and Lorong6 Toa Payoh.

First announced in May 1982, construction of the station began in 1983 as part of PhaseI of the MRT system. In August 1985, it became the first Mass Rapid Transit station in Singapore to have its concrete structure completed. It opened on 7 November 1987 and was one of the first MRT stations to operate in revenue service. It has a bright yellow scheme with a set of coloured tiles at the concourse level.

History

[edit]
A silver plaque with the words: Mr Ong Teng Cheong, Second Deputy Prime Minister, inaugurated the first section of the MRT system from Toa Payoh to Yio Chu Kang, and unveiled this plaque at Toa Payoh Station on 7 November 1989
A plaque at the station commemorating the opening of the first phase of the Singapore MRT

Toa Payoh station was included in the early plans of the MRT network published in May 1982.[3]The first confirmation that the station would be among the Phase I stations (fromAng Mo KiotoMarina Bay) came in November that year.[4][5]This segment was given priority as it passed through areas that had a higher demand for public transport, such as the densely populated housing estates ofToa PayohandAng Mo Kioand theCentral Area.The line aimed to relieve the traffic congestion on theThomson–Sembawang roadcorridor.[6][7]

Contract 104 for the construction of the Toa Payoh andNovenastations was awarded to Tobishima–Takenaka Joint Venture in September 1983. TheS$96.8million (US$50million in 2022) contract included the construction of 2.329 kilometres (1.447 mi) of tunnels.[8][9]Construction of the tunnels between Toa Payoh and Novena began with a groundbreaking ceremony at Shan Road on 22 October 1983. This ceremony also marked the beginning of the MRT network construction.[10]The tunnels and the station had an expected completion date of early 1988.[11]

The station was constructed on the site of the Toa Payoh Central bus terminal, which was relocated to an adjacent site.[12]At Shan Road, theinitial shaftwas dug into a layer of sandstone. Tunnels were driven in either direction from that shaft. The composition of the ground was of either sandstone, granite, marine clay, or decomposed rocks. The sandstone sections had to be driven using a shield (with temporary shotcrete/mesh reinforcement). The granite sections had to be driven and also mined using explosives. The marine clay sections were constructed usingcut-and-cover,and the decomposed rock sections used theNew Austrian tunneling method(NATM).[13]

On 6 August 1985 Toa Payoh was the first MRT station to have its structural works completed, with the final bucket of cement poured into the station as part of thetopping outceremony.[14][15][16]Due to various soil conditions, in November 1985 the contractor requested an extension of eight months and additional monetary claims to construct the tunnels between the Novena and Toa Payoh stations.[17]

In January 1986 it was announced that the first section of the MRT system, from theYio Chu Kangto Toa Payoh stations, would be opened in early 1988;[18]this was rescheduled to 7 November 1987 in an announcement in 16 September that year.[19][20][21]In an effort to familiarise people with the system,[22]the station hosted a preview from 10 to 11 October 1987.[23][24]During the preview, about 44,000 people visited the station.[25]However, no train services ran, much to the disappointment of many visitors. Many expressed excitement and curiosity, and many visitors bought tickets to take the MRT ride on the system's debut.[26]

On the opening day, Toa Payoh was the most visited station on the newly completed line, with long lines outside the station by 11:00am.[27]At the opening ceremony, second deputy prime ministerOng Teng Cheong,who advocated for and commissioned the planning of the MRT system, attended the ceremony as a special Guest of Honour.Yeo Ning Hong,theMinister For Communications and Information,formally started MRT operations and announced it to be the "beginning" of the MRT system.[28]On the day, the emergency button was activated at Toa Payoh station just before 8:30pm, which halted trains for about half an hour along one of the two tracks leading to the station.[27]

On 8 January 2006 Toa Payoh station was one of four MRT stations which participated inExercise NorthstarV,a mockcounterterrorismexercise.[29]In July 2012, theLand Transport Authority(LTA) called for a tender to enhance the flood prevention measures (such as new flood barriers) at Toa Payoh station, along with eleven other MRT stations.[a][30][31]From July 2012 to 2014, the escalator at ExitD (the pedestrian underpass linking to Lorong2 Toa Payoh) was replaced and upgraded.[32]

Interior views of Toa Payoh station
Concourse level with fare gates dividing the unpaid and paid areas of the station. A rainbow dressing of 15,000 coloured tiles is displayed along the concourse in the background.
Concourse level of the station
Underground island platform with escalators between two yellow pillars leading up to the concourse
Platform level of Toa Payoh station

Station details

[edit]

Toa Payoh serves the North South line (NSL) and is between theBraddelland Novena stations. The official station code is NS19.[33]Like all the stations of the NSL, the station is operated bySMRT Trains.[34]The station operates between 5:41am and 12:25am daily.[35]Train frequencies vary from 2.5 to 5.0 minutes.[36]

The station has four entrances serving the Toa Payoh area.[37]Toa Payoh means "big swamp" in theHokkien dialect.The name is a reference to the large swampy area which existed prior to the development of Chinese market gardens there.[38][39]Surrounding landmarks include the Toa Payoh Bus Interchange, HDB Hub,[40]Toa Payoh Public Library,Toa Payoh Stadium,Toa Payoh Swimming complexand the CHIJ Primary and Secondary Schools. The station is also next to twochurches:theChurch of the Risen Christand Toa Payoh Methodist Church.[1][37]

The station is underground , with a concourse on the upper level and the platforms on the lower level.[41]Like many stations on the initial MRT network, Toa Payoh has anisland platform.[42]Toa Payoh is also one of the few stations on the initial network to have a double-height ceiling. The wide platforms and entrances were designed to accommodate huge crowds.[43]

Toa Payoh station has a bright yellow colour scheme for the pillars and canopies.[44]Along the 50-metre (160 ft) concourse, the station features a "rainbow dressing" mural consisting of 15,000 tiles in various colours. The rainbow mural was intended to reflect the masses of people of various racial backgrounds moving together in harmony.[45]

As part of SMRT's Comic Connect, a public art showcase of heritage-themed murals, the station displaysThe Toa Payoh Storyby James Suresh, Sayed Ismail and Suki Chong.[46]The artwork depicts various landmarks of the Toa Payoh area, includingthe dragon playground,Shuang Lin Monastery, and the Toa Payoh Public Library.[47]The mural includes the depiction ofSeah Eu Chin,a businessman and landowner of the area.[46]As Toa Payoh was the first town developed by the Housing and Development Board, the artists intended for the mural to tie the area's significance to major milestones in Singapore's history.[48]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^The other stations areBraddell,Boon Keng,Somerset,Outram Park,Tiong Bahru,Bugis,Lavender,Bishan,Marina Bay,andChangi Airport.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ab"Toa Payoh MRT Station (NS19)".OneMap.Singapore Land Authority.Retrieved8 March2021.
  2. ^"Land Transport DataMall".DataMall.Land Transport Authority.Archivedfrom the original on 21 August 2020.Retrieved20 August2020.
  3. ^"Proposed MRT stations".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.23 May 1982. p. 1.Retrieved12 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  4. ^"Where the 14 North–South MRT stations will be".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.30 November 1982. p. 7.Retrieved31 July2022– via NewspaperSG.
  5. ^"Exact locations of 14 stations".Business Times.Singapore Press Holdings.30 November 1982. p. 1 – via NewspaperSG.
  6. ^Annual report.Singapore: Provisional Mass Rapid Transit Authority. 1983. p. 5.
  7. ^Dhaliwal, Rav (29 August 1982)."North–south line off first".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.p. 1.Retrieved19 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  8. ^Wee, Agnes (16 September 1983)."Japanese win first MRT civil engineering contract".Business Times.Singapore Press Holdings.p. 1.Retrieved18 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  9. ^Seah, Richard (6 September 1983)."Japanese likely to bag first two MRT jobs".Business Times.Singapore Press Holdings.p. 1.Archivedfrom the original on 19 December 2020.Retrieved18 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  10. ^John, Alan; Tan, Julie (23 October 1983)."Days of wine and promise".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.p. 1.Archivedfrom the original on 23 June 2022.Retrieved23 June2022.
  11. ^"Work begins on the first part of MRT system".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.29 October 1983. p. 17.Retrieved19 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  12. ^"The big dig starts in two months".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.4 August 1983. p. 7.Retrieved18 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  13. ^Mass Rapid Transit System: Proceedings of the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit Conference.Singapore:Mass Rapid Transit Corporation.1987. p. 264.ISBN9971-84-636-5.OCLC82363485.
  14. ^"Toa Payoh MRT station first to be topped out".Business Times.Singapore Press Holdings.6 August 1985. p. 2.Retrieved15 June2017– via NewspaperSG.
  15. ^"MRT nears half-way mark".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.31 July 1985. p. 8.Retrieved18 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  16. ^"Speech by Dr Yeo Ning Hong, Minister for Communications and Information and Second Minister for Defence, at the topping out ceremony at the Toa Payoh MRT station on 5 August 1985 at 10.00 am"(PDF).National Archives of Singapore.Ministry of Communications and Information.5 August 1985.Archived(PDF)from the original on 18 December 2020.Retrieved18 December2020.
  17. ^"MRT builder claims additional cost".Business Times.Singapore Press Holdings.16 November 1985. p. 12.Retrieved18 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  18. ^"The first residents to ride MRT trains".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.14 January 1986. p. 12.Retrieved19 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  19. ^Dhaliwal, Rav (16 September 1987)."MRT trains to roll on Nov 7".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.p. 1 – via NewspaperSG.
  20. ^Soong, Martin (16 September 1987)."MRT trains may start runs a month early".Business Times.Singapore Press Holdings.p. 2.Retrieved19 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  21. ^Lim, Soon Neo (25 September 1987)."MRT to spend $1.5 m on educating public before trains roll".Business Times.Singapore Press Holdings.p. 2 – via NewspaperSG.
  22. ^"MRT station tours from next month".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.4 September 1987. p. 19.Retrieved19 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  23. ^"Speech by Dr Yeo Ning Hong, Minister for Communications and Information and Second Minister for Defence, at Toa Payoh MRT station open day on Saturday, 10 October 1987 at 9.00 am"(PDF).National Archives of Singapore.Ministry of Communications and Information.10 October 1987.Archived(PDF)from the original on 18 December 2020.Retrieved18 December2020.
  24. ^"MRT tours for public start today at Braddell and Toa Payoh".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.10 October 1987. p. 16 – via NewspaperSG.
  25. ^"57,000 visit two stations over the weekend".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.13 October 1987.Retrieved18 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  26. ^Dhaliwal, Rav (11 October 1987)."Thousands turn up for first look at MRT stations".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.p. 14.Retrieved19 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  27. ^abDhaliwal, Rav; Michael, Lim (8 November 1987)."All aboard for the Subway Age".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.p. 1.Archivedfrom the original on 28 February 2022.Retrieved12 September2017– via NewspaperSG.
  28. ^"Speech by Dr Yeo Ning Hong, Minister For Communications and Information And Second Minister For Defence (Policy), at the inauguration of public service of the MRT system at the Toa Payoh Station on Saturday, 7 November 1987 at 9.00 am"(PDF).National Archives of Singapore.Ministry of Communications and Information.7 November 1987.Archived(PDF)from the original on 19 July 2019.Retrieved19 December2020.
  29. ^"Twenty-two agencies in Exercise Northstar V ready for action".Channel NewsAsia.Mediacorp.3 January 2006. Archived fromthe originalon 1 October 2007.Retrieved11 April2020.
  30. ^Sim, Royston (30 July 2012)."Anti-flooding measures at 11 more MRT stations".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.p. 1.Archivedfrom the original on 28 February 2022.Retrieved23 June2022.
  31. ^"Anti-flooding measures at 11 more MRT stations".Eco-Business.30 July 2012.Archivedfrom the original on 9 August 2014.Retrieved19 December2020.
  32. ^"Upgrading of overhead bridges and underpasses".Land Transport Authority.Archived fromthe originalon 3 April 2016.Retrieved19 December2020.
  33. ^"MRT System Map"(PDF).Land Transport Authority.Archived(PDF)from the original on 21 August 2020.
  34. ^"Getting Around – Public Transport – Rail Network".Land Transport Authority.Archivedfrom the original on 1 November 2019.Retrieved27 April2021.
  35. ^"Toa Payoh – First & Last Train".SMRT Journeys.SMRT Trains.Archivedfrom the original on 1 November 2021.Retrieved19 December2020.
  36. ^"LTA | Transport Tools | MRT/LRT".Land Transport Authority.Archivedfrom the original on 1 November 2019.Retrieved11 May2020.
  37. ^ab"Toa Payoh – Exits".SMRT Journeys.SMRT Trains.Archivedfrom the original on 1 November 2021.Retrieved19 December2020.
  38. ^"Toa Payoh".Housing & Development Board.Archivedfrom the original on 19 December 2020.Retrieved19 December2020.
  39. ^Savage, Victor (2013).Singapore street names: A study of toponymics.Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions. p. 632.ISBN978-981-4408-35-6.OCLC868957283.
  40. ^"HDB Hub".Housing & Development Board.Archivedfrom the original on 29 October 2020.Retrieved19 December2020.
  41. ^Wee, Agnes (21 October 1983)."Designs of two MRT stations".Business Times.Singapore Press Holdings.p. 3.Retrieved19 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  42. ^Dhaliwal, Rav (28 April 1987)."Getting to know the network and how it will work".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.p. 19.Retrieved19 December2020– via NewspaperSG.
  43. ^Sajan, Chantal (29 February 2020)."Early stations' bare essentials".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.Archivedfrom the original on 4 September 2020.Retrieved19 December2020.
  44. ^Choo, Jonathan (12 December 1987)."Reflections of our lifestyle".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.p. 4.Retrieved10 September2020– via NewspaperSG.
  45. ^Dhaliwal, Rav (1 March 1987). "Rainbow dressing at Toa Payoh station".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.p. 3.
  46. ^abManoharan, Sabarna (23 June 2022)."SMRT unveils series of murals depicting history of neighbourhoods".The Straits Times.Singapore Press Holdings.Archivedfrom the original on 24 June 2022.Retrieved24 June2022.
  47. ^"The Toa Payoh Story"(PDF).SMRT Corporation.23 June 2022.Archived(PDF)from the original on 24 June 2022.Retrieved24 June2022.
  48. ^"SMRT Trains engages local art community to produce wall murals showcasing Singapore's heritage in vicinity of train stations".SMRT Corporation.23 June 2022.Archivedfrom the original on 24 June 2022.Retrieved24 June2022.
[edit]
External images
image iconThe station interior under construction during its topping out ceremonySource: NAS
image iconPassengers on the opening day of the stationSource: NAS
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Toa_Payoh_MRT_station&oldid=1197637573"