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Bus heritage in Woodlands

Aug 30, 2021

After five years, Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub (ITH) opened in June, replacing Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange. The ITH offers seamless transfer to the North South and Thomson-East Coast MRT lines, and Causeway Point.

It also has a heritage gallery, which is a great addition as public exhibitions of transport history are few and far between.

As SMRT Buses is the anchor operator of the ITH as part of the Woodlands Bus Package until 2023, the heritage on display is that of SMRT’s.

SMRT’s lineage goes back to 1982, when its predecessor, Trans-Island Bus Services (TIBS), was formed. The Government allowed its birth to introduce competition in a public bus industry dominated by just one company, Singapore Bus Services (SBS).

TIBS took over Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange, a predecessor of Woodlands ITH, in 1996. In 2001, SMRT launched a successful takeover of TIBS, and the latter was rebranded SMRT Buses in 2004.

The heritage gallery displays different bus models, and artefacts and memorabilia, from this 39-year history. They include service plates, ticket machines, and even a dashboard and steering wheel. I was pleased to see the Bendy Bus - my favourite bus model - get pride of place in the exhibition.

One part of the gallery also shows, on a map, the bus terminals and interchanges that used to and presently serve the Woodlands area. Marsiling Bus Terminal was built first, then Woodlands Bus Interchange at the former Old Woodlands Town Centre (now demolished), Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange, Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange, and finally the ITH.

This succession of transport infrastructure clearly follows the gradual eastward shift of the heart of Woodlands town - from Marsiling to Woodlands ITH.

There are currently 11 ITHs in Singapore - every one of them deserves its own heritage gallery.

Track 7 Mandai Road

Aug 29, 2021

Track 7 Mandai Road is the only named track in Singapore with an expressway flyover - Seletar Expressway’s Upper Seletar Flyover - built over it.

This is at the junction with Mandai Road.

Upper Seletar Flyover over the track.

Walking in... the usual single-lane dual carriageway, with no pavements or curbs at the sides, just grass.

A little bridge over a canal that drains into Upper Seletar Reservoir.

Track 7 in 1991, while the Seletar Expressway was still under construction. It is on the left of the map, next to Seletar Reservoir Park.

Track 7 as of last year.

The map above reveals why a flyover was specially constructed over the track, instead of expunging the track altogether, as was the fate of so many tracks before it.

Track 7 is needed for access to these sites: Upper Seletar Reservoir and the park by its shores, Mandai Executive Golf Course, and the Nee Soon 500m Range.

And that’s why Track 7 has survived to the present.

Thomson-East Coast Line Stage 2

Aug 28, 2021

Today, 28 August 2021, was the opening day of Stage 2 of the Thomson-East Coast MRT Line. Of course, we were out and about exploring all six new stations, from Springleaf to Caldecott.

TE4 🚇 Springleaf

Address: 825 Upper Thomson Road.

Named after: Springleaf Garden, a private residential estate to the east of the station.

Other names which had been put up for public voting in 2013: Nee Soon Village, Thong Soon.

Trivia: The MRT station lies next to the site of the former Nee Soon Village (hence one of the names suggested for public voting), which had existed since the mid-1800s. Springleaf Garden came about much later, around 1977.

Below is a map of the area in 1978, with Nee Soon Village shaded light blue.

Trivia II: The length of track between Woodlands South and Springleaf stations is estimated to be the second longest in Singapore’s MRT system, at around 4.5km, just ahead of Expo-Changi Airport (East West Line), which is around 4.42km, and Yew Tee-Kranji (North South Line), at around 3.97km.

The reason for the length of track? Between Woodlands South and Springleaf lie the sparsely-populated, largely out-of-bounds sites of Sembawang Air Base, Sembawang Golf Course, and Nee Soon Camp (below).

The longest distance between two MRT stations remains at around 4.75km for Khatib-Yio Chu Kang (North South Line).

Construction challenges: Construction of the station had to take place just 7 metres away from shophouses along Upper Thomson Road.

ree — The construction site in 2017. Credit: Nethaniel Foo, CC BY-SA 4.0.

To prevent damage to the buildings, an earth retaining stabilising structure was built to prevent ground movement.

My exploration: After years of enduring noise and dust, the owners and occupiers of these shophouses should appreciate the station being right next to them!

Art in Transit artwork: Tree Of Memories, by Koh Hong Teng. It features a banyan tree in Springleaf Nature Park.

TE5 🚇 Lentor

Address: 1 Lentor Drive.

Named after: The cluster of roads starting with Lentor, serving the private residential estate north of the station. These roads include Lentor Road, Lentor Terrace, Lentor Loop, and so on.

Other names which had been put up for public voting: Lentor Green, Teachers’ Estate.

Trivia: The place name “Lentor” came from Lorong Lentor, a track off Yio Chu Kang Road, sited east of the present-day cluster of Lentor roads.

Lorong Lentor has been expunged, and the area, now forested, is off limits because it’s a military training ground.

“Lentor” is a corruption of the Malay word “lentur”, which means “flexible”.

Construction challenges: Construction required working around major telecommunication cables, and diverting a 1.2m-wide water pipe.

My exploration:

The new design of exit signs is a vast improvement over the old one.

Art in Transit artwork: Interlude, by Tan Guo-Liang.

TE6 🚇 Mayflower

Address: 91 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4.

Named after: Mayflower Gardens, a private residential estate to the east of the station.

Other names which had been put up for public voting: Kebun Baru, Ang Mo Kio West.

Trivia: Mayflower Gardens - or Garden - was completed sometime around 1969, a few years before the HDB New Town of Ang Mo Kio came up around it.

Below is a map of the area in 1969, with Mayflower Garden shaded light blue.

Trivia II: Of the six new stations, Mayflower has the most exits - seven.

Construction challenges: The terrain surrounding the station is sloping, with a difference in elevation of 12 metres (4 storeys) from north to south. This made it difficult for boring rigs and cranes to be positioned safely.

My exploration:

This sign will be updated as further stages of the Thomson-East Coast Line open.

Mayflower’s seven exits.

From the fare gates, commuters have to take two escalators to reach the station platform.

Art in Transit artwork: An untitled piece by Song-Ming Ang. It comprises 22 sculptures of seven bird species placed around the station.

TE7 🚇 Bright Hill

Address: 100 Sin Ming Avenue.

Named after: Bright Hill Road, to the east of the station.

Other names which had been put up for public voting: Sin Ming, Bishan Park.

Trivia: Bright Hill Road was named after the historic Buddhist temple it currently serves, the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, which was founded in 1920.

Below is a map of the area in 1945, with the monastery shaded light blue (“Ch” stands for “Chinese temple”). Ang Mo Kio New Town would come up around the monastery in the 1970s.

ree — Base picture credit: Survey Department, Singapore.

Bright Hill station is a short distance from the monastery.

“Kong Meng San” means “Bright Hill”, and in Buddhism, refers to the “Pure Land” of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guan Yin), the celestial realm in which he or she resides.

Trivia II: Bright Hill will become an interchange in 2030, when it is connected to Phase 1 of the Cross Island Line, running from the station to Aviation Park in Changi.

Construction challenges: A retaining wall for boring had to be installed just 2 metres from Block 402 Sin Ming Avenue.

The terrain around the station consisted of hard granite rock, and it took more than a day to bore through 10cm of rock.

My exploration:

Art in Transit artwork: A Kaleidoscopic Nature, by anGie Seah.

TE8 🚇 Upper Thomson

Address: 1 Jalan Keli.

Named after: Upper Thomson Road, which runs by the station.

Other names which had been put up for public voting: Thomson Village, Thomson Park.

Trivia: “Thomson” refers to John Turnbull Thomson (1821-1884), an engineer and surveyor who had played a key role in the development of modern Singapore’s infrastructure in the 1840s.

Trivia II: Upper Thomson station joins Downtown station of the Downtown Line as the only two stations bearing the names of MRT lines.

Construction challenges: Construction required diversion of a canal.

Also, to minimise disruption to traffic along busy Upper Thomson Road, only one side of the two-way carriageway was closed during excavation.

My exploration:

Art in Transit artwork: Lost In Our (Concrete) Jungle, by Troy Chin. There are 88 drawings of monkeys spread all over the station - some more well-hidden than others!

TE9-CC17 🚇 Caldecott Interchange

Address: 1 Toa Payoh Link.

Named after: Caldecott Hill, to the west of the station.

Trivia: Caldecott Hill was named after British colonial administrator Sir Andrew Caldecott (1884-1951).

Trivia II: Of the six new stations, Caldecott is the deepest, at 35 metres below ground level.

Trivia III: Caldecott station of the Circle Line opened 10 years earlier, in 2011.

Construction challenges: Instead of the usual cut-and-cover method for construction, the tunnel was mined instead. Mining had to be done through a mixture of rock, weaker-than-usual soil, and groundwater.