Boon Lay MRT Station

Boon Lay MRT Station (EW27) is an above-ground Mass Rapid Transit station on the East West Line in Jurong, Singapore.

This station serves people in the sub-zones of Boon Lay, Chin Bee, Wenya, Jurong West Central, Kian Teck and Yunnan, as well as those continuing their journey on buses at the Boon Lay Bus Interchange to go to places such as Tuas, Nanyang Technological University and Jurong Bird Park.

Together with Boon Lay Bus Interchange and Jurong Point Shopping Mall, it is part of the Boon Lay Integrated Public Transport Hub.

History
The station was opened on 6 July 1990, then as the Western terminal station for the East West Line, with the station code 'W12', that was later changed to 'EW27' on 31 July 2001 when the MRT network map was revamped by the then Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Mr Yeo Cheow Tong.

This station was built to serve residents living in the then-undeveloped Jurong West New Town and people working in the then mostly-undeveloped Tuas and Jurong Industrial Estate, since it was the only MRT station serving these areas, covering the areas Westwards from Boon Lay. As these areas develop, passenger volume has increased, leading to much congestion at this station during peak hours.

However, the condition was improved when the Boon Lay MRT extension was constructed and commenced service on 28 February 2009 with an addition of Pioneer and Joo Koon. With Pioneer serving the western portion of Jurong West New Town and Pioneer Sector, and Joo Koon MRT Station serving Joo Koon, Boon Lay now serves only the eastern portion of Jurong West New Town and 1 less industrial area and ceased to be the western terminal of the East West Line.

The condition will be further improved when the Tuas West Extension opens, relieving more load off the station, such as Gul, Tuas, Tuas South.

Etymology
This station was named after Boon Lay Way, the street along the station, although the actual town of Boon Lay is located about 1 kilometer away.

Despite that, there could be a possibility of it being named after the town of Boon Lay SMC, which existed 1976 from to 2001, where there's a likelihood that this station was within the boundary of the SMC during the SMC's existence.

Platform screen doors
As with most of the above-ground stations built in the past along the East West Line, it was built without platform screen doors to prevent commuters from falling onto the train tracks. After several successful test at Jurong East, Yishun and Pasir Ris and eventually, installation of the half-height screen doors. On 30 June 2011, all of the screen doors have been installed and started operations.



QR code shopping wall
Similar to those at train stations in South Korea, this is an interactive media launched on 7 December 2011 by SMRT in partnership with Cold Storage to enhance the commuters' travelling experience. Using a camera phone with QR code reader installed, one can purchase the items displayed on the media by simply flashing their camera phones on the items and the items would be delivered to them upon payment through the various credit cards.

Boon Lay, alongside Bugis, was the first to have such media installed.

High volume, low speed (HVLS) fans
Station installed with Rite Hite Revolution High Volume, Low Speed (HVLS) fans and commenced operations on 11 December 2012.