HarbourFront MRT Station

HarbourFront MRT Station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit interchange of the North East Line and the Circle Line in Singapore. It is located in the south of Singapore next to the HarbourFront Centre, previously known as the Singapore World Trade Centre. It serves as a terminal station of the North East Line and the Circle Line. This station is also one of the most convenient in a sense that passengers do not have to walk long distances to interchange between lines.

Location[]

HarbourFront station is located next to the HarbourFront Centre and VivoCity, and is connected to Sentosa by cable car. Buses to and from Sentosa do so from the HarbourFront Bus Interchange next to the station. When the Sentosa Express monorail line to Sentosa began service on 15 January 2007 as a virtual interchange, Sentosa became more effectively linked with most of the towns of Singapore. The station also provides public transport to the prominent tourist destination of Mount Faber, of which HarbourFront lies in its shadow, and lies within the Bukit Merah planning area.

History[]

In preliminary studies for the North East line (NEL) in 1986, it was planned for the line to terminate at Outram Park station, rather than HarbourFront. In a later study in 1995, the plans for the NEL were extended to serve World Trade Centre. After plans for the new line were approved by the government in January 1996, the station, then tentatively named World Trade Centre, was among the 16 NEL stations announced by communications minister Mah Bow Tan in March 1996.

The contract for constructing the station and tunnels was awarded to Hyundai Engineering & Construction at S$132.8 million (US$132 million in 2020). The scope of the contract included the widening of a section of Telok Blangah Road. The new station was expected to boost retail and residential developments in the Telok Blangah area, which was known for the harbour and associated industries. The Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) had cooperated with Land Transport Authority (LTA) officials on redevelopment plans for the area. To minimise any impact on businesses in the area, the contractor used silent pilers when driving steel piles into the ground. These pilers created less noise and vibrations compared to conventional pilers.

As the station was constructed near the seashore, to prevent any water seepage into the site, cement was injected into the soil surrounding the site via jet grouting. Sheet piles were installed around the site, and tests were conducted to determine the amount of saltwater and groundwater at the site. The contractor initially considered rerouting the drainage system that channelled water to the sea but cut through the site, but that was financially unfeasible. Instead, the culverts that crossed the site were cut open and diverted into temporary steel culverts or pipes that did not obstruct the works. Due to the limited space, two exhibition halls of the World Trade Centre were demolished to facilitate construction works.

Concurrently, the Telok Blangah Road was being upgraded with a new vehicular overpass being constructed. Hence, the road and rail project teams of LTA had to coordinate to maximise the efficiency of both projects. The rail project team had constructed 10 viaduct foundations for the road section that cross the station site. At the same time, the contractor had to maintain the traffic flow in the area – not just for visitors to the World Trade Centre, but to prevent delays and disruptions to port operations nearby. To maintain the road capacity, the traffic was diverted to temporary steel decking that ran over the construction site. The roads were diverted at least 30 times for the station's construction.

The contractor (Shimira Corporation, Koh Brothers, Dillingham Construction International) for the 2.16 kilometres (1.34 mi) of tunnelling works between this station and the adjacent Outram Park station had to monitor for any ground movement for the shophouses and ensure operations for the Malaysian rail service was not affected. A dual-mode tunnel boring machine was used to deal with the varying soil conditions along the tunnel route.

Formerly to be known as World Trade Centre station, the station and surrounding area was renamed to HarbourFront in the wake of the September 2001 terrorist attacks and in tandem with the demolition of exhibition halls. The name characterizes HarbourFront as a gateway to Keppel Harbour, lined with waterfront developments.

HarbourFront station opened on 20 June 2003 with the rest of the NEL stations. In October 2012, the LTA announced the extension of the NEL overrun tunnel extended by 50 metres (160 ft). Completed at the end of 2014 at a cost of S$8.2 million (US$6.6 million), the extension is to facilitate quicker turnarounds for southbound trains.

As part of a joint emergency preparedness exercise by the LTA and train operators SBS Transit and SMRT, security screenings were held at the station on 2 August 2019. The screenings machines deployed for the exercise include mass screening devices and X-Ray machines to check for possible threat items like firearms. Such exercises were conducted to test established response protocols and maintain vigilance for quicker and more effective responses during emergencies and heightened security situations.

HarbourFront station serves the Vivocity shopping centre, nearby office buildings and is also a gateway for visitors heading for Sentosa Island and HarbourFront Cruise Terminal.

The week after VivoCity opened, major ridership had jumped to 60,000 passengers per day, surpassing Dhoby Ghaut.

North East Line Contract 711 for the construction and completion of World Trade Centre station and associated tunnels was awarded to Korean company Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. The working name for HarbourFront station was World Trade Centre Station.

In 2001, Yeo Cheow Tong, the communications minister, announced that the CCL will serve the HarbourFront area. On 12 December 2003, the LTA confirmed that HarbourFront station will interchange with the CCL and will be constructed as part of CCL Stage 5 (CCL5). This segment consisted of five stations from West Coast station to this station.

The contract for the fitting out works for the CCL station and connecting tunnels was awarded to SembCorp Engineers & Constructors Pte Ltd (SembCorp E&C) at S$335.38 million (US$198.7 million) in October 2004 (C856). The contract include civil, architectural and building works for the West Coast, Pasir Panjang, Alexandra and Telok Blangah stations, alongside 3.4 kilometres (2.1 mi) of twin bored tunnels and 640 metres (700 yd) of cut and cover tunnels.

To facilitate construction works for the CCL platforms, Platform A of the NEL station was closed on 30 October 2005. Trains on the NEL from Punggol station terminated at Outram Park station, while a special train shuttle service was launched for services between Outram Park and HarbourFront. In December 2009, structure works for the CCL station were completed, with backfilling in progress. As announced by transport minister Lui Tuck Yew during his visit to the CCL4 and 5 stations on 1 August 2011, the CCL platforms began revenue service on 8 October 2011.

In November 2013, it was planned to extend the CCL from HarbourFront station to Marina Bay station as part of CCL Stage 6. Tunnelling works between this and Keppel West stations began on 25 July 2019, and were completed in August 2020.

Platforms[]

For the NEL, only Platform A will be used to turnaround trains during the off-peak hours. During the peak hours, both platforms will be used.
For the CCL, Platform A is used only for the alighting of passengers from trains arriving from Telok Blangah. Trains will switch tracks further up the line and return to Platform B to pick up a fresh load of passengers for its next journey. However, trains use the crossover from Telok Blangah to Platform B for faster turnarounds back clockwise.

Concourse[]

North East Line and Circle Line ticket concourses are both located at Basement 2. They feature faregates for automatic fare collection and provides access between paid and unpaid areas of the station, with at least one bidirectional wide-swinging gate for the benefit of passengers-in-wheelchairs and those carrying bulky items or travelling with prams.

Art in Transit[]

The station features two sets of artwork under the Art in Transit programme. The interior of the North East Line station and walkways to station exits feature the artwork Enigmatic Appearances by Ian Woo. Abstract images on blue enamel panels evoke a sense of open seas, a reference to the station's proximity to the sea.^[1] The second piece of artwork, Commuting Waves by Jason Ong, features in the Circle Line station. Using commuter traffic data of HarbourFront station on weekdays and weekends, the artist created two sets of two-dimensional glass waveforms resembling fishes, tying in with the station's water theme.

Cultural references[]

The station was one of four stations featured in the Uniquely Singapore edition of Monopoly.

Station layout[]

L1	Street Level	Telok Blangah Road, VivoCity, HarbourFront Centre, HarbourFront Bus Interchange
B1	Concourse	Faregates, Ticketing Machines, Station Control, Transitlink Counter
B2 Platforms	Platform 1	North East Line towards Punggol Coast via Outram Park (←)
	Island platform, doors will open on the right
	Platform 2	North East Line towards Punggol Coast via Outram Park (←)
	Platform 4	No regular service
	Island platform, doors will open on the left
	Platform 3	Circle Line towards Dhoby Ghaut via Telok Blangah (←)

Exits[]

Exit	Nearby
A	HarbourFront Bus Interchange
B	HarbourFront Centre, Singapore Cruise Centre, Singapore Cable Car
C	St James Power Station, Sentosa Boardwalk, VivoCity
D	Mount Faber Park
E	VivoCity (B2), Sentosa Express, Sentosa Boardwalk

Notes:

Exit D is wheelchair-inaccessible.

Use Exit A for the bus interchange.

Passenger Usage Patterns[]

HarbourFront is an important interchange station linking the North East Line with the Circle Line, and as such, encounters large numbers of transfer passengers between the two lines. Serving commuters in and out of the popular Sentosa and HarbourFront areas, passenger traffic through this station is high throughout the day.

East West Line
EW2 Tampines	Take North East Line to Chinatown and change to Downtown Line to Tampines.
EW3 Simei	Take North East Line to Outram Park and change to East West Line to Simei.
EW5 Bedok	Take bus service 30 (B/S 1) to Bedok Interchange.
EW6 Kembangan	Take bus service 30 (B/S 1) to Sims Avenue East (Kembangan Station).
EW7 Eunos	Take bus service 30 (B/S 1) to Sims Avenue (Eunos Station).
EW8 Paya Lebar	Take bus service 30 (B/S 1) to Sims Avenue (Paya Lebar Station).
EW9 Aljunied	Take bus service 100 (B/S 1) to Aljunied Road (Aljunied Station).
EW10 Kallang	Take bus service 80 / 100 (B/S 1) to Sims Avenue (Kallang Station).
EW11 Lavender	Take bus service 61 / 80 / 145 (B/S 1) to Kallang Road (Lavender Station).
EW12 Bugis	Take bus service 61 / 145 (B/S 1) to Victoria Street (Bugis Station). Take bus service 80 (B/S 1) to Victoria Street (opp Bugis Junction).
EW13 City Hall	Take bus service 131 (B/S 1) to Stamford Road (Capitol Building).
EW14 Raffles Place	Take bus service 10 / 57 / 100 / 131 (B/S 1) to Robinson Road (opp AIA Tower).
EW15 Tanjong Pagar	Take bus service 80 (B/S 1) to Tanjong Pagar Road (The Amara).
EW16 Outram Park	Take bus service 61 / 143 / 166 (B/S 1) to Eu Tong Sen Street (Outram Park Station).
EW17 Tiong Bahru	Take bus service 123M (B/S 1) to Tiong Bahru Road (Tiong Bahru Station).
EW18 Redhill	Take bus service 145 (B/S 4) to Tiong Bahru Road (Redhill Station).
EW19 Queenstown	Take bus service 145 (B/S 4) to Commonwealth Avenue (Queenstown Station).
EW20 Commonwealth	Take bus service 145 (B/S 4) to Commonwealth Avenue (Commonwealth Station).
EW22 Dover	Take bus service 166 (B/S 4) to Commonwealth Avenue West (Dover Station).
EW23 Clementi	Take bus service 166 (B/S 4) to Commonwealth Avenue West (Clementi Station).
EW24 Jurong East	Take bus service 97 (B/S 4) to Jurong East Interchange.
EW26 Lakeside	Take Circle Line to Buona Vista and change to East West Line to Lakeside.
EW27 Boon Lay	Take bus service 30 (B/S 4) to Boon Lay Interchange.
CG1 Expo	Take North East Line to Outram Park and change to East West Line to Tanah Merah, change to Changi Airport Line to Expo.
CG2 Changi Airport	Take North East Line to Outram Park and change to East West Line to Tanah Merah, change to Changi Airport Line to Changi Airport.
North South Line
NS1 Jurong East	Take bus service 97 (B/S 4) to Jurong East Interchange.
NS2 Bukit Batok	Take bus service 61 (B/S 4) to Bukit Batok Interchange.
NS3 Bukit Gombak	Take bus service 61 (B/S 4) to Bukit Batok Interchange and change to bus service 945 to Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 (Bukit Gombak Station).
NS4 Choa Chu Kang	Take bus service 188 (Int) to Choa Chu Kang Interchange.
NS9 Woodlands	Take bus service 963 (Int) to Woodlands Temporary Interchange.
NS10 Admiralty	Take Circle Line to Bishan and change to North South Line to Admiralty.
NS11 Sembawang	Take Circle Line to Bishan and change to North South Line to Sembawang.
NS13 Yishun	Take Circle Line to Bishan and change to North South Line to Yishun.
NS16 Ang Mo Kio	Take Circle Line to Bishan and change to North South Line to Ang Mo Kio.
NS17 Bishan	Take Circle Line to Bishan and change to North South Line to Bishan.
NS19 Toa Payoh	Take bus service 143 (B/S 1) to Toa Payoh Interchange.
NS20 Novena	Take bus service 143 (B/S 1) to Thomson Road (opp Novena Church).
NS21 Newton	Take bus service 143 (B/S 1) to Scotts Road (Newton Station).
NS22 Orchard	Take bus service 65 (Int) to Orchard Road (Lucky Plaza).
NS23 Somerset	Take bus service 65 (Int) to Orchard Road (Somerset Station).
NS24 Dhoby Ghaut	Take bus service 65 (Int) to Orchard Road (MacDonald House).
NS25 City Hall	Take bus service 131 (B/S 1) to Stamford Road (Capitol Building).
NS26 Raffles Place	Take bus service 10 / 57 / 100 / 131 (B/S 1) to Robinson Road (opp AIA Tower).
NS27 Marina Bay	Take bus service 97 / 868 (B/S 1) to Marina Boulevard (Marina Bay Financial Centre). Alight and walk 500m.
Downtown Line
DT1 Bukit Panjang	Take bus service 963 (Int) to Jelebu Road (Bukit Panjang Station).
DT2 Cashew	Take bus service 963 (Int) to Upper Bukit Timah Road (Cashew Station).
DT3 Hillview	Take bus service 963 (Int) to Upper Bukit Timah Road (Hillview Station).
DT14 Bugis	Take North East Line to Chinatown and change to Downtown Line to Bugis.
DT16 Bayfront	Take North East Line to Chinatown and change to Downtown Line to Bayfront.

Alternative Routes[]

Going to

Method

North East Line

Outram Park

opp VivoCity (Telok Blangah Rd) Template:BS
61
/ 166

Outram Park Stn Exit 6/SGH (Eu Tong Sen St) Template:BS

Chinatown

opp VivoCity (Telok Blangah Rd) Template:BS
61 People's Park Cplx (Eu Tong Sen St) Template:BS	145 / 166 People's Park Ctr (Eu Tong Sen St) Template:BS

Clarke Quay

opp VivoCity (Telok Blangah Rd) Template:BS
61
/ 145
/ 166

Clarke Quay Stn (Eu Tong Sen St) Template:BS

Dhoby Ghaut

opp VivoCity (Telok Blangah Rd) Template:BS
65

MacDonald House (Orchard Rd) Template:BS

Little India

opp VivoCity (Telok Blangah Rd) Template:BS
65
/ 131

Tekka Ctr (Serangoon Rd) Template:BS

Farrer Park

opp VivoCity (Telok Blangah Rd) Template:BS
65
/ 131

Farrer Park Stn Exit A (Rangoon Rd) Template:BS

Boon Keng

opp VivoCity (Telok Blangah Rd) Template:BS
65

opp Boon Keng Stn (Bendemeer Rd) Template:BS

Potong Pasir

opp VivoCity (Telok Blangah Rd) Template:BS
65
/ 131

Tekka Ctr (Serangoon Rd) Template:BS
147

Potong Pasir Stn Exit C (Upp Serangoon Rd) Template:BS

Woodleigh

opp VivoCity (Telok Blangah Rd) Template:BS
65
/ 131

Tekka Ctr (Serangoon Rd) Template:BS
147

Woodleigh Stn Exit B (Upp Serangoon Rd) Template:BS

Serangoon