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Simei MRT station

Coordinates: 1°20′36.40″N 103°57′11.42″E / 1.3434444°N 103.9531722°E / 1.3434444; 103.9531722
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 EW3 
Simei
四美
ஸீமெய்
Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station
The exterior of Simei station.
General information
Location30 Simei Street 3
Singapore 529888
Coordinates1°20′36.40″N 103°57′11.42″E / 1.3434444°N 103.9531722°E / 1.3434444; 103.9531722
Operated bySMRT Trains Ltd (SMRT Corporation)
Line(s)
  East–West Line
Platforms2 (1 island platform)
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus, Taxi
Construction
Structure typeElevated
Platform levels1
ParkingYes (Eastpoint Mall)
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
History
Opened16 December 1989; 34 years ago (1989-12-16)
ElectrifiedYes
Previous namesTampines South
Passengers
June 202415,721 per day[1]
Services
Preceding station Mass Rapid Transit Following station
Tampines
towards Pasir Ris
 East–West Line Tanah Merah
towards Tuas Link
Location
Singapore MRT/LRT system map
Singapore MRT/LRT system map
Simei
Simei station in Singapore

Simei MRT station is an above-ground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East–West line in Tampines planning area, Singapore, at the centre of Simei housing estate flanked by Simei Street 1 and Simei Street 3 next to Eastpoint Mall. This station primarily serves Simei, a residential estate part of the larger Tampines New Town.

Simei station and the estate it serves is a Pinyin romanization of four beauties in Chinese, which in turn was named after four ancient Chinese women.[2]

History

[edit]

Simei station was first included in the early plans of the MRT system as Tampine South in May 1982.[3] It was later announced to be part of Phase II of the MRT in October 1983 as Simei station.[4]

Before the construction of the station, 15,000 square metres (18,000 sq yd) of land between Jalan Angin Laut and Sunbird Road was acquired in March 1985 to build viaducts to the station.[5] Several joint ventures between companies were prequalified for Contract 306 by May 1985, which detailed the construction of Changi Depot to Pasir Ris station, including Simei station.[6][7] Contract 306 was ultimately awarded to a joint venture between Resource Development Corporation (RDC) and Sata Kogyo for S$92 million (1986) (US$42.25 million) in March 1986.[8] Construction of the station began in May 1985.[9] Before it was opened publicly, there was a preview of the station to residents nearby.[10] The station was opened with the East–West line from Tanah Merah to Pasir Ris stations on 17 December 1989. During the opening ceremony, then Minister of State for the Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Trade and Industry Mah Bow Tan addressed to a crowd of more than 300 guests in Simei station, with them proceeding to ride a train to Pasir Ris station.[11]

In June 1990, it was announced that Simei station would have three new footpaths leading to the station.[12] This came after a letter was published on The Straits Times revealing that residents of Harvey Avenue, Jalan Angin Laut and Sunbird Road had to walk on a grass verge (which became muddy when it rained as well as posing a risk for the elderly and young children during the night) to get to the station.[13] The footpaths connected the end of Sea Breeze Road to Simei Street 3 near Block 101, Jalan Angin Laut to Simei Street 3, and Sunbird Avenue to Simei Street 4 near Block 222.[12] Moreover, the station was criticised for its design in another letter sent to The Straits Times in 1992, claiming that commuter without umbrellas could only walk "along a half-metre wide platform next to plant bins" to the adjacent building compound[14] (Block 248). SMRT responded by revealing that there were plans to build a sheltered walkway between the station and Block 248 but it was put on hold as the land used was to be developed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB).[15]

On 23 February 1995, about 7:50 pm,[a] a train approaching the station opened its doors early when half of it was in the station. This resulted in people almost falling over as they thought the train had fully stopped. According to The New Paper, the railing of the viaduct was lower than the door level as well as its length between the door was less than 30 centimetres (0.98 ft), which was "less than the length of a stride".[16] SMRT responded by explaining that the driver of the train violated standard procedures, where the doors of the train are normally supposed to be on 'automatic mode' (such that all of the doors open when the train fully enters a station). However, the driver accidentally activated 'manual mode', which allows the driver to open all of the doors as long as the train is not moving as well as meant to be used with prior permission.[17]

Like other existing elevated stations at the time, half height platform screen doors were installed at Simei station by 2012.[18] High-volume low-speed fans were also installed on the platform's ceiling in 2011.[19]

Details

[edit]

Simei station is located on the East–West line, between Tampines and Tanah Merah, and has the station code "EW3".[20] The station features a dome-shaped concrete roof, similar to that found at several other stations on the EWL.[9]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The New Paper stated that the time was "about 7:45 pm".[16] However, given that The Straits Times (ST) is more reliable than The New Paper, therefore, the time on ST will be used.

References

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  1. ^ "Land Transport DataMall". mytransport.sg. Land Transport Authority. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Simei | Infopedia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Proposed MRT stations". The Straits Times. 23 May 1982. p. 1. Retrieved 23 September 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  4. ^ "Phase 2 gets go-ahead to ensure continuity". The Straits Times. 26 October 1983. p. 8. Retrieved 14 September 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  5. ^ "Land acquired far MRT trackline".
  6. ^ "List of pre-qualified contractors — MRT Phase IIA, IIB". The Business Times (List). 14 May 1985. p. 3. Retrieved 5 October 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  7. ^ Yap, Boh Hoon (13 May 1985). "MRTC prequalifies 37 for 11 engineering contracts". The Business Times. p. 1. Retrieved 5 October 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  8. ^ "Time is the essence of these contracts". The Business Times. Singapore. 12 March 1986. p. 2. Retrieved 18 July 2023 – via NewspaperSG.
  9. ^ a b Lim, Edward (18 December 1987). "MRT will only come to the East in 1990". Weekend East. Singapore. p. 12. Retrieved 18 July 2023 – via NewspaperSG.
  10. ^ "Residents get sneak preview of three new MRT stations".
  11. ^ "Residents welcome MRT trains to eastern end of S'pore". The Straits Times. Singapore. 17 December 1989. p. 20. Retrieved 18 July 2023 – via NewspaperSG.
  12. ^ a b "Three new footpaths to be built in Simei".
  13. ^ "Build proper footpath to Simei station".
  14. ^ "Plan future MRT stations to be more user-friendly".
  15. ^ "More user-friendly MRT stations planned".
  16. ^ a b "'I could have fallen 2 storeys'".
  17. ^ "Close shave for MRT passengers when doors open prematurely".
  18. ^ Wong, Siew Ying (26 January 2008). "Above-ground MRT stations to have platform screen doors by 2012". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  19. ^ "Enhancing Connectivity and Comfort for Commuters". Land Transport Authority. 13 October 2011. Archived from the original on 25 December 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  20. ^ "MRT Network Map". journey.smrt.com.sg. SMRT Corporation. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
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