Bishan MRT station

Bishan MRT station (/ˈbiːʃɑːn/ BEE-shahn) is a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange station on the North–South (NSL) and Circle (CCL) lines in Bishan, Singapore. The station is located along Bishan Road within the town centre; it is integrated with Junction 8 shopping centre and is close to Bishan Bus Interchange. Nearby schools include Raffles Institution, Catholic High School, and Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary and Secondary Schools.
Initially announced as Kampung San Teng, it was renamed San Teng and subsequently Bishan. Bishan NSL station opened on 7 November 1987; it was one of the first five stations on the MRT network. During its construction, the original island platform of the NSL was split into two separate side platforms and the station was upgraded to cope with increased passenger traffic from the CCL, which opened on 28 May 2009. In 2017, tunnels between Bishan and Braddell stations flooded, disrupting train services on the NSL. Bishan NSL is the only ground-level station on the MRT network, while the CCL station houses Move! by Soh Ee Shaun, an Art-in-Transit artwork. Due to the station's location near a former cemetery, the station is said to be haunted.
Bishan station, which was then named Kampung San Teng, was one of the first stations to be included in the planning stages of the MRT network. The station was renamed San Teng in November 1982 and would be built at a Chinese cemetery. Contract 103 for the construction of San Teng MRT station and 3.2-kilometre (2.0-mile) of tunnels between San Teng and Braddell stations was awarded to a Belgian-Singaporean joint venture Hytech, Franki and Compagnie Francois d'Enterprises in December 1983 at a contract sum of S$32.88 million (US$15.56 million). This was the first contract involving cut and cover construction MRT Corporation (MRTC) awarded. On 21 September 1984, the MRTC renamed San Teng to Bishan station to reflect the name of the new housing estate that was being built around the station's site.
Structural work for Bishan station was completed on 23 October 1985. In January 1986, it was announced the station would be opened in early 1988 as part of the first section of the MRT system from Yio Chu Kang to Toa Payoh stations. In September 1987, it was announced the section would open on 7 November that year. To familiarise people with the system, the station opened for a preview from 24 to 25 October. As announced, Bishan was one of the first MRT stations on the network to be opened for service on 7 November 1987.
In July 2003, Contract C825A for the design, construction and completion of Bishan interchange station was awarded to Econ Corporation Ltd and Eng Lim Construction Co Pte Ltd Joint Venture at a sum of S$82.2 million (US$47.18 million). The contract also included the upgrading of the NSL station. Construction was due to start in the third quarter of 2003 and was expected to be completed by early 2008.
The original NSL station underwent major alterations to enable it to accommodate increased passenger traffic when the CCL station opened. A new, air-conditioned platform to serve southbound trains to Marina South Pier was constructed to increase the station's passenger capacity from 1,250 to 2,020. The new platform, Platform B, opened for service on 27 July 2008. Because Platform A, the original platform, was now serving northbound trains to Jurong East and remained in service, upgrading works for Platform A were hindered and took about a year to complete. While the platform was re-tiled during the day, platform screen doors (PSDs) were installed in sections through the night. An air-conditioning system was also installed as part of the upgrade. Upgrading work for the platform was completed on 23 May 2009. An additional entrance to the basement of Junction 8 was also built. Along with the other Stage 3 CCL stations, Bishan CCL station was opened on 28th of that month.
Due to the close proximity of a nearby tunnel portal to residential apartment blocks, the installation of 2-metre (6 ft 7 in)-tall barriers stretching 180 metres (590 ft 7 in) started in September 2011 and was completed by the second quarter of 2012. These barriers are insulated with noise-absorptive materials such as rock wool, which helped reduce noise volume by about five decibels. The NSL station underwent another upgrade in 2016; this included the repositioning of seats on the platforms to allow more space and seats for commuters to be added.
On 28 July 2004, a 31-year-old accountant died after falling onto the track in front of an oncoming train at Bishan station, disrupting northbound train services for an hour. On September 15 the same year, an elderly man died in a similar incident.
On 7 October 2017, during heavy rain in the afternoon, water entered a section of tunnel between Bishan and Braddell MRT stations, disrupting NSL train services from Ang Mo Kio station to Marina South Pier for several hours. This was the first time train services in Singapore were affected by flooded tunnels. Separately, at about 5.55 pm, a small fire ignited in the tunnel between Marina Bay and Raffles Place stations but it is not clear the fire, which was extinguished by itself, was linked to the flood, although electrical short circuits caused by water had previously caused tunnel fires.
Train services between Marina South Pier and Newton resumed at about 9.20 pm that day. After the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) worked overnight to clear the water in the tunnels, train services between Newton and Ang Mo Kio stations resumed at 1.36 pm the following day. This train disruption was one of the worst in SMRT's history. Through investigations by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), it was discovered the overflowing in the tunnel was caused by a malfunction in the poorly maintained water pumping system, which was repaired. On 20 July 2018, the Land Transport Authority fined the operator a combined S$1.9 million (US$1.41 million) for this incident, in addition to the Pasir Ris rail accident, and subsequently sacked eight workers involved in the incident due to their negligence by falsifying maintenance records and not maintaining the pumps.
Bishan MRT station is located along Bishan Road in the Singapore neighbourhood Bishan. The name Bishan is the Mandarin pronunciation of Peck San (Chinese: 碧山; pinyin: bìshān), which was derived from the name of a large Cantonese burial ground Peck San Theng that used to cover the area.
Bishan station is situated near the retail development Junction 8 and other public amenities such as Bishan Public Library, the CPF building, Bishan Neighbourhood Police Post, Bishan Stadium, Bishan Community Club and Bishan Bus Interchange. It is within walking distance of Catholic High School, Raffles Institution, Kuo Chuan Presbyterian School and the Ministry of Education Language Centre (Bishan).
Bishan station serves the North–South (NSL) and Circle lines (CCL). The station code is NS17/CC15 according to official maps. On the NSL, Bishan station is located between Ang Mo Kio and Braddell stations, while on the CCL, the station is located between Lorong Chuan and Marymount stations. The NSL has headways of two to five minutes while the CCL services have headways of three-and-a-half to five minutes.
Bishan NSL station is the only ground-level station on the MRT network. The station was designed with an "open, sunken-plaza" concept that allows natural light onto the tracks. The station has a beige and brick-coloured scheme with plantings of bougainvillaeas outside. The station concourse has steel roof cladding that was installed by Robertson Building Systems (RBS) for S$20 million (US$9.09 million). During construction of the CCL, the station entrance was upgraded to "capture the essence" of the station's status as "gateway" to Bishan. The rebuilt station has a pyramidal opened-top aluminium roof over the existing flat roof, allowing sunlight and ventilation into the station.
The retail stores around the station use glass panels that have chamfered corners, giving balance to the roof. The glass walls are separated from the roofline via a small space at the top so the roof appears to be afloat. The paid area has a layered ceiling and design elements made of glass, giving it a spacious atmosphere. A glass canopy connects the station to the retail development Junction 8.
Bishan CCL station is one of eleven stations along the Circle Line that are designated as Civil Defence (CD) shelters that can be activated during national emergencies. The designated stations have reinforced construction, and are designed and equipped with facilities including protective blast doors, decontamination facilities, ventilation systems, power and water supply systems, and a dry toilet system to ensure the environment is tolerable if the station is used as a shelter.
There are three artworks; one is part of the Art in Transit programme, one is part of a series of sculptures, and the other is part of SMRT's Comic Connect.
The artwork Move! by Soh Ee Shaun is displayed at the CCL station as part of the network's Art-in-Transit programme. The artwork consists of three murals – "The Family", "The Scientist" and "The Heartland" – each of which is made of 16 glass panels, all cast in film. The artwork reflects the artist's view of the "mindless rush of commuters" through the station. "The Family", a 3-by-8.7-metre (9.8 by 28.5 ft) mural mainly in yellow and black, depicts ordinary activities that are part of Singapore's "air-conditioned" lifestyle. "The Scientist" portrays larger-than-life scientists surrounded by modern technology such as rockets, robots and fighter jets; this mural is designed in blue and black and is painted on a 3-by-7.2-metre (9.8 by 23.6 ft) canvas. "The Heartland", on a 2.9-by-8.2-metre (9.5 by 26.9 ft) panel, represents the neighbourhood of Bishan with the area's notable landmarks against a pink backdrop. While these works cover different subject matters, all express the artist's "silly and illogical" style.
The youngest to be commissioned for an Art-in-Transit artwork on the CCL, Soh initially planned to create an abstract work of people moving around to reflect the bustle of a train station. However, it was thought to be "too literal" and the Art-in-Transit curator Karen Lim, urged Soh to incorporate thematic stories. Soh initially drew up murals centred on general life in Singapore – Garden Circus, The Control Room and The Living Room – the latter two developing into The Scientist and The Family respectively. Garden Circus, which illustrated the "pace of life" in Singapore, was withdrawn as it was considered "not strong enough conceptually". Soh found inspiration for The Heartland on another visit to Bishan. He went on to draft and incorporate elements that he considered timeless so that his work would remain relevant throughout time. Lim also advised Soh to "tone down" his murals to avoid the viewers being "drawn away" from the narratives as Soh kept inserting more features and altering the work. The murals were reproduced digitally and enlarged to fit on the walls. Soh inspected the panels and oversaw the installation in the station, working with the station architects and production team. As a tribute, the artist included depictions of workers with construction hats in The Heartland. Soh hoped that the work would "liven up" the plain environment of the station and provide something fresh to the commuters.
Bishan CCL station includes two sets of Art Seats, which are designed to provide functional pieces of artwork. Two entries, both by Lui Honfay and Yasmine Chan, were selected through the International Art Seats Design Competition in 2006.
Matrix, which received the top prize in the international competition, consists of a series of benches engraved on the surface with the station name in a dot-matrix style, which was used because it was flexible enough to be mass-produced for use in many stations.
Rain consists of steel seats in the shape of water puddles in place of the standard stone seats in other MRT stations. The sets' design was intended to include a "natural element in an abstract matter".
There is also a heritage-themed mural as a part of SMRT's Comic Connect. Created by local artist David Liew, the mural depicts the history of Bishan including Kampung San Teng, Peck San Theng Cemetery, secret societies in the area, and festivals celebrated in the cemetery.
Due to it being located on the former burial site of the Peck San Theng, Bishan station is rumoured to be haunted. Tales of headless figures alighting and boarding at the station are locally well-known; one version mentions a ghost sitting in the last car with its severed head on the adjacent seat. Such tales likely originated from the Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng columbarium, which now houses 45,000 urns, according to Singapore Paranormal Investigators (SPI). In response to calls and letters from light-night passengers claiming to witness headless ghosts at the station, The New Paper investigated these claims in October 1988 but did not find any ghosts. The station's operator MRTC, has said the operations and their staff have not been impacted by any sightings but confirmed the station is at the site of the former cemetery.
In April 2005, The Straits Times investigated and debunked several accounts of ghosts at Bishan station. One account mentioned a passenger being in a late-night train that did not stop at the station. When the passenger confronted the driver, the driver claimed to witness ghosts at the station when he said he could see more people than could the commuter. The station operator confirmed trains sometimes bypass stations, although usually these trains are empty. The operator added the train could have bypassed the station when it failed to stop "due to a technical fault". The Straits Times article also mentioned a first-hand account from a former civil servant who claimed to have fainted while aboard a train in 1991; she said she felt many groping hands before fainting after the train pulled out of Bishan station. In a field investigation, The Straits Times reported no encounters of any ghosts.