Kent Ridge MRT Station

Kent Ridge MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Circle Line (CCL). Located in the eponymous Kent Ridge of Queenstown, Singapore, the station is near the junction of South Buona Vista Road and Lower Kent Ridge Road. The station serves the National University Hospital and the National University of Singapore.

Initially announced as National University Hospital MRT station in 2003, the station was renamed through a public poll in 2005. Kent Ridge station opened on 8 October 2011 when Stages 4 and 5 of the CCL commenced operations. The station features Poetry Mix-Up by Mixed Reality Lab as part of the MRT network's Art-in-Transit programme.

History

The station was first announced as NUH station when the Circle Line (CCL) Stages 4 and 5 stations were revealed in 2003. The contract for the construction of NUH station was awarded to Woh Hup (Pte) Ltd–Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. Ltd–Alpine Mayreder bau GmbH (WH-STEC-AM) Joint Venture in 2004. The S$399.91 million (US$236.6 million) contract included the construction of Holland, Buona Vista and One-North stations. The construction of the 8.25-kilometre (5.13 mi) bored tunnels required the use of 6.35-metre (20.8 ft) diameter Earth pressure balance (EPB) machines.

In 2005, the station name was finalised as Kent Ridge. As announced by transport minister Lui Tuck Yew during his visit to the CCL4 and 5 stations on 1 August 2011, the station began revenue service on 8 October of that year.

Details

Kent Ridge station serves the CCL and is between the one-north and Haw Par Villa stations. The official station code is CC24. Being part of the CCL, the station is operated by SMRT Trains. Trains runs every 5 to 7 minutes in both directions daily.

The station is located underneath the National University Hospital (NUH) Medical Centre near the junction of South Buona Vista Road and Kent Ridge Road. The station is at the east of National University of Singapore (NUS) campus. Other landmarks include Singapore Science Park I and Kent Ridge Park. The station serves NUS internal bus shuttle services that connects the station to other areas of the NUS campus.

The station is wheelchair accessible. A tactile system, consisting of tiles with rounded or elongated raised studs, guides visually impaired commuters through the station, with dedicated tactile routes that connect the station entrances to the platforms. Wider fare gates allow easier access for wheelchair users into the station.

Commissioned as part of the Art-in-Transit programme, Poetry Mix-Up is a multimedia work installed by Mixed Reality Lab of NUS and is displayed at Kent Ridge MRT station. Commuters at the station are able to generate a poem via a SMS message, which will then be displayed on a screen situated at the station's lift shaft. The artwork installation is intended to remind commuters to be more aware of their surroundings especially when using mobile devices, while at the same time aiming to revive poetic expression.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Kent Ridge MRT station" and modified on December 7, 2023 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.