Clementi MRT Station

EW23  Clementi 金文泰 கிளிமெண்டி Clementi
Rapid transit
Clementi MRT Station at night.
Location	3150 Commonwealth Avenue West Singapore 129580
Coordinates	1°18′55.09″N 103°45′54.88″E / 1.3153028°N 103.7652444°E / 1.3153028; 103.7652444
Operated by	SMRT Trains (SMRT Corporation)
Line(s)	East West Line
Platforms	Island
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus, Taxi
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Platform levels	2
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	EW23
History
Opened	12 March 1988
Services
Preceding station   Mass Rapid Transit   Following station Dover towards Pasir Ris East West Line Jurong East towards Joo Koon
Location

Clementi MRT Station (EW23) is an above-ground MRT station located in Clementi, Singapore. Part of the East West Line, Clementi MRT Station is heavily used by commuters who live in Clementi itself or further west to go to work and also, by students of the National University of Singapore, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and other schools around Clementi. Hence, the station experiences high passenger traffic throughout the day due to it serving a wide range of passengers.

The tracks between this station and Jurong East is the second longest between any two stations on the East West Line, the longest being the tracks between Expo and Changi Airport MRT Stations. It takes four minutes for trains to travel between these two stations.

The station is also directly linked to the Clementi Mall and Clementi Bus Interchange. Together, they form the Clementi Integrated Transport Hub (ITH).

Clementi MRT Station Concourse.

Information board outside paid area at new exit.

Faregates at the new exit

A C151 train at Platform before HHPSD was implemented.

History

One of the older MRT stations in Singapore, Clementi was opened in 1988. The station is painted light blue, and with recent renovations a lift has been added for the benefit of commuters. The station and nearby track follows Commonwealth Avenue West, as do the Dover, Buona Vista, Commonwealth and Queenstown stations. Looking to the southwest one can see Clementi Central, with what was previously Commonwealth theatre, a McDonald's, and the bus interchange. At the northeast there is a connecting bridge to the nearby housing estate.

As with most of the stations along the East West Line, it was initially built without platform screen doors which prevents 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 started on 19 April 2010 and operations commenced on 16 August 2010. It was the 4th above-ground station to have Half-Height Platform Screen Doors installed and in operational with Bukit Gombak.^[1] Also, the station has been installed with MJ Air Tech High Volume, Low Speed (HVLS) Pro-Jet fans and commenced operations on 3 October 2012.

Train collision

On 5 August 1993, at around 7.53 am, two trains collided in the station. It appeared that one train had stopped at the station for longer than usual after experiencing a technical fault, and then a second westward train hit the first. 156 commuters were injured, many of whom were on their way to work. Eight were admitted to three hospitals, while the rest received outpatient treatment.

A four-member independent panel was subsequently formed by SMRT to conduct an inquiry into the accident. The panel was chaired by Chua Koon Hoe, deputy director-general of the Public Works Department of Singapore, with the members Chang Meng Teng, deputy chairman of the Public Transport Council, and Dr. Natarajan Varaprasad, principal of Temasek Polytechnic. Low Tien Sio, SMRTC's general manager (project administration) served as the secretary.

The results of the inquiry were announced by the SMRTC on 19 October 1993. Shortly after the accident The Straits Times had reported that an oil spill on the tracks was responsible for the second train's inability to brake in time.^[2] Some 50 litres of oil had spilled from a locomotive doing maintenance work on the track in the pre-dawn hours of 5 August. SMRT staff had been alerted to the spill and had dispatched a cleaning crew to the neighbouring Buona Vista, but approval to access the tracks was delayed. Already ten trains had reported difficulty braking on the track that morning. The 11th train had to use its emergency brakes upon reaching Clementi station, and while it was waiting for the brakes to be recharged so that it could move off again, the 12th approached the station and could not brake in time to avoid hitting the 11th train.

The Communications Minister at that time, Mah Bow Tan, said that as the SMRT staff followed procedures and none were found to be negligent, so no staff would be punished. However SMRT promised to look into the problem of oil spillage from maintenance locomotives by replacing the hoses and oil seals on all locomotives, checking all locomotives for leaks upon their return to depots, and assigning a station master to inspect tracks for oil. Procedures were also amended so that trains would not move off from stations preceding the spill until it had been cleaned up.^[3]

Station layout

Transport connections

Rail

Exits

• A and D: Commonwealth Avenue West, Clementi Avenue 3, The Clementi Mall (via Linkway Bridge), NTUC Fairprice Supermarket, Cityvibe Shopping Centre, Clementi Polyclinic, Clementi Primary School, Clementi Town Secondary School, Clementi Sports Hall, Clementi Swimming Complex, Clementi Bus Interchange, Clementi Stadium, West Coast Recreational Centre
• B and C: Commonwealth Avenue West, Clementi Avenue 4, Clementi Community Centre, Clementi Police Division Headquarters, Clementi NPC, Clementi NPP, Darussalam Mosque, Pei Tong Primary School, Clementi Avenue 2

Together with Commonwealth and Queenstown stations, this station will see the construction of an additional pedestrian link bridge linking the station to two new exits, one on each side of the road. The exits will be equipped with fare gates and ticketing machines. It was completed and opened on 25 August 2015.^[4]

References

External links

• Official website