Bayfront MRT station

Mass Rapid Transit station in Singapore

CE1 DT16
Bayfront
海湾舫
பேஃபிரண்ட்

Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange

Upper platform level (Platforms A and B) of Bayfront station

General informationLocation11 Bayfront Avenue
Singapore 018957Coordinates

Preceding station	Mass Rapid Transit			Following station
Marina Bay Terminus		Circle Line		Promenade towards HarbourFront
Promenade towards Bukit Panjang		Downtown Line		Downtown towards Expo

Track layout

Legend


					to Promenade



					B2 (upper)

					B3 (lower)



					to Downtown
					to Marina Bay

Location
Bayfront Bayfront station in Singapore

Bayfront MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange station on the Downtown line (DTL) and Circle line (CCL). Located in the Downtown Core of Singapore, the station is underneath Bayfront Avenue and serves the main tourist attractions of Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay.

The station was first announced in 2005 as part of the Downtown Extension of the CCL, which was later revised to be the first stage of the DTL. In 2007, it was also announced that the station would interchange with the CCL branch to Marina Bay station. CCL services to the station first commenced in January 2012, while DTL services began in December 2013. The station features an Art-in-Transit artwork When the Ships Comes In by Lee Wen.

History

On 14 June 2005, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced that Bayfront station would be part of the Downtown Extension (DTE) from Milennia station (now Promenade) to Chinatown.^[1]^[2]^[3] The station would serve the upcoming integrated resort, now known as Marina Bay Sands.^[4] Initially planned to be a branch of the Circle line (CCL),^[4] the DTE was revised to be the first stage of the Downtown line (DTL) in 2007.^[5] The station would also be an interchange station with the 2.4 km (1.5 mi) CCL branch to Marina Bay station.^[6]^[7]

The initial Chinese name for Bayfront station (贝弗兰) generated some controversy.^[8] Deputy local news editor of the Chinese-speaking newspaper Lianhe Zaobao Chua Chim Kang criticised the translation, calling it "meaningless" and perceived it as an "erosion" of the Chinese language.^[9] LTA subsequently changed the provisional Chinese name for the station to its existing translation that reflected the "maritime flavour" of the area served by the station, with "海湾" meaning "bay" and "舫" meaning "small boats".^[10]

The contract for the station's construction and associated tunnels was awarded to Sembawang Engineers & Constructors for S$463 million (US$345.5 million) in November 2007.^[11]^[12] The northern end of the station was designed by the developer of the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort.^[13] The station construction required coordination with Marina Bay Sands to integrate the station design with the resort.^[14] As announced on 28 November 2011,^[15] the station opened on 14 January 2012, with an official opening ceremony the day before.^[7]^[16]^[17] The DTL platforms commenced operations on 22 December 2013.^[18]^[19]

Station details

Bayfront station is a cross-platform interchange between the CCL and DTL with two island platforms. From the north, both the CCL and DTL go towards Promenade MRT station. To the south, the DTL goes towards Downtown station while the CCL goes towards Marina Bay station.^[20] The official station code is CE1/DT16.^[21]^[22]

Located under Bayfront Avenue close to Marina Bay,^[23] Bayfront station serves Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay.^[24]^[25] The station has five entrances. Other landmarks surrounding the station include Helix Bridge, Art Science Museum, Merlion Park, Red Dot Design Museum, and The Fullerton Hotel.^[26]

Public art

When the Ship Comes In by Lee Wen is displayed along the station concourse as part of the Art-in-Transit programme, a showcase of public artworks on the MRT network.^[27]^[28] The work depicts a series of ships hand-drawn by Singaporean children aged 7 to 12. Based on fantasy or other existing ships, the designs included boats powered by whales and dragons, or those made of food and recycled bottles.^[29]

The display pays tribute to the importance of Singapore as a port of call. The children's artwork recalls the history and projects the children's hope for the future.^[30] The artwork title is inspired by a Bob Dylan song of the same name, and the artist hoped to reflect the song's message of the value of life.^[31]

Over one thousand ship designs were created through workshops held in various primary schools and coordinated by the artist and his friends, including Chye Teck and Chun Kaiqun. Due to the limited space of the canvas, only some were selected based on the creativity of the design rather than how well-drawn the ships were. These were scanned into digital images, before the work was silkscreened on vitreous enamel panels.^[28]

References

^ Tor, Ching Li (15 June 2005). "Joining the hot spots". Today. Mediacorp. p. 2.
^ "Expanding The Rail Network With Downtown Extension". Land Transport Authority. 14 June 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
^ Shankari, Uma (15 June 2005). "Marina Bay to get new MRT line by 2012". The Business Times. Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings. p. 10.
^ ^a ^b Tan, Christopher (15 June 2005). "Circle Line extends to Marina South". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. p. 1. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
^ Tan, Christopher (15 March 2007). "Five stops planned for first phase of Downtown MRT line". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. p. 1. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
^ "Government Approves Building Of The Downtown Line". Land Transport Authority. 27 April 2007. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Speech by Mr Lui Tuck Yew at the Opening Ceremony of the Circle Line Extension on 13 January 2012". Ministry of Transport. 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
^ "贝弗兰的闹剧". 联合晚报 (Lianhe Wanbao) (in Chinese). 26 June 2005. p. 18.
^ 蔡, 深江 (19 June 2005). "拒绝"贝弗兰"式的语言暴力". 联合早报 (Lianhe Zaobao) (in Chinese). Singapore Press Holdings. p. 22.
^ Ho, Ai Li (14 July 2005). "What's in a name? Plenty, if it's Bayfront". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings.
^ "Semb E&C wins $463m MRT deal". Business Times. Singapore Press Holdings. 1 December 2007. p. 8.
^ "List of contracts awarded for Downtown Line 1" (PDF). Land Transport Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2022 – via Web Archive Singapore.
^ "Award Of Civil Contract For Bayfront Station". Land Transport Authority. 30 November 2007. Archived from the original on 19 September 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
^ Feng 2017, p. 62.
^ "Factsheet on Circle Line Extension". Land Transport Authority. 28 November 2011. Archived from the original on 2 December 2012 – via Web Archive Singapore.
^ "The extension on Circle Line opens with two events held concurrently at Bayfront Station and Esplanade Xchange". SMRT Corporation. 14 January 2012. Archived from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
^ Almenoar, Maria (14 January 2012). "Marina Bay, Bayfront stations open". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. p. 8.
^ Sim, Royston (21 December 2013). "Downtown Line Stage 1 officially opened by PM Lee". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
^ "Downtown Line Stage 1 officially opened by PM Lee". TODAYonline. Mediacorp. 21 December 2013. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
^ "News Room – News Releases – Downtown Line". Land Transport Authority. 21 December 2013. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
^ "MRT System Map" (PDF). lta.gov.sg. Land Transport Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
^ "System Map". transitlink.com.sg. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
^ "Bayfront – Map". SMRT Journeys. SMRT Corporation. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
^ "Directions to Marina Bay Sands". Marina Bay Sands. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
^ "Getting here & Parking". Gardens by the Bay. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
^ "Bayfront – Exits". SMRT Journeys. SMRT Corporation. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
^ "Art in Transit". LTA. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
^ ^a ^b Zhuang 2013, p. 176.
^ Zhuang 2013, p. 175.
^ "Downtown Line 1: Art-In-Transit" (PDF). Land Transport Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
^ Zhuang 2013, p. 177.

Bibliography

Feng, Zengkun (2017). Downtown Line: Soaring to new heights (PDF). Singapore: Straits Times Press Pte Ltd. ISBN 978-981-4747-66-0. OCLC 1003852882.
Zhuang, Justin (2013). Art in transit: Circle Line MRT. Singapore: Land Transport Authority. ISBN 978-981-07-4982-8. OCLC 854958677.