Announced in January 2003 as part of Stage 3 of the Circle Line (CCL), construction started in the third quarter of 2003 with an expected completion date of 2008. Construction for the CCL Stage 3 stations were halted due to the Nicoll Highway collapse before resuming in August 2005. The expected completion date was delayed to 2009. After further changes to Stage 3's opening date, Bartley commenced operations along with other Stage 3 stations on 28 May 2009.
History
In October 1999, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced that the Outer Circle Line, a rail line connecting Paya Lebar, Serangoon, Bishan, and Buona Vista stations, was under study. It was expected for the rail line to be operational by 2006.[7] There were also plans for the Marina Line, another planned rail line, to be extended from Stadium Boulevard station to connect to the Outer Circle Line at Paya Lebar.[8] The Marina Line and the Outer Circle Line would be merged to create the 34 kilometres (21mi)Circle line (CCL) in April 2001 as part of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system.[9][10] In January 2003, it was announced that Bartley would be part of CCL Stage 3, a 5.7 kilometres (3.5mi) stretch between this station and Marymount. The segment was expected to cost S$1.2 billion(2003)(US$688.79 million).[11][12]
By July, the contract for the construction of Bartley MRT Station was awarded to Wan Soon Construction Pte Ltd at a sum of S$63.5 million(2003)(US$36.45 million).[13][14] Construction started for Stage 3 stations in the third quarter of 2003 with expected completion by 2008.[15][16] Wan Soon's contract was novated by the LTA in June 2004, with Tobishima Corporation[jp] taking over.[17][18] However, the Nicoll Highway Collapse on 20 August 2004 delayed operations for Stage 3 CCL stations to 2009;[19] the LTA halted work at 16 of the 24 CCL excavation sites so these could be reviewed.[20][21][22] In October, it was discovered that construction works for Bartley station caused the ground underneath Maris Stella High School's gates to sink and cracks to form near the school's electrical substation, with Millennia Institute reporting tremors in one of its blocks a few months ago. The LTA monitored both schools and determined that there was no danger.[23]
By October 2004, it was expected for excavation works at Bartley to begin in February.[23] In July 2005, the LTA announced that the Street and Buildings Name Board approved the station's name to be "Bartley".[24][25][5] On 26 August 2005, construction for Stage 3 stations restarted, with the LTA believing that Stage 3 will be constructed by 2008. By then, one-tenth of the station's excavation work was finished.[26][27] In 2006, it was expected for the station be completed by next December,[28] with Bartley and the other Stage 3 stations to be opened by early 2009.[29] By September 2007, the Stage 3 stations were "in advanced stages of completion" according to Maria Almenoar of The Straits Times, with architectural, engineering, and mechanical works being carried out and were expected to finish by mid-2008. In January 2008, the Stage 3 stations' completion date was moved earlier from 2010 to mid-2009.[30][31]
In June, the LTA have started conducting test runs on the Stage 3 stations, with construction expected to be completed by November, and for the section to start operations by June 2009.[32] Construction for the Stage 3 stations was more than 90% completed by October, according to Lim Yong and Desmond Wee of The Straits Times.[33] In February 2009, transport minister Raymond Lim announced that CCL Stage 3 will open on 30 May,[34] thought it was later moved to 28 May.[35] On 28 May 2009, Bartley commenced operations alongside other Stage 3 stations.[36][37] The station was a terminus for the Circle Line until the line was extended to Dhoby Ghaut on 17 April 2010.[38][39]
Details
Bartley station serves the CCL and is between Tai Seng and Serangoon stations, with the official station code of CC12.[40] As part of the CCL, the station is operated by SMRT Trains.[41] The station operates between 5:16am and 12:24am daily, with longer operating hours during public holidays.[42] Train frequencies vary from 3.5 to an average of 5.0 minutes during peak hours to an average of 6.0 minutes for off-peak hours.[43] Bartley station is wheelchair accessible,[44] having wider fare gates to allow easier access for wheelchair users into the station.[45] A tactile system, consisting of tiles with rounded or elongated raised studs, guides visually impaired commuters through the station,[46] with dedicated tactile routes that connect the station entrances to the platforms.[45] The station also has bicycle facilities and is a civil defence shelter.[47][48] Bartley station runs alongside Bartley Road, and has two exits serving various nearby landmarks such as the Maris Stella High School, Mount Vernon camp of the Gurkha Contingent, Bartley Secondary School. It also serves several nearby religious institutions such as the Ramakrishna Mission Singapore, Bartley Christian Church, and Paya Lebar Methodist Chinese Church.[44][49]
As part of the Art in Transit Programme, a showcase of public artworks on the MRT, The Coin Mat by Jane Lee is displayed at Lorong Chuan.[50] Located at the ticket machines, the 4.8 × 8.6 m (15.7 × 28.2 ft) artwork consists of 164,800 one-cent coins displayed on a wall,[51] with some of the coins new at the time of the artwork's creation and some of them old; the coins were sourced from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Lee worked with a production team in China to colour the coins in different tones.[51] As they are not arranged in any order, some of the coins display the side with the Vanda Miss Joaquim, whilst the rest display the side with the Singapore coat of arms. Prints of circles, which give the impression of coins, are displayed at the station's entrances; the Serangoon Avenue 1 entrance features gold to copper circles, similar to one-cent coins, whilst the Mount Vernon entrances features silver circles representing ten-cent coins.[52] Lee decided to use coins in her artwork as to her, "train stations and public transport have always been closely related with coins", adding that as the artwork was near the ticket machines, commuters could relate to the work.[53] Mayo Martin of TODAY commented that he initially thought The Coin Mat would be "another glittery mosaic".[54] When he realised that the artwork consisted of coins, Martin complimented the artwork's integration with the ticket machines, stating that the artwork "fits its space to a T".[54]
According to writer Justin Zhuang, although Lee did not have much difficulty coming up with the concept of The Coin Mat, she considered using multiple denominations for the work. Lee chose to use one-cent coins as it was the most economical, as well as displaying Singapore's visual heritage since it was out of circulation at the time of conceptualisation; this also made it difficult to create a sample piece, so Lee had to ask her family and friends for one-cent coins.[53] Between September and November 2006, the LTA organised an art competition for certain CCL stations as part of a S$4.8 million(2006)(US$3.02 million) plan to install artworks on the CCL,[55] with The Coin Mat as one of the competition's winners.[52] Before installation works could begin, the coins were confiscated by security customs in China as they were not declared as currency.[56][52] Another challenge was the durability of the coins, which was resolved by applying a chemical to preserve their appearances. According to Zhuang, the biggest challenge was installing the coins, with Lee and the LTA meeting twice a month for more than half a year.[52] They tried laminating the coins to the glasses, similar to other printed artworks in CCL stations, though this caused the glass to crack when sealed by heat since the metal in the coins expanded more than the glass. They also tried using a thick plastic layer to hold the coins to the glass, which created air bubbles. Lee and the LTA decided to drill depressions on the glass panels for each coin, which was described as by Zhuang as a "very tedious process".[52]
References
↑ "System Map"(PDF). LTA (in Chinese). Archived(PDF) from the original on 10 December 2024.
↑ "System Map"(PDF). LTA (in Tamil). Archived(PDF) from the original on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
↑ Goh, Chin Lian (13 December 2003). "Line comes full Circle with 13 stops". The Straits Times. p.H3 – via Newslink. Next to open should be the 5.7km section from Bartley Road to Marymount Road, with five stations. It is due to be completed in 2008.
↑ Alemanor, Maria (7 August 2004). "Wan Soon still owes 130 local workers $1.1m". The Straits Times. pp.H11 – via Newslink.
↑ "New contractor for stalled flyover". The Straits Times. 5 February 2005. p.H11 – via Newslink.
↑ Almenoar, Maria (26 January 2008). "More trains, shorter waits". The Straits Times. p.H10 – via Newslink.
↑ "We're getting super connected". The New Paper. 26 January 2008. pp.16–17 – via Newslink.
↑ Tan, Christopher (23 April 2008). "Stage 3 of Circle Line set for Nov completion". The Straits Times. p.H3 – via Newslink.
↑ Yong, Lim; Wee, Desmond (27 October 2008). "Set to roll". The Straits Times. Front page – via Newslink.
↑ Yeo, Ghim Lay (13 February 2009). "Five stations on Circle Line to open in May". The Straits Times. p.A1 – via Newlink. Circle Line Stage 3, which has five stations, will open on May 30 instead of June, Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced in Parliament during yesterday's debate on his ministry's budget.
Zhuang, Justin; Mead, Andrew; Koh, Hui Ting (2013). Art In Transit: Circle Line MRT — Singapore. Singapore: Land Transport Authority. pp.105–107. ISBN9789810749828.
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