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Canberra MRT station is an elevated Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the North South line, located along Canberra Link at the junction with Canberra Way in
Sembawang Sembawang is a planning area and residential town located in the North Region of Singapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to the south, Yishun to the southeast, Woodlands to the west and the Straits of Joho ...
,
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
. It is the second
infill In urban planning, infill, or in-fill, is the rededication of land in an urban environment, usually open-space, to new construction. Infill also applies, within an urban polity, to construction on any undeveloped land that is not on the urban mar ...
station on the MRT network (after
Dover MRT station Dover MRT station is an elevated Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East West line in Queenstown planning area, Singapore, located along Commonwealth Avenue West. It was the first infill station added to an existing line on the Singapore ...
), and the first in Singapore with a platform linked directly to an overhead bridge at the same level. With several green features included in the station during construction, it was also the first MRT station to be awarded Platinum for the Building and Construction Authority's Green Mark for Transit Stations, as a result of the construction team's efforts to integrate landscaping and using eco-friendly materials in the construction of the station. The station was announced following a successful feasibility study conducted by the
Land Transport Authority The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore. History Incorporation of Land Transport Authority Land Transport Authority (LTA) was established on 1 September 1995, ...
(LTA) after the idea of a new MRT station between the
Sembawang Sembawang is a planning area and residential town located in the North Region of Singapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to the south, Yishun to the southeast, Woodlands to the west and the Straits of Joho ...
and Yishun MRT stations was raised in the 2013 Land Transport Master Plan. Construction started in April 2015, and it opened on 2 November 2019. The mall opposite the station, Canberra Plaza, opened on 18 December 2020.


History


Planning

The North South line, Singapore's first MRT line, opened in stages in 1987. The stations from Yew Tee to
Sembawang Sembawang is a planning area and residential town located in the North Region of Singapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to the south, Yishun to the southeast, Woodlands to the west and the Straits of Joho ...
were later opened in 1996 as part of the Woodlands Extension, with missing station codes NS6 and NS12 reserved for future stations along the line. Both the Land Transport Master Plan 2013 (launched by then- Minister for Transport
Lui Tuck Yew Lui Tuck Yew (; born 16 August 1961) is a Singaporean diplomat, former politician and two-star rear-admiral who has been serving as Singapore Ambassador to China since 2019. He previously served as Singapore Ambassador to Japan between 2017 a ...
in October) and the Draft Master Plan 2013 (unveiled by the
Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore. Mission The authority was established on 1 Apri ...
during a public exhibition in November) mentioned the possible addition of a new MRT station between Sembawang and Yishun stations. After a year of review, the Draft Master Plan 2013 was officially gazetted to become the Master Plan 2014 in June of that year. Between January 2013 and June 2014, in response to these master plans, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) started feasibility studies for a new station between Sembawang and Yishun stations in tandem with developments in the northern part of Singapore. Minister Lui concluded that the station could be built, and on 1 August that year, Canberra station was officially announced by the LTA.


Construction

The estimated cost for the entire station was . On 27 April 2015, LTA awarded Contract 158 to
China State Construction Engineering The China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) () is the largest construction company in the world by revenue and the 8th largest general contractor in terms of overseas sales, as of 2020. While most of the assets of CSCEC were flo ...
Corporation (Singapore Branch) for the design and construction of Canberra Station at a contract sum of S$90 million (US$ million). Heavy construction work began on 26 March 2016, following the fatal Pasir Ris rail accident on 22 March where two SMRT maintenance workers were killed by an incoming train while performing maintenance on the tracks. This tragedy shined a spotlight on the need for safety for all rail operations involving workers working close to an operational line. As a result of the accident, LTA and SMRT implemented several measures to improve safety such as limiting major work to non-service hours, sheltering the tracks with a temporary enclosure during the roof's construction and creating a full-scale mock-up of the station structure and roof to determine the safest method of construction. By September 2017, the station was 40% complete, with its
deep foundation A deep foundation is a type of foundation that transfers building loads to the earth farther down from the surface than a shallow foundation does to a subsurface layer or a range of depths. A pile or piling is a vertical structural eleme ...
works in place and construction proceeding to the next stage where platform slabs were cast. By May 2018, the station was 55% complete, with most of its roof structure in place. Between 18 and 20 May 2019, a rail crossover track was constructed at the northern end of Canberra station to connect the two tracks. The crossover track was built partly to reduce the impact of future rail disruption, such as the power outage that occurred on 7 July 2015, by allowing trains to switch to the unaffected track using the crossover. During a visit to the station's construction site on 20 May 2019, Minister for Transport
Khaw Boon Wan Khaw Boon Wan (; born 8 December 1952) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Minister for Transport between 2015 and 2020, Minister for National Development between 2011 and 2015, and Minister for Health between 2003 and 2011. A me ...
announced that the station would open on 2 November that year. A day before its opening, the station has an official opening ceremony by Khaw.


Station details

Canberra station is located in the eastern part of Sembawang, next to the residential town of
Yishun Yishun, formerly known as Nee Soon, is a residential town located in the northeastern corner of the North Region of Singapore, bordering Simpang and Sembawang to the north, Mandai to the west, the Central Water Catchment to its southwest, ...
and near Sungei Simpang Kiri river. An estimated 17,000 households are expected to benefit from the station. The station takes its name from Canberra Link, the road beside which it is located. This road is named after Canberra, the capital of Australia. The station serves the North South line, and is situated between the
Sembawang Sembawang is a planning area and residential town located in the North Region of Singapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to the south, Yishun to the southeast, Woodlands to the west and the Straits of Joho ...
and
Yishun Yishun, formerly known as Nee Soon, is a residential town located in the northeastern corner of the North Region of Singapore, bordering Simpang and Sembawang to the north, Mandai to the west, the Central Water Catchment to its southwest, ...
stations. The official station code is NS12. The station is linked to Canberra Plaza, a three-story shopping mall project by the HDB as part of a
mixed-use Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to so ...
transit-oriented development In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of urban development that maximizes the amount of residential, business and leisure space within walking distance of public transport. It promotes a symbiotic relationship betw ...
, via an elevated sheltered
footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...
built across Canberra Link.
DP Architects DP Architects Pvt. Ltd. is a Singaporean multinational architectural industrial design firm. It started as Design Partnership in 1967 and was incorporated as a private limited company in 1993. It is a multi-disciplinary design consultancy. It ...
and KTP Consultants (the latter of which is now a subsidiary of Surbana Jurong) designed the station with a nautical theme; thus, the station is shaped like a ship when viewed from the outside. This design was inspired by
Sembawang Sembawang is a planning area and residential town located in the North Region of Singapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to the south, Yishun to the southeast, Woodlands to the west and the Straits of Joho ...
's historical role as a British naval base. The station’s roof is modelled after wind blades to convey the speed of Singapore's
public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
. The sides of the station were constructed using glass rather than concrete to allow natural light to enter.
Louver A louver (American English) or louvre (British English; see spelling differences) is a window blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain and direct sunshine. The angle of the slats ...
s were installed to provide ventilation. For the construction team's efforts to integrate landscaping and the use of eco-friendly materials, the station was awarded a Platinum certification under the
Building and Construction Authority The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore. It was established on 1 April 1999 through the merger of the Construction Industry Development Board ...
's new Green Mark scheme for transit stations. Canberra station is the first MRT station to attain such a rating. The artwork in the station, ''Symbiosis'', was painted by Singaporean artist Tan Zi Xi. It aims to emphasise the symbiotic relationship between
flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
and
fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''biota''. Zoo ...
. Residents and stakeholders from the nearby
Sembawang Group Representation Constituency The Sembawang Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) located in the northern area of Singapore. The GRC consists: Sembawang Central, Sembawang West, Woodlands, Admiralty and Canberra division ...
contributed to the artwork by drawing imaginative plants and animals after a workshop that involved a nature walk. Tan developed her drawings further to suit the lively design of the station. The station has five entrances. Four of these are connected by covered pathways to a pair of bus stops, two passenger drop off and pick-up points and parking for over 500 bicycles. The fifth is a sheltered
footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...
built across Canberra Link which allows passengers to bypass the concourse level and access the Marina South Pier-bound (city-bound) platform directly.


References


External links

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Canberra Station
(Land Transport Authority site on Canberra MRT station) {{DEFAULTSORT:Canberra MRT station 2019 establishments in Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) stations Railway stations opened in 2019 Sembawang