Buangkok MRT Station

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Buangkok MRT Station 万国地铁站 புவாங்கோக் Rapid transit
Platforms of NE15 Buangkok MRT station
Station statistics
Address	10 Sengkang Central Singapore 545061
Coordinates	1°13′32″N 103°32′01″E / 1.225676, 103.533479
Lines	North East
Connections	Bus, Taxi
Structure	Underground
Levels	2
Platforms	Island
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	15 January 2006
Accessible
Code	NE15
Services
Preceding station   Mass Rapid Transit   Following station Hougang towards HarbourFront North East Line Sengkang towards Punggol
Location
Buangkok MRT Station

The interior of Buangkok MRT Station (NE15)

Entrance to Buangkok MRT Station

Buangkok MRT Station (NE15) is an underground station located on the North East Line of the Mass Rapid Transit in Singapore. The station is in Sengkang and near to Hougang and serves residents in the vicinity.

The Art in Transit artwork is Water, Nature and the Contemporary by Vincent Leow.

[edit] History

It was supposed to be opened with the other of the 16 stations on the line in 2003. But a few days before the opening, SBS Transit decided not to open the station as the area is relatively undeveloped and the company claimed that the number of passengers was too low to cover operating costs.

On 12 November 2005, then Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong announced that the station will open in mid January 2006 ^[1] to much approval from the public ^[2], and on 29 December, SBS Transit revealed the opening date to be 15 January 2006 ^[3]. The station was well maintained like any other station throughout the time when it was not opened. To get ready for the station's opening, the programming had to be all updated to include Buangkok. Residents had said they would be willing to walk 400 metres to the station everyday ^[4].

The station opened with much fanfare on 15 January 2006. SBS Transit had expected around 3,500 commuters using the station daily, which would be the lowest among all the NEL stations and result in the station making a loss.

Even so, ridership on this station was much lower than expected on its opening week. It had an average of only 1,386 passenger trips per day, which was much worse than other NEL stations with low ridership. For example, Clarke Quay MRT Station, the next lowest station in terms of ridership, had already more than 6,000 commuter trips a day. However, Clarke Quay was located in the Central Business District with considerable development in the area.

SBS Transit has since said it is still too early to draw a conclusion on Buangkok Station's ridership and viability. However, with construction of flats behind the station expected to be completed by end 2007, ridership should increase substantially.

[edit] First White Elephant Incident

"Save the White Elephants" T-shirt design by students from Raffles Girls' School.

On 27 August 2005, during Minister Vivian Balakrishnan's visit to Punggol South, a resident, displeased with Buangkok's disuse, erected a series of white paper cut-outs of elephants, which were drawn in a cartoon-like style, symbolically calling the unopened Buangkok station a 'white elephant'. Soon after, police started an investigation on it as a case of a public display without permit, on the grounds that a complaint was received and that they may have been in violation of the Public Entertainment and Meetings Act, for which the maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $10,000. It raised controversy because many people saw it as a harmless, trivial case not worthy of investigation. It also highlighted the general displeasure over the non-operation of the MRT station after it was built with public funds. It also raised questions on how much freedom of expression the government is willing to tolerate. A month later, police closed the investigation without pressing charges but issued a stern warning to the offender. ^[5] This led Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng to explain to the media, "We cannot apply the law to some and turn a blind eye to others. If we do, then the law becomes the real white elephant."

[edit] Second White Elephant Incident

On 13 January 2006, during a carnival celebrating the opening of the MRT Station, some 27 students from Raffles Girls' School were preparing to sell T-shirts bearing "Save the White Elephants" to raise fund for a charity Youth Guidance. This prompted a warning from the police that they needed a fund-raising permit and that "wearing of T-shirts en masse may be misconstrued by some as an offence under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public & Order & Nuisance) (Assemblies & Processions) Rules." ^[6]

The girls said that they had always taken a strong interest in current affairs and Buangkok incident inspired them to start what they called "Project White Elephant" aiming to "galvanise the youth of today to rise up from the apathy they are stereotyped with and take an active role in airing their views". Punggol South grassroots leaders were impressed by their "entrepreneurial spirit and derring-do", and invited them to set up a stall at the opening ceremony of the station to sell the T-shirts.

On 21 January 2006, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng apologised for the way the police had overreacted to the group of school girls' plan to sell and wear white elephant T-shirts at the opening of Buangkok Station. ^[7]

[edit] Bus services nearby

The following bus services pass by the bus stops along Sengkang Central:

Panoramic view of undeveloped land beside Buangkok MRT Station. In the distant background lies the northern part of Hougang New Town.

[edit] References