Bishan MRT station

Bishan MRT station ( BEE-shahn) is a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange station on the North–South (NSL) and Circle (CCL) lines in Bishan, Singapore. The station is located along Bishan Road within the town centre; it is close to Junction 8 shopping centre, Bishan Bus Interchange and Bishan Stadium. Nearby schools include Raffles Institution, Catholic High School and Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School. Initially announced as Kampong San Teng, it was renamed San Teng and subsequently Bishan. The NSL station opened on 7 November 1987; it was one of the first five stations on the MRT network. The NSL station was originally constructed with an island platform. During the construction of the CCL station, the NSL station was upgraded to cope with increased passenger traffic from the CCL, which included construction of a brand new side platform to serve southbound trains, while the original island platform was converted to a side platform to serve only northbound trains. The CCL station opened on 28 May 2009. Bishan's NSL platforms are the only ground-level station on the MRT network, while the CCL station features Move! by Soh Ee Shaun, an Art-in-Transit artwork. Owing to its location as the site of a former cemetery that was cleared for construction, the station is also associated with local folklore claiming it to be haunted.

Bishan station, then known as Kampong San Teng after a Cantonese and Hakka kampong that once occupied the area, was among the first stations planned for inclusion in the MRT network. The station was renamed San Teng in November 1982, dropping kampong, and would be built on the cemetery of said village. Contract 103 for the construction of San Teng MRT station and 3.2-kilometre (2.0-mile) of tunnels between San Teng and Braddell stations was awarded to a Belgian–Singaporean joint venture Hytech, Franki and Compagnie Francois d'Enterprises in December 1983 at a contract sum of S$32.88 million (US$15.56 million). This was the first contract involving a cut and cover construction method which the MRT Corporation (MRTC) awarded. On 21 September 1984, the MRTC renamed San Teng to Bishan station to reflect the name of the new public housing estate that was being built around the station's site. Structural works for Bishan station was completed on 23 October 1985. In January 1986, it was announced the station would be opened in early 1988 as part of the first section of the MRT system from Yio Chu Kang to Toa Payoh. In September 1987, it was announced the section would open on 7 November that year. To familiarise people with the system, the station opened for a preview from 24 to 25 October. As announced, Bishan was one of the first MRT stations on the network to be opened for service on 7 November 1987.

In July 2003, Contract C825A for the design, construction and completion of Bishan interchange station was awarded to Econ Corporation Ltd and Eng Lim Construction Co Pte Ltd Joint Venture at a sum of S$82.2 million (US$47.18 million). The contract also included the upgrading of the NSL station. Construction was due to start in the third quarter of 2003 and was expected to be completed by early 2008. The original NSL station underwent major alterations to enable it to accommodate increased passenger traffic when the CCL station opened. An air-conditioned platform to serve southbound trains was constructed to increase the station's passenger capacity from 1,250 to 2,020. The new platform, Platform B, opened for service on 27 July 2008. Because Platform A, the original platform, was now serving northbound trains to Jurong East and remained in service, upgrading works for Platform A were hindered and took about a year to complete. While the platform was re-tiled during the day, platform screen doors (PSDs) were ins

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