Unique art, seats with backrest at new stations

Commuters on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) will get to enjoy practical features at new stations, including some benches that will come with armrests and backrests.

Benches will also be coloured differently at different stations to help commuters identify them more easily, and signage has been improved as well.

The new station features were showcased at a media preview on Tuesday.

The section of the line, called TEL2, will start running next Saturday.

It will have two interchanges - Caldecott, with the Circle Line; and Bright Hill, with the future Cross Island Line.

At the Upper Thomson station, commuters can have some fun by looking for 88 animals - including long-tailed macaques and a dog - hidden in works of art around the station.

They will also get to enjoy 22 bird sculptures placed around Mayflower station.

TEL2 connects Springleaf, Lentor, Mayflower, Bright Hill, Upper Thomson and Caldecott stations.

The art installations at the new stations are among the latest additions to the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) Art in Transit programme, which seeks to incorporate artwork by local artists in MRT stations.

There are now 92 stations where various pieces of art have been installed since the programme started with the North East Line in 1997.

The LTA said the artists who put up works of art at each of the six new stations drew inspiration from the cultural and historical background of the stations' immediate vicinity.

The Upper Thomson art installation featuring the hidden animals was done by Mr Troy Chin, a multidisciplinary writer and artist.

Called Lost In Our (Concrete) Jungle, it was inspired by the long-tailed macaques at the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, which is accessible from the Upper Thomson station.

Mr Chin said he depicted a total of 88 animals as Upper Thomson is the 88th station in the Art in Transit programme.

Explaining the hide-and-seek concept with the animal artwork, he said: "One thing I liked doing is letting people have fun, and I started thinking if I could turn an entire station into a game.

"Some of the (works of art) are pretty hard to find.

"Even if it's directly in front of you, if your angle of view is wrong, then you won't be able to see it."

Architects also did their part in coming up with unique designs in the construction of each station.

For example, they designed the Caldecott station such that natural daylight can filter in, even though it is one of the deepest underground stations in Singapore, reaching up to 35m deep. And the two X-shaped structures over the station platform are essential to structural integrity, yet are also designed to be visually appealing.

Members of the public who want to find out more about the new stations on the TEL can check them out virtually from next Monday to Friday at go.gov.sg/tel2oh, ahead of their opening next Saturday.