Expo MRT station is a Mass Rapid Transit interchange station on the Changi Airport branch line of the East West line and the current terminus of the Downtown line in the Tampines planning area, Singapore. This station is located along Changi South Avenue 1 at the junction of Expo Drive, in between Changi City Point and the Singapore Expo, which this station is named after. Plans of a new rail link to Changi Airport via Expo has been drawn up since the construction of Terminal 3 in 1994. The current two-station branch line was finalised in 1996 and construction began in 1999. The station opened on 10 January 2001, a year earlier than the Changi Airport station. It later became the terminus for the DTL upon the completion of Stage 3 of the line in 2017. On 25 May 2019, it was announced that the station will be incorporated as part of the Thomson–East Coast line as it extends to the airport's Terminal 5 by 2040.
History
Changi Airport Branch
Plans for this station were first announced by then Deputy Prime MinisterLee Hsien Loong on 15 November 1996 as part of an extension to Changi Airport MRT station. The contract 502 for the constriction of Expo station was awarded to Penta-Ocean Construction Limited, which completed the station in 2000. As part of the President's Challenge 2001, a part of a charity walk goes through the tunnel between Expo and Changi Airport stations. The station opened on 10 January 2001 on the request by Singapore Expo, a year before the opening of the Changi Airport station. Train services to Expo station were initially operated as a 2-station shuttle service from Tanah Merah when the station first opened and it was first denoted by code E13 for a short while until the MRT map was revamped in 2001 by former cabinet minister Yeo Cheow Tong. It was then converted to a through service from Boon Lay station when the other station on the Changi Extension, Changi Airport, opened. However, to cut costs due to ridership falling below expectations, the service was reverted into shuttle mode on 22 July 2003. As with most of the above-ground stations built in the past along the East West line, it was built without platform screen doors that prevent commuters from falling onto the train tracks. Installation of the half-height screen doors started on 20 June 2011 as the last station of the East West line. On 31 August that year, all of the screen doors have been installed and began operating, marking the completion of the installation of all the Platform Screen Doors along the East West line.
Downtown line
On 20 August 2010, it was announced that the Stage 3 of the DTL will terminate and interchange with the EWL at Expo station. The Contract 922 for the design and construction of Expo station and the overrun tunnels was awarded to Samsung C&T Corporation at a sum of S$211.35 million in May 2011. On 28 November 2011, LTA marked the start of construction of Stage 3 of the DTL with a groundbreaking ceremony at this station. On 31 May 2017, LTA announced that the station, together with the rest of DTL3, will be opened on 21 October that year. To facilitate the construction for the Downtown line 3 Expo station and its tunnels, part of Changi South Avenue 1 towards Somapah Road and Changi South Avenue 2, together with a short section of Expo Drive were temporarily closed to traffic from 2 October 2011 to May 2017.
Incorporation into the TEL
On 25 May 2019, the LTA announced an extension of the to Changi Airport. Set to be completed by 2040, The TEL will be extended from its current terminus at Sungei Bedok MRT station to serve the future Changi Airport Terminal 5, and the stretch between Tanah Merah and Changi Airport, which is currently part of the East-West line, will be transferred over to the Thomson-East Coast line.
Station details
Design
It sports a space-age architecture designed by Sir Norman Foster. The roof is clad in titanium, steel, and glass. Its design enabled the platform to be columns-free, invoking a sense of spaciousness. The station is built to handle fluctuating passenger volumes due to events at the adjacent Singapore Expo and has the large spaces needed to facilitate smooth traffic flow.
Art in transit
An artwork titled "A Banquet" by Yeo Chee Kiong is featured at the DTL station as part of the Art-in-Transit. The massive 3D artwork depicts two reflective isometric chairs and a bulbous speech balloon to signify not only the importance of organic communication in an era of technological advancement and digital media but also the spirit of free trade. According to the sculptor, "Expo is where business is done, the speech balloons show the kind of conversations and dialogues which people have, and the chairs show where business takes place." With the surrounding colours of the station reflected in the artwork’s shiny surfaces, it transformed them into two sets of magnificent kaleidoscopes which also symbolises cultural exchange.
