Bras Basah MRT Station

CC2 Bras Basah 百胜 | பிராஸ் பாசா
Address	65 Bras Basah Road, Singapore 189561
Line Served	Circle Line
Operator	SMRT Trains
Structure	Underground
Platform	Island
Opened	17 Apr 2010

Bras Basah MRT Station (CC2) is an underground station along the Circle Line (CCL) Stage 1, located in the Central area. It is built underneath Bras Basah Road, with nearby buildings including the Singapore Art Museum, SMU campus, NTUC Income Centre and Manulife Centre.

Bras Basah is Malay for “wet rice”. When rice carried as boat cargo got wet, they were laid out to dry at the banks of what became known as Sungei Bras Basah (now Stamford Canal).

The station is 35 metres underground, and houses the longest escalators throughout the Singapore rail network at 41.3 metres in length, which connects the station concourse (B1) to the transfer level (B4) and takes approximately one minute to travel. The station design by renowned local architectural firm WOHA was selected through the Marina Line Architectural Design Competition, organised jointly by the Land Transport Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Institute of Architects.

A prominent design feature of the station is the station roof, which appears to be a reflection pool from the surface, but doubles up as a skylight, allowing abundant natural light to reach the lower levels of the deep station. This design has won the station multiple international design awards.

Built in close proximity to Bencoolen station along the Downtown Line, the stations are connected by an underground public (unpaid) link which is part of SMU.

First / Last Train Timings

Station Layout

Levels B2 and B3 are service floors and not for public access.

Platforms

Circle Line (B5):

Platform A: Circle Line towards CC29NE1 HarbourFront via CC3 Esplanade (→) Platform B: Circle Line towards CC1NS24NE6 Dhoby Ghaut (←)

Bras Basah station has two platforms in an island platform arrangement. A set of escalators and stairs connect to the Transfer Hall above (B4), where another escalator ascends to the Concourse level (B1). On the other hand, a set of lifts connect the platform directly to the Concourse level.

Concourse

Entering the paid areas, the station roof functions as a skylight, bringing natural light into the lower depths into the station. 41.3-metre long escalators – the longest throughout Singapore’s rail network – link the Concourse level (B1) with the Transfer Hall (B4), and a final set of escalators connect that to the Platform level (B5). To conserve energy in the face of low-moderate passenger demand, only one set of escalators are switched on at one time.

Art in Transit: “The Amazing Neverending Underwater Adventures! ” by Tan Kai Syng

A 29-minute video cycle titled ‘The Amazing Neverending Underwater Adventures!’ by Tan Kai Syng is the only video artwork commissioned by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) for the Art in Transit programme. It is screened every evening from 1929hrs, at the concourse level of the station (underneath the skylight). Centered around action heroine Desyphus, it comprises 29 chapters and 29 riddles, questioning our ‘realities’ of the here and now.

Station Amenities

• Retail Shop at CCL Concourse (B1)
• Public Toilets at CCL Concourse (B1)
• ATMs & Self-Service Machines

Exits

Bras Basah MRT station has three exits leading to ground level (A, D and E). Exit A and E are equipped with escalators, while Exit D is a flight of steps. Exits B and C connect to the Singapore Management University (SMU)’s Li Ka Shing Library, where public lifts within the building provide the only form of disabled access to street level in the vicinity. SMU’s publicly-accessible Basement Concourse seamlessly connects to other parts of the campus.

Exit	Location	Nearby
A	Queen Street	Bras Basah Complex, Carlton Hotel, Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, CHIJMES, Church of Sts. Peter & Paul, National Library, NTUC Income Centre, NTUC Trade Union House, Peranakan Museum, SMU (Admin Building), St. Joseph’s Church, The National Design Centre, The Substation
B	SMU Campus	SMU Campus, National Museum of Singapore via SMU, Peranakan Museum via SMU, The Substation via SMU, Vanguard Building via SMU, Stamford Centre via SMU, Fort Canning Park via SMU, Bencoolen MRT Station via SMU
C	SMU Campus
D	Waterloo Street	Fort Canning Park, Fort Canning Art Centre, Manulife Centre, NAFA Campus, National Archives of Singapore, National Museum of Singapore, PoMo, Rendezvous Hotel Singapore, School of The Arts (SOTA), Singapore Philatelic Museum, The Cathay, YMCA
E	Bras Basah Road

Transport Connections

Bras Basah station connects to several bus stops in the vicinity, as well as taxi stands and passenger pick-up points.

Bus

There are five official bus stops linked to Bras Basah station.

Road

Taxi stands and pick-up/drop-off points are located next to station exits:

MRT Bus Bridging Service

In the event of a MRT service disruption affecting Bras Basah station, MRT Bridging Buses may be activated to ply affected stretches of the Circle Line. In which case, the buses can be boarded from the following bus stops:

In addition, passengers can board free regular bus services at Bus Stops 1 & 3 when activated.

Passenger Usage Patterns

As a Central region station serving the civic districts, Bras Basah station encounters moderate demand levels from visitors to various attractions in the vicinity, as well as students from the Singapore Management University.

Construction

Circle Line Stage 1 (CCL1) Contract 825 for the construction and completion of Dhoby Ghaut, Bras Basah, Esplanade and Promenade Stations (then known as Museum, Convention Centre and Millenia stations) and tunnels was awarded to local, Chinese and Sweedish companies Woh Hup-Shanghai Tunnel Engineering – NCC Joint Venture.

The working name for Bras Basah station was Museum Station.

Gallery

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External Links & References

• Bras Basah Road – NLB eResources
• Bras Basah Station Fact Sheet – LTA