Bright Hill MRT Station

Bright Hill MRT Station (TE7) is an underground station located along the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) 2. It is built underneath Sin Ming Avenue, at the junction with Sin Ming Walk, bringing rail connectivity to schools, community amenities and residential developments in the area.

The station’s most prominent nearby landmark is Bright Hill Crematorium & Columbarium and the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery. Also in the vicinity are schools such as Peirce Secondary School and Ai Tong School; Bishan Park Condominium, The Gardens at Bishan and Faber Garden Condominium; HDB Sin Ming Gardens estate and the Fulton private housing estate.

The TEL station was originally targeted for completion and opening in Year 2020. However, it was delayed till Q1 2021 and later further delayed to Q3 2021 in December 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The opening date was announced to be on 28 Aug 2021 in end-June 2021.

By 2030, Bright Hill station will be an interchange station with the Cross Island Line (CRL) Phase 1, as well as its western terminus until CRL Phase 2 opens in 2032. It will then bear the station code TE7CR13.

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First / Last Train Timings

Thomson-East Coast Line – (TE7) Bright Hill
Destination	First Train		Last Train
	Weekdays & Sat	Sun & Public Holidays	Daily
TE1 Woodlands North	5:57am	6:17am	12:22am
TE22 Gardens by the Bay	5:53am	6:13am	11:45pm
TE14 Orchard	–	–	11:55pm
TE9 Caldecott	–	–	12:05am
Cross Island Line – (CR13) Bright Hill
Destination	First Train		Last Train
	Weekdays & Sat	Sun & Public Holidays	Daily
CR2 Aviation Park	—	—	—

 

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Station Layout

L1	Street	Bus stops, Taxi stand, Pick-up/drop-off point
B1	–	Escalators between Street Level (Exit 2) & Ticket Concourse Level
B2	Ticket Concourse	Faregates, Ticketing Service Kiosks, Passenger Service Centre, Retail Shops
B3	Platform A	Thomson-East Coast Line towards TE22 Gardens by the Bay
	Platform B	Thomson-East Coast Line towards TE1 Woodlands North

 

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Platform & Train Services

Thomson-East Coast Line (B3):

Platform A: Thomson-East Coast Line towards TE22 Gardens by the Bay via TE8 Upper Thomson (→) Platform B: Thomson-East Coast Line towards TE1 Woodlands North via TE6 Mayflower (←)

Bright Hill station has two platforms in an island platform arrangement.

Cross Island Line  (B2) [U/C]: (Year 2030)

 

Cross Island Line towards CR2 Aviation Park via CR12 Teck Ghee (→)

Cross Island Line towards CR2 Aviation Park via CR12 Teck Ghee (→)

Bright Hill Cross Island Line station features side platforms, with the paid link to the TEL station concourse connected directly with the westbound platform. The station platforms are built to eight-car length to cater for future expansion, although trains will only operate in a six-car formation.

This station will serve as the western terminus of the CRL until Phase 2 (Turf City – Jurong Lake District) opens in 2032, in which train services will be extended to CR19 Jurong Lake District via CR14 Turf City.

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Art in Transit: “A Kaleidoscopic Nature” by anGie Seah

Having grown up in the Bright Hill area, anGie’s artwork ‘A Kaleidoscopic Nature’ is influenced by her childhood memories of playing around the neighbourhood, including the nearby Bishan Park which became the main form of the artwork.

In line with the architectural design for the station which is inspired by nature, ‘A Kaleidoscopic Nature’ primarily features microscopic details of forms, colours and lines of plants found in Bishan Park. The lines and networks we see in nature also reflect the bonds that develop within the communities.

In keeping with the idea of light and shadow from Bright Hill, the artwork also featured motifs of ‘reflection’ on the floor.

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Civil Defence shelter (TEL)

Bright Hill station is one of six stations along the Thomson-East Coast Line (Thomson stretch) designated as Civil Defence (CD) shelters, which will be activated in times of national emergency. Apart from reinforced construction, the stations are designed and equipped with facilities to ensure the shelter environment is tolerable for all shelterees during shelter occupation. These facilities include protective blast doors, decontamination facilities, ventilation systems, power and water supply systems and a dry toilet system.

The other CD shelters are Woodlands, Lentor, Mayflower, Mount Pleasant and Gardens by the Bay stations.

Cross Island Line Paid Link Provisions

At platform level (B3), a set of 4 escalators and a lift connects to a separate concourse at B2 level, with dedicated faregates and a future paid link provision to the Cross Island Line Bright Hill Station.

The paid link will directly connect to the CRL westbound platform via a set of travellators, passing by a new exit constructed as part of the CRL station works.

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Station Amenities

• Public Toilets at station concourse (near Exit 2)
• Retail Shop provisions at ticket concourse level
• Bicycle Racks at station exits

Exits

Bright Hill MRT station has four exits leading to ground level.

4 additional exits will be built as part of the Cross Island Line Bright Hill station.

Exit	Location	Nearby
1	Sin Ming Avenue	Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, Eunoia Junior College, Marymount Community Club, Peirce Secondary School
2	Blk 403 & Blk 406	Bright Hill Columbarium & Crematorium, Buddhist College of Singapore, Kong Meng San Temple, Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery, NEA Eastern Regional Office, Tse Tho Aum Temple
3	Fulton Road / Sin Ming Avenue	Ai Tong School
4	Sin Ming Avenue	—

 

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Transport Connections

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

Bus

There are 4 bus stops in the vicinity of Bright Hill station.

Bus Stop	Exit	Bus Routes
53349 – Sin Ming Ave (Bright Hill Stn Exit 1)	1	52, 162, 162M, 410G
53341 – Sin Ming Ave (Bright Hill Stn Exit 2)	2	52, 162, 162M, 410W
53351 – Sin Ming Ave (Ai Tong Sch)	3	52, 162, 162M, 410W
53359 – Sin Ming Ave (Opp Ai Tong Sch)	4	52, 162, 162M, 410G

Road

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

Exit	Road	Provisions
1	Sin Ming Ave	Taxi stand (F81), Pick-up/drop-off point
3	Sin Ming Ave	Taxi stand (F82), Pick-up/drop-off point

MRT Bus Bridging Service

In the event of a MRT service disruption affecting Bright Hill station, MRT Bridging Buses may be activated to ply affected stretches of the Thomson-East Coast Line. In which case, the buses can be boarded from the following bus stops:

Towards	Bus stop	Exit
Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL Bridging Bus)
TE1 Woodlands North	53349 – Sin Ming Ave (Bright Hill Stn Exit 1)	1
TE22 Gardens by the Bay	53341 – Sin Ming Ave (Bright Hill Stn Exit 2)	2

In addition, passengers can board free regular bus services at Bus Stops 53341 & 53349 when activated.

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Construction Trivia

Thomson-East Coast Line Contract T211 for the Design and Construction of Bright Hill Station and Construction of Tunnels for Thomson Line was awarded to Penta-Ocean Construction Co Ltd at a contract sum of S$454.4 million in February 2014. The Japanese company was previously involved in East-West Line’s Expo station, North-South Line’s Yew Tee and Kranji stations, Downtown Line 3’s Bendemeer station and Thomson Line’s Woodlands North station.

The working name for Bright Hill station was Sin Ming station. This was the only station along the Thomson-East Coast Line where the finalized station name was different from the working name.

Bright Hill Cross Island Line station will be constructed as part of Contract CR117 – Design and Construction of Bright Hill Interchange Station and Tunnels, which was awarded to Penta Ocean Construction Co., Ltd. at a contract sum of around $526 million in March 2022.

Construction Challenges for Thomson-East Coast Line Bright Hill Station

The unique geographical conditions in the area created multiple challenges for LTA and its contractors when constructing TEL Bright Hill Station:

(a)  Due to the hard granite rocks in this area, additional equipment, specialised machinery and methods were employed to install more than 1,500 bored piles. These piles make up the Earth Retaining and Stabilizing Structure which is needed to retain the soil and facilitate underground excavation works for Bright Hill Station;

(b)  The soft soil and loose sand underlain by hard granite under Inglewood Estate and Kallang River also required ground strengthening works prior to the commencement of tunneling works;

(c)  As Bright Hill Station is located underneath Sin Ming Avenue and Sin Ming Walk, multiple stages of traffic diversion are required to facilitate the construction. Six stages of traffic diversion have been conducted so far, with four more to be conducted in the near future to facilitate reinstatement works.

Factsheet: Bright Hill Station – LTA

Engineering Highlights for Cross Island Line Bright Hill Station

Bright Hill station is located along Sin Ming Avenue where the ground is made up of predominantly Bukit Timah Granite. Due to the abrasive nature of such ground conditions which is expected to cause some wear to the cutting equipment on the tunnel boring machines, close monitoring will be carried out to ensure optimal equipment performance.

The new station will also be connected to a new Transit Priority Corridor (TPC) along Sin Ming Avenue to give commuters more accessibility options via bus and active mobility travel modes. When the TPC is fully completed in 2029, residents in Sin Ming area will have more access options to Bright Hill MRT station and recreational spaces such as Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. Educational institutions such as Ai Tong School and Eunoia Junior College will also be within convenient reach by public transport and active mobility modes.

Last Civil Contract for Cross Island Line Phase 1 Awarded – LTA

Bored Tunnel between Fairways Drive and Sin Ming Walk

Contract CR202 – Design and Construction of Bored Tunnel between Fairways Drive and Sin Ming Walk and Associated works was awarded to Obayashi Corporation and Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co (Singapore) Pte Ltd Joint Venture in December 2022 at a contract value of around $758 million.

Engineering Highlights

A large-diameter slurry Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), measuring about 12 metres in diameter will be used to construct the single 5-kilometre-long tunnel with two tracks in it. A 2-kilometre stretch of the bored tunnel alignment will undercross the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.  Here, the tunnel will be constructed up to an approximate depth of 70 metres below ground level, deeper than the usual 20-30 metres. LTA had earlier carried out a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment and will implement all the necessary mitigation measures outlined in the Environmental Monitoring and Management Plan. LTA and the contractor will also continue to engage various stakeholders including the nature groups during the construction works.

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Gallery

Additional photos at Page 2.

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CRL Bright Hill Station Video Preview

 

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External Links & References

• Factsheet: Bright Hill Station – LTA
• Second stage of Thomson-East Coast Line to open early 2021 after delays due to COVID-19: Ong Ye Kung – CNA
• LTA | News Room | news-release | Factsheet: Thomson–East Coast Line 2 to Welcome Commuters from 28 August 2021 [Accessed 30 Jun 2021]
• Last Civil Contract for Cross Island Line Phase 1 Awarded – LTA
• LTA Awards Civil Contracts for Cross Island Line-Punggol Extension and Bored Tunnel for Cross Island Line Phase 2 – LTA