Commonwealth MRT Station

Commonwealth MRT Station (EW20) is an above-ground station along the East West Line (EWL). It sits along the boundaries of the Commonwealth and Tanglin Halt planning subzones, and is physically located along Commonwealth Avenue, near the junction of Commonwealth Drive.

The residential estates and station bearing the same name were named after Commonwealth Avenue built around 1963, in turn named after the British Commonwealth of Nations. Commonwealth station is a transport node for residents in the vicinity of Commonwealth Avenue, serving adjacent schools, places of worship, housing developments and businesses.

---

First / Last Train Timings

East West Line – EW20 Commonwealth
Destination	First Train			Last Train
	Weekdays	Sat	Sun & PHs	Daily
EW1 Pasir Ris	5:45am	5:45am	6:13am	11:55pm
EW33 Tuas Link	6:13am	6:13am	6:39am	12:13am

 

---

Station Layout

L3	Platform A	East West Line towards  EW1  Pasir Ris
	Platform B	East West Line towards  EW33  Tuas Link
L2	Concourse	Faregates, Ticketing machines, Passenger Service Centre, Retail Shops, Footbridge across Commonwealth Avenue
L1	Street Level	Bus stops, Taxi stand, pick-up/drop-off point, Station exits

Platforms

East-West Line (L3):

Platform A: East West Line towards  EW1  Pasir Ris via  EW19  Queenstown (→) Platform B: East West Line towards  EW33  Tuas Link via  EW21  CC22  Buona Vista (←)

Commonwealth station has two elevated East-West Line platforms in an island platform arrangement. Half-height Platform screen doors are installed at the platform edge for the safety of commuters, and retrofitted Pro-Jet fans keep passengers cool. Similar to many older stations along the Western side of the East West Line, a simple flat roof shelters the platform level, and the station is painted with a single base colour, which is Yellow for this station.

Passenger Information Systems, which are plasma display screens located at each platform, display expected train arrival times and key messages. Tactile flooring helps to guide the visually-handicapped from the platform to station exits. Escalators, lifts and stairs connect the Platform level to the Ticket Concourse level below.

Concourse

The station has two ticket concourses located at Level 2. The main ticket concourse is complemented by a second ticket concourse at the western end of the station which opened in 2015. Both concourses lead to overhead bridges that span across the road, with lifts, escalators and stairs connecting to street level.

Faregates at both concourses are used for automatic fare collection and provides access between paid and unpaid areas of the station, with at least least one bidirectional wide-swinging gate for the benefit of passengers-in-wheelchairs and those carrying bulky items or travelling with prams.

General Ticketing Machines allow commuters to purchase tickets for single or multiple journeys, and along with TransitLink Add Value Machines (only available at the main concourse), offer contactless card transactions. The station office (main concourse only) functions as a Passenger Service Centre, and is staffed during operating hours, where commuters may make travel inquiries or perform card transactions using cash payment.

Toilets and retail shops are located in the unpaid areas of the main ticket concourse.

Exits

Built in-between two carriageways of Commonwealth Avenue, Commonwealth MRT station has two exits on either side of the road, linked to the ticket concourse level by two separate pedestrian overpasses. Exits C and D opened in 2015. All exits offer barrier-free accessibility for the disabled.

Exit	Disabled access	Location	Nearby
A & D	Yes	Commonwealth Avenue (Westbound)	Commonwealth Avenue, Tanglin Halt Road, Tanglin Halt Market, Faith Methodist Church, Haw Par Technocentre, New Town Primary Sch, Queenstown Community Centre, Queenstown Polyclinic, HDB Commonwealth View, HDB Commonwealth 10, HDB Tanglin Grove, HDB Tanglin Halt Green, HDB Commonwealth Green, yo:HA Commonwealth
B & C	Yes	Commonwealth Avenue (Eastbound)	Commonwealth Avenue, Commonwealth Close, Commonwealth Crescent Market, GMTI Building, Commonwealth Car Mall, MOE Heritage Centre, One Commonwealth, Queenstown Lutheran Church, Queensway Secondary School, Yin Foh Kuan Cemetary, HDB Commonwealth Heights, HDB Commonwealth 16, HDB Crescent View

Station Amenities

• Retail shops and Public toilets at Concourse level (unpaid areas)
• ATMs and Self-service machines at Concourse level (unpaid areas)
• Bicycle racks at station exits

Safety Features

• Emergency Train Stop buttons on the station platform, when activated, will prevent approaching trains from entering the station, and any train already stopped at the platform will be prevented from moving off.
• Emergency telephones at station platforms and the intercom system inside the lifts enable commuters to communicate with station staff in the Passenger Service Centre.
• Emergency door handles allow the platform doors to be opened manually from the train-side in the event of failure.
• Fire Extinguishers in various locations
• All escalators equipped with Emergency Stop buttons

---

Transport Connections

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

Bus

There are two official bus stops linked to Commonwealth station.

No.	Bus stop	Exit	Bus Routes
B/s 1	11169 – C’wealth Ave (C’wealth Stn Exit B/C)	B & C	32, 61, 100, 105, 111, 122, 145, 147, 147e, 195, 196, 198, 970
B/s 2	11161 – C’wealth Ave (C’wealth Stn Exit A/D)	A & D	32, 61, 100, 105, 111, 145, 147, 147e, 196, 198, 970, NR5

Road

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

Exit	Road	Provisions
A & D	Commonwealth Avenue (Westbound)	Taxi stand (F42), Pick-up/drop-off point
B & C	Commonwealth Avenue (Eastbound)	Taxi stand (F41), Pick-up/drop-off point

Rail Bridging Services

In the event of a MRT service disruption affecting Commonwealth station, rail bridging services (also called MRT breakdown shuttle buses) may be activated to ply affected stretches of the East West Line. In which case, the buses can be boarded from the following bus stops:

Towards	Bus stop	Exit
East West Line
EW1  Pasir Ris	B/s 1: 11169 – C’wealth Ave (C’wealth Stn Exit B/C)	B & C
EW33  Tuas Link	B/s 2: 11161 – C’wealth Ave (C’wealth Stn Exit A/D)	A & D

In addition, passengers can board free regular bus services at bus stops officially linked to Commonwealth station depending on the situation on the ground.

---

Passenger Usage Patterns

Serving developments in the vicinity of Commonwealth Avenue, Commonwealth station encounters moderate demand throughout the day.

Construction

—

Brief History

Commonwealth station opened on 12 March 1988, along with other East West Line stations between Outram Park and Clementi (except Dover).

Future Developments

—

---

Major Incidents

—

---

Gallery

—

---

External Links & References

• —