Orchard MRT Station
| NS22 Orchard 乌节 | ஆர்ச்சர்ட் |
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| Address | 437 Orchard Road, Singapore 238878 (NSL) 301 Orchard Boulevard, Singapore 237974 (TEL) |
| Line Served | North South Line Thomson-East Coast Line (Future) |
| Operator | SMRT Trains (NSL & TEL) |
| Structure | Underground |
| Platform | Island (NSL & TEL) |
| Opened | 12 Dec 1987 (NSL) Year 2021 (TEL) |
Orchard MRT Station (NS22) is an underground station along the North South Line (NSL). It is located within the planning area of the same name, (straddling the Boulevard and Paterson planning subzone), and is bordered by Orchard Road, Paterson Road, Orchard Boulevard and Orchard Turn.
The station was named after various orchards and plantations formerly located in this area. Orchard station now serves the Orchard Road shopping belt, bringing rail connections to the retail and entertainment hub, with many shopping centres, hotels, office buildings and upscale condominiums in the vicinity. An underground pedestrian mall network connects the Basement 2 ticket concourse seamlessly to nearby developments.
By Year 2021, Orchard station will be an interchange station with the Thomson-East Coast Line Stage 3, with the station code NS22TE14. By then, it would be the third interchange station connecting the NSL and TEL, the other two being Woodlands and Marina Bay.
First / Last Train Timings
| North South Line – (NS22) Orchard |
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| Destination | First Train | Last Train | |
| Weekdays & Sat | Sun & Public Holidays | Daily | |
| NS28 Marina South Pier | 5:49am | 6:14am | 11:47pm |
| NS27 Marina Bay | – | – | 11:50pm |
| NS1 Jurong East | 6:11am | 6:36am | 12:00am |
| Ns7 Kranji | – | – | 12:17am |
| Thomson-East Coast Line – (TE14) Orchard |
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| Destination | First Train | Last Train | |
| Weekdays & Sat | Sun & Public Holidays | Daily | |
| TE1 Woodlands North | – | – | – |
| TE22 Gardens by the Bay | – | – | – |
Station Layout
| L1 | Street level | Bus stops, Taxi stand, pick-up/drop-off point |
| B1 | Orchard Xchange | Retail Shops |
| B2 | Concourse | Faregates, Ticketing machines, Passenger Service Centre, TransitLink Ticket Office |
| B3 | Platform A | North South Line towards NS1EW24 Jurong East |
| Platform B | North South Line towards NS28 Marina South Pier |
Platforms
North South Line (B3):
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| Platform A: North South Line towards NS1EW24 Jurong East via NS21DT11 Newton (→) Platform B: North South Line towards NS28 Marina South Pier via NS23 Somerset (←) |
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Orchard station has two underground North South Line platforms in an island platform arrangement. Full-height Platform screen doors isolate the air-conditioned station from the tunnel environment, enhancing commuter safety and station comfort. A set of escalators, stairs and a lift connect the platform level to the station concourse above.
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 connecting platforms and the station exits.
Thomson-East Coast Line (Under Construction):
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| Platform A: Thomson-East Coast Line towards TE22 Gardens by the Bay via TE15 Great World (→) Platform B: Thomson-East Coast Line towards TE1 Woodlands North via TE13 Orchard Boulevard (←) |
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Orchard station has two underground Thomson-East Coast Line platforms in an island platform arrangement, expected to open for passenger service in Year 2021. A siding is expected to be along the length of the station, built parallel to the running rails but separated from view from the platforms by a concrete wall.
Concourse
The station has a ticket concourse located at Basement 2, located in an atrium within the ION Orchard mall. Surrounding the central paid areas is a pedestrian roundabout, where various pedestrian links converge from various developments in the vicinity within unpaid areas, allowing pedestrians to pass through the station between exits without entering the paid areas. Faregates are used for automatic fare collection and provides access between paid and unpaid areas of the station, with at 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, offer contactless card transactions. The station office functions as a Passenger Service Centre, and is staffed during operating hours, where commuters may make travel inquiries. A TransitLink ticket office is also located at this station, operating from 8:00am to 9:00pm daily.
Toilets and retail shops are located in the unpaid areas of the station at Basement 1, within the Orchard Xchange retail zone and several at concourse level.
Exits
Orchard MRT station has three exits at street level (B and C) and an additional three underground exits (A, D and E) branching out from the ticket concourse, linking to nearby developments. Only Exit C offers barrier-free accessibility for the disabled to/from street level via a lift access to Level 1 ION Orchard shopping mall. Pedestrians using the underground exits may access lifts to street level from other buildings.
| Exit | Location | Nearby |
A  |
Tang Plaza (Underground link) |
Scotts Road, Orchard Road, Far East Plaza, Grand Hyatt Singapore, International Building, Lucky Plaza, Marriott Hotel, Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Orchard Towers, Palais Renaissance, Pan Pacific Orchard, Royal Thai Embassy, Scotts Square, Shaw Centre, Shaw House, Tang Plaza, The Paragon, Tong Building |
| B | Orchard Boulevard | Orchard Boulevard, Orchard Turn, Paterson Road, Paterson Hill, Angullia Park, Four Seasons Hotel, ION Orchard, ISS International School, Orchard Parksuites, The Orchard Residences |
| C |
Orchard Road | Orchard Road, ION Orchard, Wisma Atria, Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Ngee Ann City |
| D |
Wisma Atria (Underground link) |
ION Orchard, Wisma Atria, Lucky Plaza, Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Ngee Ann City |
| E |
ION Orchard (Underground link) |
Far East Shopping Centre, Forum Shopping Mall, Hilton Hotel, ION Orchard, Liat Towers, The Orchard Residences, Wheelock Place |
Station Amenities
- Public toilets at concourse level (unpaid areas)
- ATMs and Self-service Machines at concourse level (unpaid areas)
- TransitLink ticket office
Operating Hours: 8:00am to 9:00pm daily.
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
Orchard station connects to several bus stops in the vicinity, as well as taxi stands and passenger pick-up points, some within nearby developments.
Bus
There are four official bus stops linked to Orchard station.
| No. | Bus stop | Exit | Bus Routes |
| B/s 1 | 09047 – Orchard Rd (Orchard Stn/Tang Plaza) | A | 36, 77, 124, 128, 143, 162, 162M, 167, 167e, 171, 174, 174e, 190, 518, 518A, 700, 700A, 971E, 972, NR6 |
| B/s 2 | 09048 – Orchard Rd (Orchard Stn/Lucky Plaza) | A | 1N, 2N, 3N, 4N, 5N, 6N, 7, 7B, 14, 14e, 16, 65, 106, 111, 123, 175, 502, 502A, NR6 |
| B/s 3 | 09022 – Orchard Blvd (Bef Orchard Stn Exit B) | B | 7, 7A, 14, 16, 36, 65, 77, 106, 111, 123, 174, 174e, 175, NR5, NR8 |
| B/s 4 | 09023 – Orchard Turn (Opp Orchard Stn/ION) | B | 14e, 124, 128, 143, 162, 162M, 167, 167e, 171, 190, 700, 700A, 972, NR1, NR2, NR3 |
Road
Taxi stands and pick-up/drop-off points are located at the driveways of adjacent developments. This list is not exhaustive owing to many adjacent developments with their own driveways.
| Exit | Road | Provisions |
| A | Tang Plaza / Marriott Hotel driveway | Taxi stand, Pick-up/drop-off point |
| A | Lucky Plaza driveway | Taxi stand, Pick-up/drop-off point |
| B / C | ION Orchard / Orchard Residences driveway | Taxi stand, Pick-up/drop-off point |
| B / C | Wisma Atria driveway | Taxi stand, Pick-up/drop-off point |
Rail Bridging Services
In the event of a MRT service disruption affecting Orchard station, rail bridging services (also called MRT breakdown shuttle buses) may be activated to ply affected stretches of the North South Line. In which case, the buses can be boarded from the following bus stops:
| Towards | Bus stop | Exit | |
| North South Line | |||
| NS1EW24 Jurong East | B/s 4: 09023 – Orchard Turn (Opp Orchard Stn/ION) | B | |
| NS28 Marina South Pier | B/s 1: 09047 – Orchard Rd (Orchard Stn/Tang Plaza) | A | |
In addition, passengers can board regular bus services officially linked to Orchard station depending on the situation on the ground.
Passenger Usage Patterns
Located within the Orchard area in Central Singapore, Orchard station serves a large number of developments in the vicinity such as shopping centres, office buildings, and condominiums. It encounters very high demand throughout the day, mostly from shoppers and tourists visiting the area.
Construction
Contract T218 for the Construction of Orchard Station and Tunnels for Thomson Line was awarded to Penta-Ocean Construction Co Ltd – Bachy Soletanche Singapore Pte Ltd Joint Venture (JV) at a contract sum of S$498.3 million in July 2014.
Future Developments
Expected to open in 2021, the Thomson-East Coast Line Stage 3 will turn Orchard station into an interchange station, with a new ticket concourse and platforms for the new line. Unrelated to MRT work is possible expansions to the Orchard Road underground pedestrian network, which hopes to connect more buildings together via seamless underground links.
Major Incidents
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Gallery
External Links & References
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