Orchard MRT Station

Orchard MRT Station (NS22/TE14) is an underground interchange station along the North South Line (NSL) and Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL). With the opening of TEL on 13 Nov 2022, it is the third interchange station connecting the NSL and TEL, the other two being Woodlands and Marina Bay.

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.

The TEL station was originally targeted for completion and opening in Year 2021. However, it was delayed till 2022 as mentioned in the SMRT Operations Review 2020. TEL 3 opened for passenger service on 13 Nov 2022.

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First / Last Train Timings

North South Line – (NS22) Orchard
Destination	First Train		Last Train
	Weekdays & Sat	Sun & Public Holidays	Daily
NS28 Marina South Pier	5:48am	6:13am	11:46pm
NS1 Jurong East	6:11am	6:36am	12:02am
NS7 Kranji	–	–	12:17am
Thomson-East Coast Line – (TE14) Orchard
Destination	First Train		Last Train
	Weekdays & Sat	Sun & Public Holidays	Daily
TE1 Woodlands North	5:52am	6:12am	12:05am
TE9 Caldecott	–	–	12:15am
TE22 Gardens by the Bay	5:58am	6:18am	12:02am

 

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Station Layout

L1	Street Level	Bus stops, Taxi stand, Pick-up/drop-off points
B1	Orchard Xchange	Retail Shops
	Underpass	Underpass at Exit 7 leading to ION Orchard Level 1 & Orchard Turn / TEL Ticket Concourse / NSL Ticket Concourse
B2	NSL Ticket Concourse	Faregates, Ticketing Service Kiosks, Passenger Service Centre (NSL), TransitLink Ticket Office
	TEL Ticket Concourse	Faregates, Ticketing Service Kiosks, Passenger Service Centre (TEL), Retail Shops
B3	NSL Platform A	North South Line towards NS1EW24 Jurong East
	NSL Platform B	North South Line towards NS28 Marina South Pier
	TEL Platform C	Thomson-East Coast Line towards TE22 Gardens By The Bay
	TEL Platform D	Thomson-East Coast Line towards TE1 Woodlands North
B4	Linkway to NSL/TEL	Paid transfer link between TEL & NSL

Platforms & Train Services

North South Line (B3):

Platform A: North South Line towards NS1EW24 Jurong East via NS21–DT11 Newton (→) Platform B: North South Line towards NS28 Marina South Pier via NS23 Somerset (←)

Orchard station has two underground NSL platforms in an island platform arrangement.

Thomson-East Coast Line (B3):

Platform C: Thomson-East Coast Line towards TE22 Gardens by the Bay via TE15 Great World (→) Platform D: Thomson-East Coast Line towards TE1 Woodlands North via TE13 Orchard Boulevard (←)

Orchard station has two underground Thomson-East Coast Line platforms in an island platform arrangement. A siding is built parallel to the running rails next to the Northbound platform, separated by a concrete wall.

Paid Link

The paid link between NSL & TEL lines at Basement 4 can be accessed via lifts and escalators from both the TEL & NSL Platforms at Basement 3. A pair of travelators at the paid link facilitates commuter flow between both rail lines. In addition, a set of escalators directly connects the TEL Ticket Concourse (B2) to the NSL Paid Link (B4) via an intermediate landing, bypassing the TEL Platform Level.

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TEL Art in Transit: “Orchard Road from ION Sky” by Mintio

See the lights of Orchard Road from the vantage point of ION Sky. When this image was created, ION Sky was the highest point in Orchard Road. Tracking in a south-east direction, the artist captured the night lights as a form of cartography (map-making) as well as mark-marking. With a panoramic camera and medium format photographic film, the lights were captured layer by layer, with multiple exposure. The multiple exposures render the bird’s-eye view of Orchard Road into abstraction, as if one is looking into the night sky, gazing at the stars.

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Station Amenities

• Public Toilets at Orchard Xchange Level (B1)
• Retail Shops at NSL Orchard Xchange (B1) & TEL Ticket Concourse Level (B2)
• ATMs and Self-service Machines at NSL Ticket Concourse unpaid areas (B2)
• TransitLink ticket office at NSL Ticket Concourse
  Operating Hours: 8:00am to 9:00pm daily.
• Wheelchair Accessible Toilet & Baby Care Room in paid areas at Linkway to NSL/TEL (B4)

 

Exits

Orchard MRT station has 13 exits branching out from both NSL & TEL Ticket Concourses. Exits 1, 2, 7, 10, 11, 12 & 13 lead to street level, while other underground exits connect to basements of nearby developments.

Exit 7 is a multi-level exit from both the TEL & NSL Ticket Concourses.

• Orchard Turn street level via TEL Lift & NSL Escalators
• ION Orchard Level 1 via TEL Lift & separate escalators to NSL & TEL Ticket Concourses

Existing exits A, B, C, D & E were renumbered to Exits 1, 7, 2, 3 & 5 respectively as part of the Thomson-East Coast Line station opening on 13 November 2022.

Exit	Location	Nearby
1	Tang Plaza	15 Scotts, Claymore Plaza, Delfi Orchard, Eton House International Pre-School (Claymore), Far East Plaza, Goodwood Park Hotel, Grand Hyatt Singapore, International Building, Lucky Plaza, Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, Orchard Road, Orchard Towers, Pacific Plaza, Palais Renaissance, Paragon, Paragon Medical Centre, Royal Plaza on Scotts, Royal Thai Embassy, Scotts Walk, Scotts Square, Shaw Centre, Shaw House, Singapore Marriott Hotel, The American Club, The Paragon, The Tanglin Club, Thong Teck Building, Tong Building, Yotel Singapore
2	Orchard Road	–
3	Wisma Atria (Basement 1)	Ngee Ann City
4	ION Orchard (Basement 1)	–
5	ION Orchard (Basement 2)	ION Orchard, Wheelock Place
6	ION Orchard (Basement 1)	–
7	Orchard Boulevard / ION Orchard (Level 1)	Orchard Turn
8	ION Orchard (Basement 1)	–
9	ION Orchard (Basement 1)	–
10	Paterson Road & ION Orchard	–
11	Orchard Boulevard & Wheelock Place	Far East Shopping Centre, Forum The Shopping Mall, Four Seasons Hotel, HPL House, Liat Towers, Nanyang Moral Uplifting General Society, voco Orchard Singapore, Wheelock Place
12	Paterson Road	–
13	Orchard Boulevard	–

 

 

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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 several bus stops in the vicinity of Orchard station.

Bus Stop	Exit	Bus Routes
09047 – Orchard Rd (Orchard Stn/Tang Plaza)	1	36, 77, 124, 143, 162, 162M, 167, 174, 174e, 190, 518, 518A, 972, 972M
09048 – Orchard Rd (Orchard Stn/Lucky Plaza)	1	7, 14, 14e, 16, 16M, 65, 106, 111, 123, 175, 502, 502A, NS-1
09022 – Orchard Blvd (Orchard Stn Exit 13)	13	7, 14, 16, 16M, 36, 65, 77, 106, 111, 123, 174, 174e, 175, NS-2
09023 – Orchard Turn (Opp Orchard Stn/ION)	7	14e, 124, 143, 162, 162M, 167, 190, 972, 972M
09111 – Orchard Blvd (Opp Four Seasons Hotel)	11	7, 36, 77, 105, 106, 111, 123, 132, 174, 174e
13191 – Paterson Rd (Opp Orchard Stn Exit 12)	12	5, 14, 16, 16M, 54, 65, 175, NS-1
13199 – Paterson Rd (Aft Orchard Stn Exit 12)	12	5, 14, 16, 16M, 54, 65, 175, TS3, TS8

Road

A new taxi stand and 2 new pick-up/drop-off points were constructed as part of the Thomson-East Coast Line station. Previously, commuters had to use taxi stands and pick-up/drop-off points integrated with driveways of adjacent developments. This list does not include taxi stands & pick-up/drop-off points within nearby developments such as ION Orchard, Tang Plaza & Lucky Plaza.

Exit	Road	Provisions
11	Orchard Boulevard	Pick-up/drop-off point
13	Orchard Boulevard	Taxi stand (F91), Pick-up/drop-off point

MRT Bus Bridging Service

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

Towards	Bus stop	Exit
North South Line (NSL Bridging Bus)
NS1EW24 Jurong East	09023 – Orchard Turn (Opp Orchard Stn/ION)	7
NS28 Marina South Pier	09047 – Orchard Rd (Orchard Stn/Tang Plaza)	1
Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL Bridging Bus)
TE1 Woodlands North	13191 – Paterson Rd (Opp Orchard Stn Exit 12)	12
TE22 Gardens by the Bay	13199 – Paterson Rd (Aft Orchard Stn Exit 12)	12

In addition, passengers can board free regular bus services at the following bus stops when activated:

• North South Line
  – Bus Stops 09047, 09048 & 09023
• Thomson-East Coast Line
  – Bus Stops 13191 & 13199

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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.

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Gallery

Additional Photos on Page 2.

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External Links & References

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