Tan Kah Kee MRT Station

Tan Kah Kee MRT Station (DT8) is an underground station along the Downtown Line (DTL). It is built underneath Bukit Timah Road, near the junction of Duchess Road, and serves part of the Bukit Timah corridor.

The station is located in the vicinity of upscale low-rise private homes and gated communities, and educational institutions in the ‘Bukit Timah belt’, such as Hwa Chong Institution, Nanyang Girls’ High School, Raffles Girls’ Primary School and National Junior College.

The station bears the name Tan Kah Kee, after the philanthropist and founder of Hwa Chong Institution. It was the first time that a person’s full name was used for to name a MRT station, and also first time that a MRT station name did not directly relate to the station’s geographical location.

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First / Last Train Timings

Downtown Line – (DT8) Tan Kah Kee
Destination	First Train		Last Train
	Weekdays & Sat	Sun & Public Holidays	Daily
DT1 Bukit Panjang	6:02am	6:22am	12:34am
DT35 Expo	5:44am	6:04am	11:48pm

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Station Layout

L2	Overhead Bridge	Across Dunearn Road & Bukit Timah Road
L1	Street level	Bus stops, Taxi stand, Pick-up/drop-off point
B2	Concourse	Faregates, Top Up Kiosks, Passenger Service Centre
B3	Platform A	Downtown Line towards DT1–BP6 Bukit Panjang
	Platform B	Downtown Line towards DT35CG1 Expo

Platforms

Downtown Line (B3):

Platform A: Downtown Line towards DT1–BP6 Bukit Panjang via DT7 Sixth Avenue (→) Platform B: Downtown Line towards DT35CG1 Expo via DT9CC19 Botanic Gardens (←)

Tan Kah Kee station has two platforms in an island platform arrangement, with both platforms utilized for trains travelling in either direction.

Concourse

The station concourse is located at Basement 2.

Art in Transit: “Resilience & Gratitude” by Hwa Chong Institution

Resilience and Gratitude are artworks commemorating the philanthropic legacy of Tan Kah Kee, composed of colourful handwritten text. When viewed from a distance, words dissolve into abstract scenes that depict the blazing sun and the flowing river.

Civil Defence shelter

Tan Kah Kee station is one of six stations along the Downtown Line 2 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.

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Station Amenities

• Public Toilets at DTL concourse
• Bicycle Racks at station exit

Exits

Tan Kah Kee MRT station has a two exits at ground level (A and B), each at either side of Dunearn / Bukit Timah Road. While Exit A is the surface level entrance to the underground station, Exit B is connected to it via an overhead bridge. Both ends of the overhead bridge are equipped with escalators, and lifts provide barrier-free accessibility for the disabled.

Exit	Location	Nearby
A	Bukit Timah Road	Coronation Arcade, Coronation Shopping Plaza, Crown Centre, Hwa Chong Institution, King’s Arcade
B	Dunearn Road	Bougainvillea Park, Nanyang Girls’ High School, National Junior College, Poh Ming Tse Temple, Raffles Girls’ Primary School, Watten Estate

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Transport Connections

Tan Kah Kee station connects to two bus stops in the vicinity, as well as taxi stands and passenger pick-up points.

Bus

There are two official bus stops linked to Tan Kah Kee station.

No.	Bus stop	Exit	Bus Routes
B/s 1	41051 – Bt Timah Rd (Tan Kah Kee Stn)	A	67, 74, 151, 154, 156, 157, 170, 174, 852, 961, 961M
B/s 2	41069 – Dunearn Rd (Opp Tan Kah Kee Stn)	B	67, 74, 151, 154, 156, 157, 170, 174, 852, 961, 961M

Road

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

Exit	Road	Provisions
A	Bukit Timah Road	Taxi stand (F66), Pick-up/drop-off point
B	Dunearn Road	Taxi stand (F67), Pick-up/drop-off point

MRT Bus Bridging Service

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

Towards	Bus stop	Exit
Downtown Line (DTL Bridging Bus)
DT1–BP6 Bukit Panjang	B/s 1: 41051 – Bt Timah Rd (Tan Kah Kee Stn)	A
DT35CG1 Expo	B/s 2: 41069 – Dunearn Rd (Opp Tan Kah Kee Stn)	B

In addition, passengers can board free regular bus services at Bus Stops 1 & 2 when activated.

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Passenger Usage Patterns

As a station along the Bukit Timah belt serving both low-density residential homes but multiple educational institutions, Tan Kah Kee station encounters low to moderate demand levels from residents but high demand from students who use the rail network to get to school.

Construction Trivia

Downtown Line Stage 2 (DTL2) Contract 918 for the Design and Construction of Tan Kah Kee station and tunnels was awarded to Alpine Bau GmbH (Singapore Branch), an engineering contractor from Austria, for approximately S$350.04 million in Sep 2009. However, the company filed for insolvency on 19 June 2013, halting progress on Contracts 917 and 918, both of which were awarded to Alpine Bau.

In Aug 2013, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) appointed SK Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. (Singapore) to complete construction works for Tan Kah Kee station and associated tunnels. Referred to as “Contract 918A“, it was awarded for approximately S$222 million. Originally expected to be delayed till mid-2016, expedited construction work brought the opening of the Downtown Line 2 back on schedule to December 2015.

In May 2015, the LTA filed some S$500 million in claims against bankrupt contractor Alpine Bau for the incompletion of the two MRT projects, but was unlikely to recoup anywhere near the full amount.

The working name for Tan Kah Kee station was Duchess Station.

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Major Incidents

Cracks appearing in homes

Between July and August 2012, at least 40 terraced and semi-detached houses in the vicinity of Tan Kah Kee were damaged as hairline cracks appeared in walls inside and outside their homes. Besides cracks, some car porch roofs and walls had shifted, and some gates could no longer open. Blamed on the Downtown Line construction, the Land Transport Authority found the homes to be structurally safe and took measures to repair the damage.

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Gallery

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External Links & References

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