Novena MRT Station

NS20  Novena MRT Station 诺维娜地铁站 நொவீனா Stesen MRT Novena Rapid transit
North-bound platform of NS20 Novena MRT station
Station statistics
Address	250 Thomson Road Singapore 307642
Coordinates	1°19′13.42″N 103°50′37.28″E / 1.3203944°N 103.8436889°E / 1.3203944; 103.8436889
Lines	North South Line
Connections	Bus, Taxi
Structure	Underground
Levels	2
Platforms	Island
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	12 December 1987
Accessible
Code	NS20
Services
Preceding station   Mass Rapid Transit   Following station Toa Payoh towards Jurong East North South Line Newton towards Marina Bay
Location
Novena MRT Station

Novena MRT Station (NS20) is located on the North South Line on the Mass Rapid Transit system. It is an underground station which opened on 12 December 1987.

The station gets busy during the morning and evening peak hours and during the weekdays due to the offices in Novena Square, nearby Goldhill Centre, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, United Square; nearby primary schools like St Joseph's Institution Junior, a technical institute (ITE College West (Balestier)) and a hospital (Tan Tock Seng Hospital).

Architecture

One of the station's distinctive features was its bright green wall tiles. But as falling tiles was a problem in Toa Payoh and Novena stations, the trademark bright green tiles of the station walls were replaced with a layer of plastic and paint of the same colour. The station has been completely refurbished in 2008.

Parts of the concourse level of the station resembles a station on the London Underground, with its concave curved walls.

Trivia

The station is named after Novena Church. Novena means "a series of prayers" in Italian.

Legends

Like Bishan and Woodleigh stations, the station is rumoured to be haunted, possibly because the area used to be a cemetery in the past.

Exits

• Exit A — Dover Park Hospice, Hospice Care Association, National Neuroscience Institute, National Skin Centre, New Phoenix Park, Ren Ci Hospital and Medical Centre, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Hotel ibis Singapore Novena (Opening in March 2011), Square 2 and Novena Medical Centre
• Exit B — Goldhill Centre, Novena Church, Revenue House, United Square
• Exit C (unofficial) — Novena Square
• Exit D Tan Tock Seng Hospital

Train service

Destination	First Train				Last Train
	Mon - Sat		Sunday & Public Holiday		Daily
North South Line
to NS1 Jurong East	6.01am		6.38am		12.00am
to NS27 Marina Bay	5.44am		6.10am		11.40pm
to NS7 Kranji	-		-		12.18am

Current station layout

L1	Street Level	Novena Square
B1	NSL Concourse	Faregates, Station Control, Ticketing Machines
B2 Platforms	Platform A	North South Line towards  NS1  EW24  Jurong East via  NS9  Woodlands (→)
	Island platform, Doors open on the right
	Platform B	North South Line towards  NS27  Marina Bay (←)

Bus services

The following bus services serve the bus stops along Thomson Road:

Bus Stop Code: 50038 (Novena Station)
Service	Destination	Note
SBS Transit Trunk Services
21	Pasir Ris Bus Interchange
56	Marina Centre Bus Terminal
57	Bukit Merah Bus Interchange
131	Bukit Merah Bus Interchange
166	Clementi Bus Interchange
SMRT Buses Trunk Services
851	Bukit Merah Bus Interchange
980	Geylang Lorong 1 Bus Terminal

Flooding incident

On 23 June 2006, at 7am (SST), the station experienced a minor flood with water reaching a height of five centimetres. There was no disruption of train services, but the fare gates were shutdown. Station staff were present to assist the commuters, sheltering them with umbrellas. As the water continued to flow, wooden planks were placed on the ground to form temporary walkways. By 8.30am, the water had receded. Investigations indicated that the nearby construction of the Novena Medical Centre above the station has caused the seepage of water into the station.^[1]

References

1. ^ "Flooding at Novena MRT station from construction site". Channel NewsAsia. 23 June 2006. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/215255/1/.html.