Clementi MRT station

Clementi MRT Station 金文泰地铁站 கிளிமெண்டி
Rapid transit
Platform level of the Clementi MRT Station, with a train ready to depart the station.
General information
Location	3150 Commonwealth Avenue West Singapore 129580
Coordinates	1°18′55.09″N 103°45′54.88″E
Line(s)	East West
Platforms	Island
Tracks	2
Connections	Bus, Taxi
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Platform levels	2
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	EW23
History
Opened	12 March 1988
Services
Preceding station   Mass Rapid Transit   Following station Template:SMRT stations toward Template:SMRT stations Template:SMRT lines Template:SMRT stations toward Template:SMRT stations

Clementi MRT Station (EW23) is an above-ground MRT station in the west of Singapore. It is part of the East West Line.

One of the older MRT stations in Singapore, Clementi MRT station was opened in 1988. The station is painted light blue, and with recent renovations a lift has been added for the benefit of commuters. The station and nearby track follows Commonwealth Avenue West, as do the Dover, Buona Vista, Commonwealth and Queenstown stations. Looking to the southwest one can see Clementi Central, with what was previously Commonwealth theatre, a McDonald's, and the bus interchange. At the northeast there is a connecting bridge to the nearby housing estate. When coming from Jurong East Interchange, one can see the former, disused KTM train tracks below.

Clementi MRT Station is heavily used by commuters who live in Clementi itself or further west to go to work. It is also used by students in the National University of Singapore and other schools around Clementi.

Current Station Layout

P Platforms	Platform A	Template:SMRT lines towards  EW1  Pasir Ris (→)
	Island platform, Doors open on the right
	Platform B	Template:SMRT lines towards  EW27  Boon Lay (←)
L2	EWL Concourse	Faregates, Ticketing Machines, Station Control
L1	Street Level

Bus services

Links within Clementi new town and to other parts of Singapore are available at the nearby Clementi Bus Interchange. The following bus services pass by the bus stops of Commonwealth Avenue West.

Bus Stop Code : 17179
Service	Between	And	Notes
SBS Transit Trunk Services
52	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Bishan Bus Interchange
105	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Serangoon Bus Interchange
154	Boon Lay Bus Interchange	Eunos Bus Interchange
183	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Science Park 2
185	SBS Transit West District Depot	Buona Vista Bus Terminal
SMRT Buses Trunk Services
106	Bukit Batok Bus Interchange	Marina Centre Bus Terminal
184	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Clementi MRT Station (Loop)
189	Bukit Batok Bus Interchange	Kent Ridge Bus Terminal
SMRT Buses NightRider Services
NR5	Marina Centre Bus Terminal	Jurong West Street 75 (Loop)
NR8	Marina Centre Bus Terminal	Bukit Batok West Ave 5 (Loop)

Bus Stop Code : 17171
Service	Between	And	Notes
SBS Transit Trunk Services
14	Bedok Bus Interchange	Clementi Bus Interchange
52	Bishan Bus Interchange	Jurong East Bus Interchange
78	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Clementi Avenue 2 (Loop)
96	Clementi Bus Interchange	NUS (Loop)
105	Serangoon Bus Interchange	Jurong East Bus Interchange
147	Hougang Central Bus Interchange	Clementi Bus Interchange
154	Eunos Bus Interchange	Boon Lay Bus Interchange
156	Sengkang Bus Interchange	Clementi Bus Interchange
165	Hougang Central Bus Interchange	Clementi Bus Interchange
166	Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange	Clementi Bus Interchange
175	Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal	Clementi Bus Interchange
183	Singapore Science Park II	Jurong East Bus Interchange
185	Buona Vista Bus Terminal	SBS Transit West District Depot
SBS Transit Feeder Service
285	Clementi Bus Interchange	Pandan Loop (Loop)
SBS Transit NiteOwl Service
5N	Marina Centre Bus Terminal	Jurong West
SMRT Buses Trunk Services
106	Marina Centre Bus Terminal	Bukit Batok Bus Interchange
189	Kent Ridge Bus Terminal	Bukit Batok Bus Interchange
SMRT Buses NightRider Services
NR5	Marina Centre Bus Terminal	Jurong West Street 75 (Loop)
NR8	Marina Centre Bus Terminal	Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 (Loop)

Incidents

1993 train collision

The station was also where a collision between two trains took place at around 0750 (SST) on 5 August 1993. It appeared that one train had stopped at the station for longer than usual after experiencing a technical fault, and then a second westward train hit the first. 156 commuters were injured, many of whom were on their way to work. Eight were admitted to three hospitals, while the rest received outpatient treatment.

A four-member independent panel was subsequently formed by SMRT Corporation to conduct an inquiry into the accident. The panel was chaired by Chua Koon Hoe, deputy director-general of the Public Works Department, with the members Chang Meng Teng, deputy chairman of the Public Transport Council, and Dr. Natarajan Varaprasad, principal of Temasek Polytechnic. Low Tien Sio, SMRTC's general manager (project administration) served as the secretary.

The results of the inquiry were announced by the SMRTC on 19 October 1993. Shortly after the accident The Straits Times had reported that an oil spill on the tracks was responsible for the second train's inability to brake in time. Some 50 litres of oil had spilled from a locomotive doing maintenance work on the track in the pre-dawn hours of 5 August. SMRT staff had been alerted to the spill and had dispatched a cleaning crew to the neighbouring Buona Vista station, but approval to access the tracks was delayed. Already ten trains had reported difficulty braking on the track that morning. The 11th train had had to use its emergency brakes upon reaching Clementi station, and while it was waiting for the brakes to be recharged so that it could move off again, the 12th approached the station and could not brake in time to avoid hitting the 11th train.

The Communications Minister at that time, Mah Bow Tan, said that as the SMRT staff followed procedures and none were found to be negligent, so no staff would be punished. However SMRT promised to look into the problem of oil spillage from maintenance locomotives by replacing the hoses and oil seals on all locomotives, checking all locomotives for leaks upon their return to depots, and assigning a station master to inspect tracks for oil. Procedures were also amended so that trains would not move off from stations preceding the spill until it had been cleaned up.

No similar incidents have occurred at Clementi or any other MRT station since.

2006 accidents

On September 17 2006, 26-year-old Jenny Low Siew Mui was pushed down off the platform on to the tracks and was slightly injured, an oncoming train having almost hit her. She saw the train coming towards her and had managed to climb over towards the side of the tracks (opposite the station platform). A Malaysian man, 26-year-old Kwong Kok Hing who pushed her onto the tracks was arrested by police after passers-by pinned him to the ground as he tried to escape. Kwong had pushed her over after a quarrel in which he refused to break-up with her.

On May 23 2007, Kwong was sentenced to one year in jail by a Supreme Court judge. He has also reported apologized to Jenny after the incident and promised not to contact her again.

On October 30 2006, a man was killed by a westbound train at the station and died on the spot. The police have described the death as an unnatural death and are investigating the matter. As a result, there was a service delay that affected 11,700 commuters.

2007 accidents

On January 27 2007, a woman in her 50s got her leg stuck in the gap between the train and the platform and fractured her leg. This happened at 8.27 am and caused delays in service between Queenstown station and Jurong East station. Train services resumed at 8.51 am.

On July 20 2007, a woman was killed by an incoming west-bound train at the station. 4120 passengers were affected by the accident as eastbound service in between Queenstown station and Jurong East station were suspended from 1.05 pm to 1.42 pm.

2008 track incursion

In a rare incident on Oct 8 2008, a man in his 30s got onto the eastbound track at the station and walked about 200 metres towards Dover MRT Station. The man was clad in a red T-shirt and black shorts. A passenger had notified SMRT staff about the incursion at about 9 am. SMRT staff escorted the man back to Clementi MRT Station. The man was arrested under the Miscellaneous Offences Act. Westbound trains were delayed for nine minutes while eastbound trains were delayed for seven minutes.