Mass Rapid Transit :: SINGAPORE ::

Overview

The North East Line (NEL) is the third Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore and Asia's first fully automated underground heavy rail system. The line is 20km long with 16 stations, and operated by SBS Transit. It is coloured purple on the rail map, with the North South Line and East West Line in red and green respectively. 1 complete loop of this line takes around half an hour.

As the name implies, the line runs from the northeastern part to the southern part of Singapore. Transfer to the North South Line is provided at Dhoby Ghaut interchange station and East West Line at Outram Park interchange station. This is the first fully underground line in Singapore, consisting of Alstom Metropolis Cars as the rolling stock.

The North East Line is the first MRT line in Singapore to have artwork integrated into all its 16 stations, under the Art in Transit programme.

Art in Transit is the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) comprehensive, all-encompassing approach to give commuters as pleasant and enriching a transit experience as possible, not just when they are on the trains but also while they are in and around the train stations.

These efforts to enhance the daily journeys of millions of commuters are encapsulated in the North East Line's Art in Transit programme. This bold and imaginative programme brings the works of 19 of the nation's top artists into the MRT stations and the lives of all who use them. In the process, the stations are transformed into a showcase of Singapore art for the world.

The artworks that grace the stations and linkways of the North East Line represent a broad spectrum of artistic style and mediums created by the hands of the best and brightest of Singapore's art world.

All the artworks have been incorporated into the stations' interiors as building finishes to marry seamlessly into the stations' architecture. Unlike freestanding artworks in existing MRT stations, the artworks on the North East Line are fully integrated into the stations' spaces to allow commuters to appreciate their rich colours, shapes and textures afresh each time they travel.

Some artworks such as those at Dhoby Ghaut interchange take the form of mosaic wall murals; others are rendered as floor finishes as in the Chinese calligraphy on the platform of Chinatown station. Then there are the artworks that we enjoy as images on vitreous enamel wall panels such as Serangoon station's paintings of children at play; or works that are seamlessly integrated into stained glass wall panels as at Sengkang station. Placed at platform and concourse levels inside the stations and in the stations' linkways and entrances, the artworks of the North East Line showcase the best of Singapore art in accessible locations along the routes used by commuters on the way to the trains.

While there are other fine examples of public art in Singapore, the North East Line's Art in Transit programme is Singapore's single, largest public art project to date and certainly it is the most geographically extensive.

The artworks of the North East Line embrace the best values of public artworks as they are accessible, engaging, and they speak to the common man even as they introduce him to new vistas of artistic expression. Above all, the artworks of the North East Line offer future generations a collection of works that speak eloquently about our lives and times.

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