Kovan MRT Station is an underground station on the North East Line of the Mass Rapid Transit in Singapore. The station is located in the southern part of Hougang with a neighbourhood mall known as Heartland Mall, the former Hougang South Bus Interchange in its vicinity.
With the opening of the station, the former bus interchange ceased operations in February 2004 and its services were transferred to Hougang Central Bus Interchange.
The artwork in this station is The Trade-Off by Eng Tow. These are 1945 and present topographical maps of Kovan that are set on the floor, showing the progress that has taken place.
History[]
The announcement of Kovan station, along with the other NEL stations, in March 1996 caught the residents around the site by "surprise", as it was assumed there would be only one station in Hougang near the Hougang Central Bus Interchange. All the residents were reported to be "happy" due to the expected benefits of being in close proximity with the NEL.
Contract C703 for the design and construction of the two-level Civil Defence underground stations (Kovan and Hougang) was awarded to Samsung Corporation Engineering & Construction Group at a contract sum of S$214.8 million (US$144.67 million) in May 1997. The contract additionally includes the construction of 1.3-kilometre (0.81 mi) twin-bored tunnels and 700 metres (770 yd) of cut-and-cover tunnels.
As the location of the utility pipes at the site was not well documented, the contractor has to manually excavate the site using equipment to discover the pipes. After the pipes were unearthed, mechanised excavation could begin. This was to mitigate any damage to the pipes. To facilitate the station's construction and further development of the site, some residences, businesses and a temple have been bought over.
During the MRT construction, the residents have to put up with some inconveniences. A section of Upper Serangoon Road has to be realigned several times for the excavation works. Nevertheless, as the work was well-coordinated, little impact was made to the traffic as much as possible. Road capacity was "by and large" unaffected as most of the work was carried out underneath a metal decking. To avoid bringing further inconvenience, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) also ensured the carpark along Hougang Street 21 remained accessible. This was to ensure that residents could resume their daily activities without needing to park further away.
The station opened on 20 June 2003 along with the other NEL stations. In light of the station's opening, the retail mall (renamed Heartland Mall Kovan) next to the station has been renovated greatly and has leased to important chains such as Cold Storage and Pizza Hut to operate at the mall
Concourse[]
General Ticketing Machines allow commuters to purchase tickets for single or multiple journeys, and along with Top-up Machines, offer contactless card transactions and can be paid by Cash, NETS and Credit Card. The majority of Kovan residents are richer and they can afford credit cards. While the fact is that cash top-ups are no longer accepted at Passenger Service Centres from 1 December 2017, at Kovan MRT Station, the Passenger Service Centres are converted to staff rooms. It is the 8th station to touch general ticketing machines.
Station layout[]
| L1 | Street Level | Upper Serangoon Road |
| B1 | Concourse | Faregates, Ticketing Machines, Passenger Service Centre |
| B2 | Platform 1 | North East Line towards HarbourFront via Serangoon (→) |
| Island platform, doors will open on the right | ||
| Platform 2 | North East Line towards Punggol via Hougang (←) | |
Exits[]
Kovan MRT Station has three exits leading to the ground level (A, B & C), but two of which provides barrier-free for the disabled. It has a 24-hour underpass all along.
- A: Upper Serangoon Road
- B: Upper Serangoon Road
- C: Heartland Mall, Kovan Market & Food Centre
Passenger Usage Patterns[]
Serving residential developments in the vicinity, Kovan station encounters moderate demand throughout the day.
| Platforms | Services |
|---|---|
| North East Line Platform 1 |
NEL – Punggol & Fernvale (Sengkang) |
| North East Line Platform 2 |
NEL – Farrer Park & Serangoon CCL – Promenade & Nicoll Highway (change at Serangoon) DTL – Hillview (change at Little India) |
Transport connections[]
Rail[]
| Destination | First Train | Last Train | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon – Fri | Sat | Sunday & Public Holiday |
Daily | ||||
| North East Line | |||||||
| to HarbourFront | 5.51am | 5.51am | 6.12am | 11.37pm | |||
| to Punggol | 6.22am | 6.23am | 6.43am | 12.18am | |||
Bus[]
Northbound[]
| Service | Weekday | Saturday | Sunday | Weekday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 6.18am | 6.15am | 7.03am | 1.24am | 1.19am | 1.20am |
| 81 | 5.54am | 5.54am | 6.08am | 12.37am | 12.37am | 12.38am |
| 82 | 5.53am | 5.45am | 5.53am | 1.03am | 1.00am | 1.08am |
| 101 | 5.15am | 5.15am | 5.15am | 12.09am | 12.09am | 12.09am |
| 107 | 6.40am | 6.37am | 7.06am | 12.39am | 12.41am | 12.34am |
| 112 | 5.15am | 5.15am | 5.15am | 12.16am | 12.16am | 12.15am |
| 113 | 5.25am | 5.25am | 5.25am | 12.43am | 12.50am | 12.47am |
| 136 | 6.15am | 6.14am | 6.31am | 11.58pm | 11.59pm | 12.02am |
| 153 | 6.08am | 6.06am | 6.27am | 12.46am | 12.49am | 12.46am |
Southbound[]
| Service | Weekday | Saturday | Sunday | Weekday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 5.38am | 5.39am | 5.36am | 11.52pm | 11.54pm | 11.52pm |
| 81 | 6.18am | 6.30am | 6.30am | 12.11am | 12.12am | 12.11am |
| 82 | 5.39am | 5.34am | 5.38am | 12.51am | 12.49am | 12.53am |
| 101 | 5.56am | 5.55am | 5.55am | 12.53am | 12.52am | 12.51am |
| 107 | 5.41am | 5.39am | 5.55am | 11.26pm | 11.26pm | 11.26pm |
| 112 | 5.35am | 5.35am | 5.35am | 12.41am | 12.42am | 12.40am |
| 113 | 5.15am | 5.15am | 5.15am | 12.24am | 12.29am | 12.28am |
| 115 | 7.34am | 7.33am | 7.32am | 8.18pm | 8.20pm | 8.18pm |
| 119 | 5.34am | 5.35am | 6.27am | 12.00am | 12.00am | 12.05am |
| 136 | 6.15am | 6.13am | 6.31am | 12.11am | 12.12am | 12.17am |
| 153 | 5.39am | 5.39am | 5.39am | 11.54pm | 11.52pm | 11.54pm |
Alternative Routes[]
| Going to | Methods |
|---|---|
| HarbourFront | Kovan Stn Exit C (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63039  107M Serangoon Stn Exit A/Blk 413 (Upp Serangoon Rd) 62139 Walk Serangoon Circle Line HarbourFront |
| Outram Park | Kovan Stn Exit C (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63039 107M Serangoon Stn Exit A/Blk 413 (Upp Serangoon Rd) 62139 Walk Serangoon Circle Line Buona Vista East West Line Outram Park |
| Chinatown | Kovan Stn Exit C (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63039 107M Serangoon Stn Exit A/Blk 413 (Upp Serangoon Rd) 62139 Walk Serangoon Circle Line MacPherson Downtown Line Chinatown |
| Clarke Quay | Kovan Stn Exit C (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63039 107M Serangoon Stn Exit A/Blk 413 (Upp Serangoon Rd) 62139 Walk Serangoon Circle Line MacPherson Downtown Line Fort Canning Walk Fort Canning Stn Exit B (River Valley Rd) 04339 54 opp Clarke Quay Stn (New Bridge Rd) 04239
|
| Dhoby Ghaut | Kovan Stn Exit C (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63039 107M Serangoon Stn Exit A/Blk 413 (Upp Serangoon Rd) 62139 Walk Serangoon Circle Line Dhoby Ghaut |
| Little India | Kovan Stn Exit C (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63039 107M Serangoon Stn Exit A/Blk 413 (Upp Serangoon Rd) 62139 Walk Serangoon Circle Line Botanic Gardens Downtown Line Little India |
| Farrer Park | Kovan Stn Exit C (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63039 107M Serangoon Stn Exit A/Blk 413 (Upp Serangoon Rd) 62139 147 Hoa Nam Bldg (Jln Besar) 07329 125 aft Farrer Park Stn Exit G (Serangoon Rd) 07211
|
| Boon Keng | Kovan Stn Exit C (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63039 107M Serangoon Stn Exit A/Blk 413 (Upp Serangoon Rd) 62139 147 opp Boon Keng Stn (Bendemeer Rd) 60119
|
| Potong Pasir | Kovan Stn Exit C (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63039 107M Potong Pasir Stn Exit B (Upp Serangoon Rd) 60269
|
| Woodleigh | Kovan Stn Exit C (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63039 107M Woodleigh Stn Exit A (Upp Serangoon Rd) 61039
|
| Serangoon | Kovan Stn Exit C (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63039 107M Serangoon Stn Exit A (Upp Serangoon Rd) 62139
|
| Hougang | Kovan Stn Exit B (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63031 80 / 101 Hougang Ctrl Int (Hougang Ctrl) 64541
|
| Buangkok | Kovan Stn Exit B (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63031 80 / 101 Hougang Ctrl Int (Hougang Ctrl) 64541 Walk Hougang Ctrl Int 64009 27 Buangkok Stn Exit A (Sengkang Ctrl) 67609
|
| Sengkang | Kovan Stn Exit B (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63031 80 / 101 Hougang Ctrl Int (Hougang Ctrl) 64541 Walk Hougang Ctrl Int 64009 27 opp Blk 241 (Compassvale Rd) 67189
|
| Punggol | Kovan Stn Exit B (Upp Serangoon Rd) 63031 80 / 101 Hougang Ctrl Int (Hougang Ctrl) 64541 Walk Hougang Ctrl Int 64009 27 aft Punggol Rd (TPE) 65199 Walk bef Punggol Rd (TPE) 65191 34 / 118 Punggol Temp Int 65009
|
References[]
External links[]
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