Paya Lebar MRT station is a Mass Rapid Transit interchange station on the East West line and Circle line in Geylang, Singapore. This station is located at Paya Lebar Road near the junction of Sims Avenue at the heart of Paya Lebar Central commercial hub and the nearby Geylang Serai district. It is the first MRT station in Singapore that serves as an interchange of both an elevated line and an underground line. Despite its name, the station is not physically located in Paya Lebar. It was derived from the nearby Paya Lebar Road.
History
The station originally opened on 4 November 1989, serving the East West line. On 16 March 2003, the section of Paya Lebar Road from Geylang East Central to Sims Avenue was closed to facilitate the construction of Circle MRT line. Motorists were diverted via the temporary road of Eunos Road 8. The affected section was reinstated on 23 August 2009, after the connection from the East West line to the Circle line was completed. On 4 April 2007, a man died after being hit by a train along the East West line sector at about 10.20 am. Police said the victim, a 52-year old Chinese, was pronounced dead by paramedics at 10.45 am. East-bound services were disrupted from Aljunied to Eunos for 41 minutes but resumed by 11.02 am. On 17 April 2010, the Circle line platforms opened, shortening the travelling time from the station to Bishan where commuters can transfer to the North South line, to 13 minutes. As with most of the above-ground stations along the East West line, the station was built without platform screen doors. Installation of half-height platform screen doors which prevent commuters from falling onto the train tracks started on 28 October that year and commenced operations on 11 January 2011 with Bedok. The Circle line side of this station has been equipped with full-height platform screen doors since the operations started on 17 April 2010. It is the first underground MRT station to have a middle track, and is only usable until 14 January 2012, where short-trip service between HarbourFront & Paya Lebar were extended to Marina Bay. The middle track is only usable when trains are withdrawn after evening peak. Now, the middle track is not in operation with signs to let passengers know that it is not for boarding at that platform. The station was installed with high-volume low-speed fans, which have been in operation since 14 July that year together with Kembangan. Privacy screens were installed at some parts from Paya Lebar Road all the way to Geylang East Central, to minimise the noise impact from residents since October 2016 and completed in May 2017.
