Things You Didn’t Know About Singapore’s MRT System

Before 2009, there were no safety barriers in place to prevent commuters from falling, accidentally or intentionally, onto the railway tracks. Since 2012, each of the 36 elevated stations across the North-South and East-West Lines has been retrofitted with 1.5 metre-tall platform screen doors along the platform edge to protect commuters from oncoming trains. This infrastructure upgrade also creates a second door, which discourages people from dashing for departing trains.

Only two elevated-underground interchange stations exist in Singapore – Paya Lebar and Buona Vista MRT. This just means changing lines at these stations require commuters to spend more time walking up and down steep escalators, not especially ideal when one is running late for work or school.

The station was not named after that house elf in Harry Potter, but rather Indian dhobis who formed a community in Singapore when they moved to the country with the British and other Indian soldiers during the 19th century. The dhobis are servicemen or washermen who made a living by doing the laundry for the soldiers and their families. Dhoby Ghaut MRT was named so, as it was the site of a freshwater stream where the first dhobi settlement formed. Even though the community no longer exists, their name and services will be remembered.