Little India MRT station


Little India MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit interchange station on the Downtown line and North East line, located at the junction of Bukit Timah Road and Race Course Road on the boundary of the planning areas of Kallang and Rochor, Singapore.
The station derived its name from the ethnic neighbourhood of Little India, which the station is located within.
The distance between this station and Rochor MRT station is the shortest between any two MRT stations located along the Downtown line. In addition, Little India station is also within walking distances to Jalan Besar MRT station and KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

History

Before the station was built, it was called Kandang Kerbau. It was renamed to Little India to reflect the station's heritage since 2001.
On 20 December 2012, train services on the North East line was delayed due to a train fault. A statement from SBS Transit said there was no train service between Punggol and Little India due to a train fault. Free bus rides were made available at designated bus stops near affected NEL stations. At about 5.18 pm, all train services resumed. SBS Transit has apologised for the inconvenience caused.
A commuter's leg got trapped in the gap between the MRT train and the station platform on 24 April 2013. She says she was pushed. Madam Ong told The Straits Times about her ordeal at Little India station, during the morning rush-hour. She had been standing by the doors while taking a crowded train on the North East line from Farrer Park to HarbourFront when she was "pushed". The secretary in her 40s said, "About three people exiting the train pushed me from the back, even though I was trying to give way by stepping out of the train first so they could get out." It was then that her left leg slipped into the 10 cm platform gap and got trapped.
No one was injured in a fire that broke out at a Downtown line worksite along Race Course Road on the evening of 26 March 2014. The Land Transport Authority told Yahoo Singapore that a "small fire" had broken out at a "localised area" within the worksite of the Downtown line Little India MRT station. "There is also no impact to DTL2 construction progress," added a spokesperson for the LTA, who added that the fire was put out by 10pm, after it first broke out about half an hour earlier.

Art in Transit

The artwork featured in the North East line section features Memoirs of the Past by S. Chandrasekaran. The animal paintings echos the past of Little India when buffalo stables were seen.
The Downtown line section features "Woven Field" by Grace Tan. It features a landscape of tessellated triangular configurations inspired by the singhaulia woven patterns commonly seen in the traditional sari.