Boon Lay MRT Station - History

History

The station was opened on 6 July 1990, then as the Western terminal station for the East West Line, with the station code 'W12', that was later changed to 'EW27' in 2001.

This station was built to serve residents living in the then-undeveloped Jurong West New Town and people working in the then mostly-undeveloped Tuas and Jurong Industrial Estate, since it was the only MRT station serving these areas, covering the areas Westwards from Boon Lay. As these areas develop, passenger volume has increased, leading to much congestion at this station during peak hours.

However, the condition was improved when the Boon Lay MRT extension was constructed and commenced service on 28 February 2009 with an addition of Pioneer and Joo Koon. With Pioneer MRT Station serving the western portion of Jurong West New Town and Pioneer Sector, and Joo Koon MRT Station serving Joo Koon, Boon Lay MRT station now serves only the eastern portion of Jurong West New Town and 1 less industrial area and ceased to be the western terminal of the East West Line.

The condition will be further improved when the Tuas West MRT Extension opens, relieving more load off the station, such as Gul, Tuas, Tuas South. Should the bus services in the industrial areas be rationalised after the extension opens, even more loads can be removed off the station, such as Benoi, Lok Yang and parts of Pioneer Sector. This will mean that eventually, the station only needs to serve the industrial areas of Jurong Pier, Jurong Hill and Pioneer Sector, just one-third of the original load the station had to serve when it was still the western terminal of the East West Line.