This is what happens when you let the internet decide…
The three stations slated to close the Circle Line loop, by connecting Harbourfront to the Marina Bay station, have been announced to be under works. Currently known as Keppel, Cantonment and Prince Edward station, they will only be functional come 2025. Today, the Land Transport Authority has invited the public to suggest names for these 3 new stations.
So I guess it’s your chance to finally exercise your right as an average Singaporean commuter, since the issue of revising train fares is out of the question. However, there are certain guidelines to follow and it should:
- Help commuters easily identify where the station is located
- Illustrate the history and heritage of the station’s location
- Reflect Singapore’s multiracial and multicultural identity
If that sounds easy enough, you may submit your suggestions here from now until 18 June 2017. Alternatively, the public may propose to keep the current working names along with a brief rationale to explain their submission.
Why Not Call A Spade A Spade
While naming exercises are a norm for LTA and their previous Circle and Downtown Line stations, Singaporeans seem to have had enough this time. If anything, some believe that asking the public for “creative names” will simply create more confusion.
Passive-Aggressive Singaporeans
Some opportunistic ones chose to leverage on this naming exercise to vent their anger from the numerous train breakdowns we’ve had to endure. LTA said anything and everything is possible – as long as there is a rationale behind it.
Not forgetting the issue with COE prices.
Reminding Us To Be Forward-Thinking
Let’s not forget that the elderly are also commuters. If we had any other less straightforward names, it will be harder for them to navigate, remember and not to mention, pronounce.
It seems like LTA’s goodwill gesture to be inclusive just got blown out of proportion.
Nonetheless, the final list of shortlisted names will be sent to the Street and Building Names Boards for endorsement, and LTA will then conduct a public polling exercise later this year to determine the final MRT station names – but we reckon the three current names will most likely stick.
Maybe LTA has forgotten that Singapore had previously spent $400,000 in a branding exercise to rename Marina Bay as Marina Bay.
