ASEAN HEADLINE | SINGAPORE: National Day-themed trains and stations to mark Singapore’s 59th birthday
SINGAPORE – Five trains across all six MRT lines here will be decorated to mark Singapore’s 59th National Day.
The trains will run along the North-South, East-West, Circle, North East, Thomson-East Coast and Downtown lines until Aug 25.
Six national mascots will feature in the designs. These are:
Memento Maxima Digital Marketing- August, the Merlion mascot of the National Day Parade (NDP);
- Singa, the Courtesy Lion and mascot of Singapore’s National Courtesy Campaign;
- Sharity, mascot of the Community Chest;
- Nila, Singapore’s sporting mascot;
- Captain Green, mascot of the National Environment Agency’s Clean and Green Singapore movement; and
- Becky Bunny, mascot of the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s Families for Life movement.
Singapore marks its 59th year of independence on Aug 9.
At the launch of the National Day-themed decorations on July 8 at the Circle Line’s HarbourFront station, one such train had NDP-themed stickers lining its floors, windows and carriage walls.
There were floor stickers in red-and-white designs to reflect Singapore’s national colours, and wall stickers featuring the six mascots alongside messages echoing the theme of the 2024 parade, “Together, As One United People”.
An NDP 2024 mural featuring Singapore icons such as the Toa Payoh dragon playground will also adorn seven MRT stations.
These stations are Bedok and Buona Vista on the East-West Line, Woodlands and Upper Thomson on the Thomson-East Coast Line, Expo on the Downtown Line, and Punggol and Dhoby Ghaut on the North East Line.
The initiative is a collaboration between the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the NDP 2024 executive committee and transport operators SBS Transit and SMRT.
LTA will bear the cost of the initiative with SBS Transit and SMRT. The authority said it is part of a budget to enliven commutes via themed trains throughout the year.
Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor, who launched the initiative, said on July 8: “Such collaborations add vibrancy to our public transport network. If you have the chance to catch the decorations during your commute, I hope it will bring you festive cheer.”
Mr Ian Tan, 32, who works in information technology security, said the train stickers could introduce Singapore’s mascots to younger people who may be unfamiliar with them.
Themed trains like these are commonly seen during festive seasons and national holidays, such as Hari Raya, Deepavali, Chinese New Year and Christmas.
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