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From pinks and greens to every shade in between, Singapore’s MRT proves that even the daily commute can be a visual treat! First opened in 1987 with just five stations along a 6-kilometer stretch, the network has since unfurled into a chromatic spiderweb spanning over 140 stations across the island. Each station was assigned its own signature color scheme — a deliberate design decision to help passengers navigate the system and give each stop its own identity. Some colors nod to their neighborhood’s history, others to their surroundings, and a few remain cheerfully arbitrary. We took a ride on a few of our favorite rainbow rails to explore the stations where color, geometry, and architecture turn everyday transit into something quietly delightful – proof that good design doesn’t have to be a destination, it can be part of the journey.
REDHILL STATION
Singapore’s smallest MRT station wears its blush-pink tiles with pride. A strawberry shade chosen to echo the red lateritic soil characteristic of the Redhill area. Fun fact: It’s the only station in the MRT system where the two platforms aren’t parallel, giving the elevated structure a trapezoidal quirk when viewed from above. By April 1987, the pink tiles were already up, ready for its 1988 debut on Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s inaugural MRT journey.
MARINE PARADE STATION
The station’s green paneled interior resembles the trees of the beach and waves of the sea – a nod to the area’s history as a former seafront, now buried beneath the streets. Opened in June 2024, it’s one of the first MRT stations to have underground bicycle parking spaces with 364 bike parking lots – nearly one for every day of the year. Complete with specially designed stairs for wheeling bicycles up while you climb the steps, feel free to bring your wheels with you!
BENCOOLEN STATION
Descend 43 meters below Bencoolen Street to the deepest station on the MRT network. The glass walls of the passenger lifts were tinted in maroon so that the journey to the platforms looks like a descent to the Earth’s core. Named after the street above, which honors Raffles’s rule in British Bencoolen (Sumatra) and the Bencoolen Malays who followed him to Singapore.
DHOBY GHAUT STATION
Named after the Hindi term for “washerman’s place”, the first dhobi settlement sat at a freshwater stream more or less exactly where the station is now. Five underground levels plunge 28 meters below ground, making it the first triple-line interchange station on the MRT network and one of only four stations featured in the Singapore edition of Monopoly!
Sneak outside these stations and you’ll also find the last few remaining Singaporean “uncles” who have ice cream carts in the area!
COMMONWEALTH STATION
Named after Commonwealth Avenue, yellow bands wrap this elevated station like a gift. Built in-between two carriageways, pedestrian overpasses span across the road on either side allowing safe passage for travelers and photographers seeking a nice bright pop of transportation delight.
QUEENSTOWN STATION
The blue-tiled elevated platforms of Queenstown station float above Commonwealth Avenue. Named after Queen Elizabeth II to mark her coronation in 1952, this station serves Singapore’s very first satellite town — developed in the 1950s and 1960s when planners dreamed of residential areas beyond the city centre. Originally dubbed “Princess station”, it underwent a royal rename before Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew rode the first train here during the 1988 opening ceremony.
