SINGAPORE (ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES) – In celebration of Singapore’s 59th National Day, five trains across all six MRT lines are getting a festive makeover.
Running until August 25, these trains will travel along the North-South, East-West, Circle, North East, Thomson-East Coast, and Downtown lines, adorned with vibrant decorations.
Featuring prominently in the designs are six beloved national mascots:
- August, the Merlion mascot of the National Day Parade (NDP)
- Singa, the Courtesy Lion from the National Courtesy Campaign
- Sharity, the Community Chest mascot
- Nila, Singapore’s sporting mascot
- Captain Green, representing the National Environment Agency’s Clean and Green Singapore movement
- Becky Bunny, from the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s Families for Life movement
Singapore will celebrate its 59th year of independence on August 9.
To kick off the festive season, a special launch event was held on July 8 at the Circle Line’s HarbourFront station.
One of the decorated trains, themed around National Day, showcased red-and-white floor stickers symbolising the national colours and wall stickers featuring the mascots with messages reflecting the 2024 parade theme, “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.
