Raffles Place MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange station on the North South Line (NSL) and East West Line (EWL) in Singapore. Located in the Downtown Core, the station is underneath Raffles Place, the centre of Singapore's financial district, south of the Singapore River. The station serves various landmarks including Merlion Park and the Asian Civilisations Museum and various commercial buildings such as One Raffles Place and OCBC Centre. Initially named Central MRT station, the station was part of the early plans for the original MRT network since 1982. Construction of the tunnels between the City Hall and Raffles Place stations required the draining of the Singapore River. The station opened on 12 December 1987 with the MRT extension to Outram Park station. Cross-platform transfers between the NSL and EWL began on 28 October 1989, ahead of the opening of the MRT eastern line extension to Tanah Merah station on 4 November which split the MRT network into two lines. The station has ten entrances, with three of them adopting colonial-style facades. Three artworks are displayed at the station: two murals by Lim Sew Yong and Thang Kiang How depict scenes of Singapore's history, while Aw Tee Hong's sculpture takes inspiration from Chinese junks. History The station, then named Central, was included in the early plans of the MRT network in May 1982. It was renamed to Raffles Place in November that year as the business district it serves would be called Raffles Place. It was to be constructed as part of the Phase I MRT segment from the Novena to Outram Park stations; this segment was planned to be completed by December 1987. This segment was given priority as it passes through areas that had a higher demand for public transport, such as the densely populated housing estates of Toa Payoh and Ang Mo Kio and the Central Area. The line aimed to relieve the traffic congestion on the Thomson–Sembawang road corridor. Train services commenced on 12 December 1987 when the line's extension to Outram Park station was completed. The station was part of a route that ran continuously from Yishun station in the north to Lakeside station in the west. From 28 October 1989, it began to serve the North South line (NSL) as well as the East West line (EWL) when MRT operations were split. In September 2000, the Land Transport Authority (LTA)