A Walk on the Tracks – Pt. 2 (Buona Vista to Jalan Hang Jebat)
July 31, 2011 by admin
Filed under Heritage, Nature, Recreation, Stories
By CK Ng, 19 Jul 2011.
This is a continuation of my previous post where I talked about a walk Boon Hwee and I took from Bukit Timah Railway Station to Jalan Hang Jebat. Before bidding farewell, Jerome gave us some pointers on what to look out for along the route as well as how to get there, and we set off to continue our walk.
A view of the railway tracks from an overhead bridge near Blk 10, Ghim Moh Road. Read more
A Walk on the Tracks – Pt. 1 (Bukit Timah Railway Station to Ghim Moh)
July 31, 2011 by admin
Filed under Heritage, Nature, Recreation, Stories
By CK Ng, 17 Jul 2011.
Shortly after the cessation of rail services between Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and the Woodlands Train Checkpoint, the announcement came that the entire railway will be opened to the public to explore until 17 July 2011. With no trains to watch out for, this is a good time to explore the track and the surroundings, so when I saw Jerome‘s Facebook posting organising such a walk last week, I jumped at the opportunity and also invited Boon Hwee, who has also been documenting the last days of the KTM railway to come along.
The walk was supposed to start from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, but Jerome, having walked the track with the Minister of State Brigadier-General Tan Chuan Jin, commented that it was rather tough and there wasn’t much to see until much further down the road, so we decided to start from Bukit Timah Railway Station and end at Ghim Moh instead.
We arrived to see the Bukit Timah Railway Station now fenced up in an ugly green fence.
The railway tracks and the now-defunct and fenced up Bukit Timah Railway Station in the early morning. Read more
The Green Corridor – my railway adventure 2 (Bt Timah to Buona Vista)
July 31, 2011 by admin
Filed under Nature, Recreation, Stories
By Miss Pegasus, 10 Jul 2011.
this trip was vastly different from my previous trip along the railway track from Bt Merah to Bt Timah, when few ppl bothered abt the existence of this track. no one cared abt the railway line. apart from turning their heads to the sound of the oncoming train, the railway track seemed to disappear. in my previous trip, we were the only ones walking on the track and NSS led some groups.
yesterday, as i walked towards the bt timah railway station, my heart sank. so many ppl? the place looked infested. and i became skeptical. so many people. i walked on with a heavy heart to the start point. and i stood there alone for a good 20 minutes, just observing everyone. i heard the conversations of ppl walking past me, those taking scenic photographs, those taking arty farty photographs with toy trains on the railway tracks, little kids picking up stones and throwing it back on the track, eager parents who encouraged their kids, and eager parents who warned their kids to be safe. so many people, so much noise, so many distractions. this was absolutely not what i imagined it to be. Read more
Shooting the Last Days of the KTM Railway
By CK Ng, 9 Jul 2011.
I was not much of a railway person. The KTM railway in Singapore has been around for nearly 80 years, but like most people, I never thought much about it. I had vague memories of taking the train to Malaysia when I was a little kid but couldn’t remember much of it.
The quaint little railway station (which I never knew about until recently) and the iconic black truss bridge across Bukit Timah Railway – these were very close to Ngee Ann Polytechnic where I spent three years studying. I would pass the bridge every day on the way to and from the polytechnic, but never ventured to explore the vicinity.
The black truss bridge across Bukit Timah Road and Dunearn Road, as seen from the Bukit Timah Railway Station side. Read more
End of an Era
By CK Ng, 2 Jul 2011.
After 79 years of operation, the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station will cease operations on 30 June 2011. Not wanting to miss the historic moment, I decided to pay the station a last visit before it’s closed the next day. Gilbert was with me as well, and we hoped to capture the last trains in and out of the station which will serve as a closure for the many photographs of the railway that we’ve done over the past few weeks.
Arriving at the station and not having previously shot it at night, I decided to take a photo of it. Additional lights have been put up to further light up the station’s facade, which we later found was also to prepare for the arrival of the Sultan of Johor who will be driving the last train out of the station.
The Tanjong Pagar Railway Station at night. Additional lights have been put up the night this photo was taken.
A Walk From Rail Mall to Bukit Panjang Level Crossing
By CK Ng, 28 Jun 2011.
Having been inspired by Jerome Lim, author of The Long and Winding Road, I was pleasantly surprised to find that he’ll be leading a walk together from the Rail Mall to the Bukit Panjang Crossing. I’ve actually walked that route the previous week, but I wanted the opportunity to meet him in person so I signed up. I also got Steve and Gilbert who were with me on the last trip to join in, as well as Boon Hwee and Gin Pak.
Being on the last weekend of the train operations on the old line which runs from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station to Woodlands, a record number of more than 100 people turned up, including TV personality Denise Keller. This is also possibly the last of such walks organised by Eugene Tay, owner of the We Support the Green Corridor Facebook page and the Green Corridor web site.
Jerome talking to the 100+ participants of the walk from Rail Mall to Bukit Panjang level crossing. Read more
Tanjong Pagar Railway Station
By CK Ng, 26 Jun 2011.
This weekend marks the last weekend of the train operations along the old railway system in Singapore. During the last few weekends, I’ve been photographing around the Bukit Timah Railway Station several times as I am attracted to the quaint little building and also wanted to capture the old practice of exchanging key tokens.
Today, after bringing Clarence, Jimmy and their friend Lawrence to the station to shoot, we made our way to the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. The sky was starting to get dark and rain was imminent.
Front view of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station Read more
Another Visit to the Bukit Timah Railway Station
By CK Ng, 19 Jun 2011.
After attending the Green Corridor walk to the Bukit Timah Railway Station last week, I decided to get Gilbert as well as another couple of friends to go there to shoot again. I also wanted to get a few shots of the token exchange process, a practice still performed here but will be history once the railway line and land is handed back to the Singapore government come 1 July 2011.
We arranged to meet at 7am at the McDonald’s at King Albert’s Park, but I was disappointed when I woke up to find it raining. After some hesitation, we decided to go ahead as the rain was getting lighter, and by the time we started, there was no more rain. Thankfully we did not give up and go back to bed!
I missed shooting some of the signboards leading up to the station the last time round, so I took them on this trip.
Bukit Timah Railway Station Signboard Read more
Railway track along Upper Bukit Timah Road
July 30, 2011 by admin
Filed under Recreation, Stories, Transport
By Andy Lee, 28 Jun 2011.
Last Sun, Daddy brought Wei to participate in a railway trek along Upper Bukit Timah. Organized by TheGreenCorridor, who hope more people will be aware of Singapore’s rich Flora and Fauna Railway corridor.
There are three treks available – “Old Jurong Line”, “Upper Bukit Timah”, and “Bukit Timah”. Over 100 participants met up at RailMall for our Upper Bukit Timah adventure. Jerome (the train-guru from The LongAndWindingRoad blog) will be our guide today. This will be the last weekend trek, before KTM ends it’s runs on 30Jun2011. Read more
tanjong pagar railway station
By Stephanie, 18 Jun 2011.
With the impending closure of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station at the end of this month, it is little wonder that many Singaporeans and tourists alike have flocked to this majestic building to take a last look of the building in operation before it gets conserved under the Preservation of Monuments Board. Likewise, we were no exceptions as we joined the thousands who have since stepped foot into this station after the release of the news. In fact, both MK and I will be joining many others to be part of a history in the making by purchasing our tickets for the last train ride from Malaysia into Singapore! It’s gonna be exciting! The Green Corridor is also organising a series of nature walks along the railway tracks (including the now defunct Jurong line) over the weekends in the month of June. So, for those who are up for an interesting morning walk, do check out their facebook for updates! Read more