Preserve rail station as part of transport network
Letter from Kong Pih Shu, TODAY, 31 May 2011.
I would like to suggest that the railway station be preserved as what it is – a railway station.
Continue the rail services, perhaps as an extension of public transport, with stations plotted along the railway line. In the future, we could extend the line around Singapore, so visitors and locals alike can experience a rustic, “kampung-like” way of travelling to see the whole country.
The railway line can complement the MRT network, with coaches that blend modern and traditional elements. In order to make taking the train a great family activity, we can consider, for instance, incorporating dining experiences on board. With a railway line, one can also simply hop on and disembark at, say, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve Station and have a cup of coffee before venturing out to the reserve. There are so many possibilities!
Source: TODAY
The Green Corridor walk along Bukit Timah [19 Jun]
Sunday, June 19, 8am – 11am, Old Holland Road to Hindhede Road.
Join us for this leisure walk along the railway from Old Holland Road to Bukit Timah Railway Station to Hindhede Road (slightly over 3km). Jerome Lim, the author of the excellent and popular blog, The Long and Winding Road, will lead this walk. Check out his heritage stories and photos at http://thelongnwindingroad.wordpress.com/.
You would see these along the way:
– Road bridge over railway line at Old Holland Road
– Culvert
– Jurong Line branch-off
– Bukit Timah Station
– Truss Bridge
– Girder Bridge
Meeting Time: 8am
Meeting point: Ulu Pandan Road Bus Stop ID 12039 (Opposite Pandan Valley Condo). See map at http://gothere.sg/maps#q:bus%20stop%2012039.
Public transport: Bus numbers 75, 165 (if coming from direction of Holland Road stop at Bus Stop 12031 – Pandan Valley Condo)
Register through Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=121452561274259.
If you’re not a Facebook user, just indicate your interest in the comments section below, and turn up on that day.
The Green Corridor walk along the old Jurong Line [18 Jun]
Saturday, June 18, 8am – 11am, Teban Gardens to Sunset Way.
The Jurong Line, completed in 1965, served as an extension into the then newly constructed Jurong Industrial Estate. It failed to generate adequate traffic and was closed in the early 1990s. It has since been partially dismantled.
Join us for this walk and explore natural reforestation, spontaneous gardens and small scale farming, walk in a dark underpass, and cross Sungei Ulu Pandan via a majestic cast iron bridge. Be prepared to get your shoes wet and muddy. This walk is not suitable for small kids.
Meeting time: 8am
Meeting point: Blk 41 Teban Gardens Road (see map at http://gothere.sg/maps#q:Blk%2041%20Teban%20Gardens%20Road). Take bus 79 or 143 at Jurong East Interchange and alight at Blk 41 Teban Gardens Road.
Register through Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=212999065406088.
If you’re not a Facebook user, just indicate your interest in the comments section below, and turn up on that day.
The Green Corridor walk along the old Jurong Line [12 Jun]
Sunday, June 12, 8am – 11am, Teban Gardens to Sunset Way.
The Jurong Line, completed in 1965, served as an extension into the then newly constructed Jurong Industrial Estate. It failed to generate adequate traffic and was closed in the early 1990s. It has since been partially dismantled.
Join us for this walk and explore natural reforestation, spontaneous gardens and small scale farming, walk in a dark underpass, and cross the Ulu Pandan Canal via a majestic cast iron bridge. Mr Tan Teck Chye from the Nature Society (Singapore) will lead this walk. Be prepared to get your shoes wet and muddy. This walk is not suitable for small kids.
Meeting time: 8am
Meeting point: Blk 10 Teban Gardens Road (see map at http://gothere.sg/maps#q:10%20teban%20garden%20road). Take bus 79 or 143 at Jurong East Interchange and alight at Teban Garden Post Office.
Register through Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=171778506217411.
If you’re not a Facebook user, just indicate your interest in the comments section below, and turn up on that day.
The Green Corridor walk along Bukit Timah [11 Jun]
Saturday, June 11, 8am – 10am, Bukit Timah Railway Station to Old Holland Road.
Join us for this leisure walk along the railway from Bukit Timah Railway Station to Old Holland Road. Ms Margie Hall from the Nature Society (Singapore) will lead this walk.
We would pass by the Bukit Timah Railway Station, which has been gazetted as a conserved building on 27 May 2011. Built in the 1930s, the Bukit Timah Station is an endearing local landmark and a key building of our railway history. We would also pass by an area of significant secondary growth forest, refer to as Clementi Woodlands.
Meeting time: 8am
Meeting point: Outside Cold Storage, McDonald’s Place at King Albert Park (see map at http://gothere.sg/maps#q:king%20albert%20park%20mcdonalds).
Register through Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=229330997080165.
If you’re not a Facebook user, just indicate your interest in the comments section below, and turn up on that day.
bukit timah railway station
By Stephanie, 17 May 2011.
The recent news about the closure of Tanjong Pagar Railway Station has created quite a stir amongst many Singaporeans, netizens and budding photographers who wanted to visit both the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and Bukit Timah Railway Station (now functioning as a passing loop railway station between Tanjong Pagar and Woodlands) before operation ceases for good (with effective 1st July 2011). That is just less than 2 months away! This was a cause of concern for many heritage and nature lovers who were afraid that the government might demolish the stations for commercial development. As we all know, land is extremely scarce in Singapore and any available prime land (especially at Bukit Timah) is most likely to be snapped immediately either to build another expensive condominium or a retail mall. Well, money talks. Click here to read about a proposal, proposed by The Green Corridor, to turn the stations, along with its railway tracks, into an eco-tourism attraction. Thumbs up! 
Fortunately, the government has assured us that the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station will be gazetted as a National Monument under the Preservation of Monuments Board (PMB) as it sees the importance of having to preserve a place that had played such a significant role in our transportation history. In addition, the Bukit Timah Railway Station will also be gazetted as a conserved building under the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). In its proposal, The Green Corridor has suggested turning the station and parts of its rail tracks into a locomotive museum, something which I honestly think is a fantastic idea as I’ve been very impressed by the few train museums that I had visited overseas. Read more
The last level crossing in Singapore
By Jerome Lim, 19 May 2011.
Minutes before arriving at Woodlands on the 30th of June, the last of the Malayan Railway trains to cut across our island would have passed what would be the last operational level crossing in Singapore. It is probably appropriate that the crossing, one of two gated crossings left (the other being at Gombak Drive), is the last that will see a train pass through, being close to the terminal point of the original Singapore-Kranji Railway which commenced operations in 1903. The original line had featured numerous level crossings, particularly in the busy city centre and in planning the Railway Deviation of 1932, a stated objective had been the elimination of the level crossings in the city which proved not just to be costly to maintain, but also contributed to significant congestion on the city roads as well as being dangerous. What we are left with today are five operational manned level crossings, three of which are closed by a barrier rather than a gate. The crossings are at Gombak Drive, Choa Chu Kang Road (the widest), Stagmont Ring Road, Sungei Kadut Avenue and Kranji Road.
A train crossing Kranji Road. The Kranji level crossing would be the last one to operate on the 30th of June 2011. Read more
Don’t miss the last train!
By Jerome Lim, 18 May 2011.
The last day of June this year will bring to a close a long chapter in our history, one that will break a link we have had with the Malayan Railway, now operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM), that went back some 108 years. The railway’s beginings can be traced back to the Singapore-Kranji Railway which started service in 1903 providing a link from the north down to the terminal station in Tank Road. A ferry service was introduced which provided rail passengers with a link to the Johor Railway across the Straits of Johor which was replaced by the rail link across the Causeway when that was built. It was a railway deviation in 1932 that diverted the railway to its current terminal at Tanjong Pagar, cutting a path through from Bukit Timah deviating from its original route over towards Ulu Pandan, Buona Vista, Tanglin Halt, towards the new grand terminal built to provide Singapore with a station that was befitting of its economic importance. Beside the grand old station, it was this deviation that possibly provided us with the many structures that give the areas through which the railway passes through a unique flavour as well as helping preserving parts of old Singapore: the two distinctive black truss bridges across Bukit Timah Road; the girder bridges across at the road entrance to Bukit Timah Hill and at the entrance to Hillview Avenue; the quaint old station at Bukit Timah and the wonderful green corridor that has been maintained along much of the railway land.
The last train will pass reach Woodlands Checkpoint at approximately 23:00 on 30th June 2011 and that will end 108 years of trains of the Malayan Railway chugging through Singapore. Read more
A walk on the wild side
By Jerome Lim, 15 May 2011.
I took a walk into a world where there might not have been one, where gold, crimson and blue tinged fairies dance a flight of joy, a joy that’s echoed in the singing of songs of joy that eludes ears made weary by the cacophony of the grey world we have found ourselves in. It is a world that seeks to be found in the midst of the cold grey world we find around us, a world that we may soon lose with the lost of the reasons for its being. The world I speak of is none other than the Green Corridor that has existed solely because of the railway which has allowed a green and seemingly distant world to exist next to the concrete world that we have created in our island.
We took the train from Singapore (Tanjong Pagar Railway Station) to Johor (JB)
May 24, 2011 by admin
Filed under Recreation, Stories, Transport
By Andy Lee, 26 Oct 2010.
Following our trip to Tanjong Pagar Railway station, we embark on our maiden train trip to Johor. (we have only taken MRT and LRTs in Singapore)
We can hear the whistle, and we boarded the 0845 train.
(for short trips, tickets are only on sale on the day itself)
Train is noisy, air is a bit stuffy, but hey, this is a NEW experience 🙂
Daddy would prefer to have a non-aircondition cabin, so we can smell the dungs, the soot, the “outdoor freshness”. Read more
