Significance of ‘Green Corridor’
By Jon Cooper, The Adam Park Project Project Manager, TODAY, 19 May 2011.
I read with interest the enlightening letter “A green corridor down memory lane” by Mr Lee Seow Ser (May 17) on the fight to save the heritage and nature along the abandoned railway lines in Singapore .
I would like to add another round to the arsenal of good reasons for the protection of the “Green Corridor”. The stretch of line at the west end of Bukit Timah Road which includes the Bukit Timah railway station and girder bridge is perhaps the most iconic and best preserved section of the World War II battlefield in the area.
The railway line, embankments, rail bridge and station marked the furthest point of advance of the only British counter-attack during the seven-day fight for Singapore.
Source: TODAY
A green corridor down memory lane
Letter from Lee Seow Ser, TODAY, 17 May 2011.
On a recent Saturday, a handful of enthusiastic nature and heritage lovers like myself participated in a guided walk along the tracks of the rustic Bukit Timah Railway Station. This was followed by an insightful sharing session – “The Green Corridor” forum – organised by the National Library Board and Nature Society of Singapore (NSS).
In a proposal titled “The Green Corridor – A Proposal to Keep the Railway Lands as a Continuous Green Corridor” submitted by NSS last year to the authorities, representations were made to preserve the railway lands which brim with historical value and biodiversity in flora and fauna, after the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station ceases to operate on July 1.
Source: TODAY
The Green Corridor Poems by RGS Inkspiration
During The Green Corridor Forum, four students from the Raffles Girls’ School’s Inkspiration writing group shared their excellent poems. Here are the poems, enjoy!
The Planks
by Ho Ting En
Of history;
Of memories;
That carried years and years on their backs.
Lying sadly, forlornly, dejectedly
By the tracks
That are also forgotten and hidden.
Extending into the future,
Trailing into the past,
Walking in the present,
The planks were well used
But they are abandoned now. Read more
Tanjong Pagar Railway Station
By Jeffrey and Flora, 23 Jan 2011.
After exploring the Bukit Timah Railway Station a few months ago, I felt the need to visit the other old railway station in Singapore before it was too late: Tanjong Pagar. This train station was much easier to get to (there’s a bus stop right across the street) and I didn’t feel like a creep walking around taking photos. Maybe I’m just getting used to that feeling, though.
Bukit Timah Railway Station
By Jeffrey and Flora, 16 Dec 2010.
Recently, I met up with notabilia and Singapore Noodle to explore the Bukit Timah Railway Station. Not quite knowing where it was, I left my house extra early and arrived about an hour later by bus. I walked up a dirt and gravel road next to a black trestle bridge that crosses Bukit Timah Road, right near the King Albert Park bus stop. At the top of the road, I was greeted by this sign:
I was a little disappointed, but notabilia asked the station master for permission to take photos and permission was granted. He seemed used to dealing with curious people with cameras around their necks asking him to poke around his railway station. Read more
When does a city become a home?
May 21, 2011 by admin
Filed under Recreation, Stories, Transport
By Tom Keeble, 4 May 2011.
In a radical departure for this little corner of the web, I’m going to talk about something a little bit abstract – that moment when the place you live becomes a place you feel at home.
Having been in Singapore for almost 4 years now, it’s interesting to observe our changing response to the place. Going from the time where we loved the differences to Melbourne and saw the good in everything, such as; a thriving urban, globalised city that has managed to retain some unique cultural flavour and preserve at least some of its natural and built heritage; cheap, reliable, safe and useful public transport; a young and burgeoning cultural and scientific scene with the opportunity to both observe a generation opening its eyes to the possible, and to leave our own mark; and a government that actually has a view to the future instead of making unborn generations pay for the priveleges the Boomers are enjoying now, to seeing the not-so-good side of Singapore. Read more
Railway Tracks Exploration Part 3 – Bukit Timah to Ten Mile Junction
May 20, 2011 by admin
Filed under Nature, Recreation, Stories
By Jinghui, 24 Apr 2011.
In the continuation of my old and active railway tracks exploration, completing Part 1 and Part 2 that forms the Old Abandoned Railway Tracks, it was now Part 3 and I joined an organised outing by Ivan, hiking from Bukit Timah Railway Station to Ten Mile Junction Railway Track road crossing. Meeting at King Albert Park McDonald with Daphne, Jingwen, Wilfred and Ivan, we had our breakfast before starting off on the Bukit Timah Railway Track Bridge and starting our wonderful “science class†trek up North.
The weather was great, hot and sunny, however, it’s the best for trekking and taking photographs. This is part of the Green Corridor, a long stretch of wildlife, flora and fauna and rainforest, that has been recently getting more attention with the “relocation†and eventual of the active railway tracks and train stations. This is part of our adventure, to document, share and spread the awareness of the importance, relevance and significance of preserving (instead of demolishing) and protecting our greenery, wildlife, forests, history and heritage. It’s like our own mini Red Dragonflies movie too! Read more
(Abandoned) Railway Track (Part 2) Photography Walkabout
May 19, 2011 by admin
Filed under Recreation, Stories
By Jinghui, 16 Apr 2011.
Do you remember my recent abandoned Old Railway Track Part 1? A photography walkabout from Teban Gardens to Sunset Way Railway Bridge? It was a fun, exciting and challenging photography walkabout, searching, documenting and photographing the abandoned Old Railway Tracks of Singapore.
In my Part 2 series of Abandoned Old Railway Tracks, the 2nd leg starts from Sunset Way Railway Bridge, following the Old Railway Tracks along Sunset Way HDB Estate into the Clementi Woodlands before trekking out into the open near the Bukit Timah area, connecting to the active KTM Railway tracks. This stretch of Old Railway Tracks is part of a bigger blueprint of “We Support The Green Corridor“, making lots of effort and awareness tools, sharing and showcasing the need to preserve the greenery, flora and fauna, animals and wildlife residing inside this Green Belt. Trekking through the Clementi Woodlands today, this is something we have to do, to preserve our history, forests, flora and fauna, not just for us, it’s for our future generations. Read more
(Abandoned) Railway Track Photo Walkabout
May 18, 2011 by admin
Filed under Recreation, Stories
By Jinghui, 19 Feb 2011.
The KTM Malaysian Railway Lines in Singapore, goes back quite a long way in history in time and it’s an important and integral part of the history of Singapore and Malaysia. In the early days, there were railway lines from the western part of Singapore, from the industrial estate in Jurong to the main railway line along Bukit Timah to Tanjong Pagar. However, as time and economics changed, the railway was no longer in use for a period of time, while the railway line from Tanjong Pagar up to Malaysia is still in operation.
View KTM Malayan Railway Lines in Singapore in a larger map
With the recent changes to the future of the railway tracks and Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, agreements between the governments of Singapore and Malaysia is leading towards a new era for the railway lines in Singapore, what will happen to them? Will they survive the thirst of land scarce Singapore? Can the railway lines, there are or going to be no longer in use, be turned into Green Corridors?
Armed with the strong interest inside me, I read, followed and researched on various other blogs, photographs and details on a segment of the railway lines in Singapore. Thereafter, I decided to do the Teban Gardens to Sunset Way (Abandoned) Railway Track Photo Walkabout with Sue and Amanda. Using the KTM Malaysian Railway Line Track (on Google Maps) as a reference, we started at Block 9, Teban Garden Road, recognising the landmarks from friends photographs, we hiked under the bridge, into a tunnel and came out on the diagonal side of Ayer Rajah Expressway and Jurong Town Hall Road. Read more
tracks by madeleine lee
The series of 9 poems shared by Madeleine Lee during The Green Corridor Forum:
tracks by madeleine lee
i    railway
at five each day give or take
a trundling rusty centipede
creaking past beaten panels
zinc tokens of sound proofing
awakening grumbling
its steely tiger head suddenly
silenced after a century
background noisy dischord
foreground political jar
in between some elevator music
stepping onto meter tracks
between s and m infinite h’s
now less risky
now equidistant
still wanting perspective Read more
