The Green Corridor walk along Bukit Timah [25 Jun]
Saturday, June 25, 8 – 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. Mr Wong Kum Seng 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).
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Flooding and heritage – there’s a link
Letter from Vinita Ramani Mohan, 15 Jun 2011.
AS A resident of Bukit Timah, there are two issues that I have been following closely over the past year. The first is the intermittent flash floods and the second is the closure in two weeks of the Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Timah railway stations and the return of the Malayan railway land to Singapore.
Though the two issues at first glance seem unrelated, they both pertain to our natural environment and how rapidly the landscape of Singapore is changing.
A recent letter to Today provided a refreshingly intelligent perspective that aptly connected to The Nature Society’s proposal “The Green Corridor – A Proposal to Keep the Railway Lands as a Continuous Green Corridor”.
Source: TODAY
Green lungs to quell floods
Letter from Liew Kai Khiun, TODAY, 8 Jun 2011.
IT SEEMS certain that the islandwide floods are getting more routine as last year’s images of submerged roads, water-choked basement car parks and ankle-deep waters in malls returned to haunt us on Sunday morning.
In spite of the extensive drainage work undertaken over the decades, the authorities have conceded that no amount of preparation can stop such freak floods that are attributed predominantly to global warming and “acts of nature”.
Nonetheless, I would also like to draw a correlation between the floods and the high growth rates of the past few years, rapid urbanisation resulting from the property boom and the spike in population. Hence, the problems are not only global and natural but also local and man-made. Read more
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)
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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.
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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
