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
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
