Let’s work together to create a shared vision of The Green Corridor
We started this campaign on 5 Nov 2010 to support The Green Corridor proposal by the Nature Society (Singapore), and our aims were to:
- Gather support for The Green Corridor and unite supporters
- Show the government that there is public interest and support for The Green Corridor
- Archive stories, photos and videos on the railway and The Green Corridor
We supported the proposal because we feel that it would improve Singapore’s long-term resilience through creating more opportunities in preserving our shared memories and creating our shared vision.
On 1 Jul, URA announced that it “will comprehensively review and chart the development plans for the former railway lands and their surrounding areas. As part of its review, the URA will study the possibility of marrying development and greenery, such as applying innovative strategies to maintain a continuous green link along the rail corridor without affecting the development potential of the lands.” Read more
PM Lee Supports The Green Corridor
During last Sunday’s National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong cited The Green Corridor project as one example where Singaporeans are going beyond giving views and coming forward to work with one other and with the government on projects which matter to them and which are good for Singapore.
PM Lee mentioned that MND, URA and himself are very keen on this project. Here’s the excerpts from his speech:
13. Very encouraged that Singaporeans are going beyond giving views
a. Coming forward to work with each other and with the government on projects which they care about
14. e.g. creating a green spine along KTM railway line
a. URA carrying out extensive public consultation
b. Looking for creative ways of preserving green spaces without affecting development potential of the land
c. Many bright ideas, including from students, architects, design professionals
i. To use sections as creative arts and performing spaces
ii. To develop a leisure corridor, linked to our park connector network
d. One proposal from Ms Regina Koo, a recent Architecture graduate from NUS
i. To develop stretch in Yew Tee beside Pang Sua Canal
ii. Build a “Velo-Parkâ€, with bikeways, bike rental stalls, bike club and bike café
e. Look forward to many more good ideas
f. And hope when plans are settled, the interest groups will actively participate in implementing the projects
Watch the speech where PM Lee mentions The Green Corridor (the mention is from the middle of the video onwards).
Tracks cleared with maximum care for greenery, says SLA
Letter from SLA, The Straits Times, 11 Aug 2011.
Singapore must remove the railway tracks and ancillary structures along the former KTM railway line, and return them to Malaysia by the year end (‘Be careful when dismantling rail tracks’ by Ms Catherine Lim; last Thursday).
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has taken efforts to minimise the impact of these works on the vegetation. The SLA has also worked with the National Parks Board to identify the areas along the rail corridor that are rich in biodiversity and ensure that these are not inadvertently cleared as the tracks are removed.
Source: The Straits Times
Track and fields
By Teh Jen Lee, The New Paper, 16 Aug 2011.
Looking at these pictures, you might be wondering: “I thought the Tanjong Pagar railway track is already closed to the public?”
Well, this is the lesser-known Jurong Line, which was completed in 1965.
Back then, the railway track served as an extension into the newly-constructed Jurong Industrial Estate.
But due to inadequate traffic, it has been abandoned since the late 1980s.
The partially-dismantled track emerges from the Clementi Woodlands at Sunset Way, crossing the Ulu Pandan Canal via the much-photographed cast iron bridge.
The New Paper on Sunday explored the area with Mr Leong Kwok Peng, vice-president of Nature Society Singapore (NSS) and acting chairman of the NSS conservation committee.
Source: The New Paper via Wildsingapore
Be careful when dismantling rail tracks
Letter by Catherine Lim, The Straits Times, 4 Aug 2011.
I am writing to call for more supervision and sensitivity in dismantling the tracks and other movable parts in the rail corridor. I was confronted at the end of a very pleasant last walk from the Rail Mall to Bukit Timah by a scene of bare-faced destruction. The bulldozers had been sent in, and the greenery beyond the station suffered unnecessary collateral damage.
It was not what I expected, especially after an update from Minister of State for National Development Tan Chuan-Jin, in which he said the intention was to try to keep the corridor as a continuous stretch with greenery (‘Govt hopes to keep continuous rail corridor’; last Thursday). A consultation group was to meet regularly to discuss public suggestions on plans for the corridor, he added.
Source: The Straits Times
Request To Minimise Impacts Of Railway Removal And Turfing Works
[This email was sent to SLA on 1 Aug 2011 – vincent_hoong@sla.gov.sg, simon_ong@sla.gov.sg, lee_seng_lai@sla.gov.sg. If you feel that the removal and turfing works are too excessive and disruptive to nature and the unique landscape of the railway lands, pls voice your concerns to SLA.]
Mr Vincent Hoong Seng Lei
Chief Executive
Singapore Land Authority
cc: Simon Ong Hung Eng, Dy Chief Executive
Lee Seng Lai, Director, Land Operations (Private)
Request To Minimise Impacts Of Railway Removal And Turfing Works
Dear Mr Hoong
I refer to the current works on the railway tracks and structures, and the recent media replies by SLA on minimising the impacts of the works and access routes.
2. Unfortunately, the current removal and turfing works by the contractors along some parts of the railway lands, especially from Bukit Timah to Holland Road, are too excessive and disruptive to nature and the unique landscape of the railway lands.
3. I would like to request that SLA closely supervise the contractor and sub-contractors involved in the removal and turfing works, in order to reduce the impacts of the works, minimise destruction of nature and vegetation, and prevent excessive alteration to the unique landscape of the railway lands.
4. For your necessary and urgent action, please. Thank you.
Yours Sincerely
Eugene Tay
A Concerned Citizen
http://www.thegreencorridor.org
Breaking the link – cutting and removing the KTM railway line
By N. Sivasothi, 22 Jul 2011.
A symbolic scene greeted me on my field trip yesterday morning. The Malaysian (Keretapi Tanah Melayu or KTM) railway I crossed each time I ventured into Mandai mangroves since 1987 has been cut. The fastening clips have been removed and collected in canvas bags along the railway.
All this steel will be returned to Malaysia.
Preparation for removal of the KTM rail, near Mandai Besar Read more
A Walk Down the Tracks Part 2
August 1, 2011 by admin
Filed under Heritage, Nature, Recreation, Stories
By David Teo, 18 Jul 2011.
In the previous post, I talked about my walk along the tracks from Bukit Timah railway station to Ghim Moh Estate. CK and I took a well deserved breakfast break together with the rest of the group. For many of them, this is their final stop for the day while CK and I decided to press on towards Queensway, hoping to catch more of the sights along the way, especially the graffiti said to line the tunnels which we would be passing through.
A man reads the newspaper in the morning light at the quiet and serene Ghim Moh Estate. Read more
A Walk Down the Tracks – The Green Corridor
August 1, 2011 by admin
Filed under Nature, Recreation, Stories
By David Teo, 17 Jul 2011.
Bukit Timah Station at 645am on 10th July – now fenced up and closed.
When I started documenting the KTM railway closure in Singapore, I had decided I would do no more than a series of 5 postings documenting the closure, the people and of course, the trains. During the frenetic days leading up to the closure, I had taken a trek from the rail mall to the Chua Chu Kang level crossing (a distance of about 3km I believe). It was tough walking on the sleepers and the ballast and trying to stay alert to both photograph and avoid on-coming trains; however it was a great eye opener and not something one can do everyday in Singapore, and certainly not after the end of this year, where all the tracks will be returned to Malaysia. So when a chance to walk another section of the tracks surfaced, I jumped on it. This is a special green corridor update, and with many people flocking to walk the tracks, it only seems appropriate to talk about the importance of preserving the green corridor. Read more
A Final Journey – The Last Train Part 5
By David Teo, 24 Jul 2011.
Mr Lee, former KTM worker responsible for maintaining the tracks visiting the tracks for the last time.
While preparing the last part of the 5-part series on “The Last Train†(Part 4 is here), I discovered Mr Lee, the grandfather of a friend, an elderly man all of 85 years. He is partially deaf, and has fading vision. and is so frail he cannot move on his own properly without his walking stick. He is by all accounts, typical of the aged in Singapore, a man who due to his age, keeps repeatedly his life story to all who are within earshot, to whoever cared to listen… Read more
