Not scrap metal, but a bridge to the past

June 27, 2011 by  
Filed under News

Letter to TODAY by Liew Kai Khiun, 22 Jun 2011.

For the past fortnight, along with Singaporeans from all walks of life, I have been joining the walks along the Malayan Railway tracks organised by the “We support the Green Corridor” group, comprising conservationists and nature experts who are promoting awareness of the need to conserve the line between Tanjong Pagar and Woodlands as a green lung, after it ceases operation at the end of the month.

Aside from the stretches of lush greenery along the train line, many visitors have been tremendously fascinated by the engineering structures. These include the levers in the control room of the Bukit Timah Station, the train tracks and the cast-iron Truss bridges on Dunearn Road and Railway Mall on the main line, and the smaller counterparts at Sungei Ulu Pandan and Sunset Way along the defunct Jurong-Bukit Timah line.

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Source: TODAY

NSS’s Letter for a 6 month moratorium

June 24, 2011 by  
Filed under News

Ref: SLA’s Tender for Removal and Storage of Railway including ancillary structures from Woodlands Train Checkpoint to Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, which was awarded on 2 Jun 2011.

Nature Society (Singapore) has already send letters to the relevant authorities to seek a 6 month moratorium commencing 1 July 2011 for the above work.

NSS asked that any dismantling works of the KTM tracks and ancillary structures be deferred during these 6 months except for reasons of safety.

NSS requested that the public be allowed to venture and explore the entire railway land and suggested that the authority should take the opportunity during this 6 months moratorium to garner feedbacks and conduct consultations to find out how the public would like the railway land to be used.

As the Singaporean public has been kept out of the KTM railway land for decades during the tenure of KTM, NSS thinks that this would be a once in a lifetime chance for the public to see the railway land as it is with its railway tracks, structures, bridges etc all intact.

Organised walk can be conducted by local or even KTM staff on the railway.

This would make for a fabulous and educational trip on our shared heritage as the railway has been a historical landmark of Singapore.

The railway has been with us for many decades – relatively an additional six months is a very short amount of time.

Source: NSS