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
Reminiscing – The Last Train Part 4
By David Teo, 11 Jul 2011.
A KTM Train comes to a stop at Tanjong Pagar KTM Railway station. Today the station is closed and the tracks are forever silenced.
This is part 4 of a 5 part series on “The Last Trainâ€. Part 3 can be found here.
In a typical HDB lift, one is often faced with awkward silence when a stranger, or an unfamilar neighbor strolls into the lift, and the lift door closes, condemning 2 persons within the artificial confines of a limited space. Sometimes we attempt to make small weather talk type of conversations; at times we manage a quick smile and return to a forlorn look at the lift floor counter. Read more
Last Man Standing – Part 3 of “The Last Trainâ€
By David Teo, 9 Jul 2011.
The quaint Bukit Timah KTM Railway Station
This post is a follow-up from Part 2 of “The Last Train†series, a planned 5 part series focusing on the closure of the KTM railway in Singapore.
Of all the things I’ve seen while documenting the closure of the KTM railway in Singapore, my favorite has always been the quaint little-known Bukit Timah station. Indeed, prior to embarking on this project, I, like many Singaporeans were not even aware of this station sitting quietly among the suburbs, nested in the heart of prime Bukit Timah land – one of the reasons why our government wants the land back, I’m sure. Don’t be surprised to see condominiums and shopping malls springing up left, right and centre, even if this station is to be preserved, from what I’ve read… Read more
Why the need to develop our railway tracks?
Letter by Damian Ng, TODAY, 6 Jul 2011.
I am sad to learn that the railway tracks will only be open until next Sunday (with exception of a stretch between Rifle Range Road and the Rail Mall until end of the month).
It was beautiful to see hundreds of people strolling along the tracks at the weekend, enjoying the newfound space. It is not often the public is given such freedom to roam in such a tranquil environment. Yet, it is being taken away from us almost immediately.
Source: TODAY
Finally, some track-side peace and quiet
By Amanda Tan, The Straits Times, 4 Jul 2011.
Mr W.S. Yong, 52, has lived beside the railway tracks in Ghim Moh for 15 years.
Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) trains now start their Malaysia-bound trips from Woodlands instead of Tanjong Pagar, so he will no longer see or hear them chug past his estate.
An executive at an import-export firm, he said he would not miss them: ‘It was noisy, and we sometimes had snakes and mosquitoes because of the trees and bushes around the tracks. We had to use repellent all the time.’
Ironically, he is moving away too – just when the noise and critters are finally gone.
His block is among six in the neighbourhood up for the Housing Board’s Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers). They will be pulled down and new blocks built in their place.
