A Walk on the Tracks – Pt. 2 (Buona Vista to Jalan Hang Jebat)

By CK Ng, 19 Jul 2011.

This is a continuation of my previous post where I talked about a walk Boon Hwee and I took from Bukit Timah Railway Station to Jalan Hang Jebat. Before bidding farewell, Jerome gave us some pointers on what to look out for along the route as well as how to get there, and we set off to continue our walk.

A view of the railway tracks from an overhead bridge near Blk 10, Ghim Moh Road. Read more

A Walk on the Tracks – Pt. 1 (Bukit Timah Railway Station to Ghim Moh)

By CK Ng, 17 Jul 2011.

Shortly after the cessation of rail services between Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and the Woodlands Train Checkpoint, the announcement came that the entire railway will be opened to the public to explore until 17 July 2011. With no trains to watch out for, this is a good time to explore the track and the surroundings, so when I saw Jerome‘s Facebook posting organising such a walk last week, I jumped at the opportunity and also invited Boon Hwee, who has also been documenting the last days of the KTM railway to come along.

The walk was supposed to start from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, but Jerome, having walked the track with the Minister of State Brigadier-General Tan Chuan Jin, commented that it was rather tough and there wasn’t much to see until much further down the road, so we decided to start from Bukit Timah Railway Station and end at Ghim Moh instead.

We arrived to see the Bukit Timah Railway Station now fenced up in an ugly green fence.

The railway tracks and the now-defunct and fenced up Bukit Timah Railway Station in the early morning. Read more

The Green Corridor – my railway adventure 2 (Bt Timah to Buona Vista)

By Miss Pegasus, 10 Jul 2011.

this trip was vastly different from my previous trip along the railway track from Bt Merah to Bt Timah, when few ppl bothered abt the existence of this track. no one cared abt the railway line. apart from turning their heads to the sound of the oncoming train, the railway track seemed to disappear. in my previous trip, we were the only ones walking on the track and NSS led some groups.

yesterday, as i walked towards the bt timah railway station, my heart sank. so many ppl? the place looked infested. and i became skeptical. so many people. i walked on with a heavy heart to the start point. and i stood there alone for a good 20 minutes, just observing everyone. i heard the conversations of ppl walking past me, those taking scenic photographs, those taking arty farty photographs with toy trains on the railway tracks, little kids picking up stones and throwing it back on the track, eager parents who encouraged their kids, and eager parents who warned their kids to be safe. so many people, so much noise, so many distractions. this was absolutely not what i imagined it to be. Read more

Shooting the Last Days of the KTM Railway

By CK Ng, 9 Jul 2011.

I was not much of a railway person. The KTM railway in Singapore has been around for nearly 80 years, but like most people, I never thought much about it. I had vague memories of taking the train to Malaysia when I was a little kid but couldn’t remember much of it.

The quaint little railway station (which I never knew about until recently) and the iconic black truss bridge across Bukit Timah Railway – these were very close to Ngee Ann Polytechnic where I spent three years studying. I would pass the bridge every day on the way to and from the polytechnic, but never ventured to explore the vicinity.

The black truss bridge across Bukit Timah Road and Dunearn Road, as seen from the Bukit Timah Railway Station side. Read more

End of an Era

By CK Ng, 2 Jul 2011.

After 79 years of operation, the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station will cease operations on 30 June 2011. Not wanting to miss the historic moment, I decided to pay the station a last visit before it’s closed the next day. Gilbert was with me as well, and we hoped to capture the last trains in and out of the station which will serve as a closure for the many photographs of the railway that we’ve done over the past few weeks.

Arriving at the station and not having previously shot it at night, I decided to take a photo of it. Additional lights have been put up to further light up the station’s facade, which we later found was also to prepare for the arrival of the Sultan of Johor who will be driving the last train out of the station.

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