A Final Journey – The Last Train Part 5

By David Teo, 24 Jul 2011.

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 Train”. 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 Train”

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

The Last Train – Part 2

By David Teo, 7 Jul 2011.

This post is a follow-up from Part 1 of the 5 part series “The Last Train” documenting the end of the KTM railway in Singapore.

Many a times, when I am in the zone and taking photo of people, I am acutely aware that every fleeting expression will result in a photo of a different moment, and I take several shots of the same scene so that when I get back into the (now digital) darkroom I can look through the pictures and select THE one representative photo. Read more

The Last Train – Part 1

By David Teo, 5 Jul 2011.

Last week, on the 1st July 2011, the tracks of the KTM railway in Singapore running through Tanjong Pagar, Bukit Timah, Chua Chu Kang and Woodlands became silent as the train service ceased. Trains coming in from Malaysia henceforth would now stop at the new Woodlands stations. The fate of the historic Truss bridges, the old station at Bukit Timah and the level crossing at Chua Chu Kang remains unclear. (If history is anything to go by, they will be demolished to make way for new buildings) Read more