In the company of a few friends, I took a walk down a part of northern Singapore that what will soon be a memory. It is a stretch of land that i had made an acquaintance of only through my many railway journeys that had started at Tanjong Pagar, during which the stretch has always seemed like a green oasis in the grey urban landscape of Singapore. It is I guess the knowledge that this, and many other stretches which are there only because of the Malayan Railway’s existence, will soon be lost to us – a tender awarded by the authorities in Singapore will see the removal of much of the beloved railway: the tracks, the signal posts, the level crossings, and the girder bridges (there is no mention of the two iconic truss bridges in the tender). With work scheduled to commence on the 1st of July and expected to end in November, chances are, these last few weeks of the railway in Singapore will be our last chance of seeing the wonderful green corridor that the railway has given us.
Evidence of the railway including these pulleys for the signal post will soon be removed. In tender has been awarded by the authorities, work to remove all these is scheduled to commence in July and end in November.
Evidence of the railway, not just along the stretch from Kranji to Sungei Kadut, but all through the railway corridor would soon be gone.
The 30th of June will see the last train cross a road in Singapore ... a sign along the railway line indicating the approach to a level crossing.
The stretch from Kranji to Sungei Kadut that we walked along, would have once been along a swampy area – part of a large mangrove swamp that stretched from the northern shoreline to the Sungei Kadut industrial area which was reclaimed in the 1960s. Although there is some evidence of the mangrove swamp still around, mcuh of the area around the tracks has become a wonderfully green corridor in which the urban landscape seems like its light-years away.
The starting point of the most recent walk was the Kranji Level Crossing close to Woodlands Train Checkpoint.
A view of the tracks through the signal hut.
Label plates on the crossing's control levers.
The new railway passing over a stretch of the old railway at Kranji.
A damsel in distress? A damselfly seen along the northern green corridor.
Wild flowers growing by the wild side of the tracks.
Orange bracket fungus growing by the side of the tracks.
It is sad to think that all this might soon be gone, and while the signs are encouraging with the news that the Minister of State for National has come out and stated the Ministry’s interest in the proposals, chances are that many areas through which the railway runs through is really too valuable from a developmental point of view not to be sold to the highest bidder – which I hope is not to be the case. There are but two weeks left for us to see the wonderful green corridor as it is and probably as it has been for some 79 years when the railway deviation of 1932 gave us the line as we know today. And, just a note of caution if you are to explore the railway corridor on your own – the land is essentially private property, and walking on or along the track is extremely dangerous (as well as carrying the risk of a fine). Trains can be deceptively quiet and walking on the track or along it is not recommended especially for children – a distance of some 3 metres should always be maintained (moving trains have the effect of creating a low or suction pressure as the pass at speed) and always pair up and do make it a point to look out for each other. Do also remember that proper (and covered) footwear is necessary.
A directional sign to the zoo seen through a clearing.
The approach to Sungei Kadut.
A view of the luscious greenery near Sungei Kadut.
The approach to the level crossing at Sungei Kadut.
Skull and crossbones not of the Jolly Roger, but a dog that was run over by the train.
The end point - the crossing at Sungei Kadut Avenue.
Information that may be of interest:
Information related to the station and its architecture can be found on a previous post: “A final look at Tanjong Pagar Station“. In addition to that, I have also put together a collection of experiences and memories of the railway in Singapore and of my journeys through the grand old station which can be found through this page: “Journeys through Tanjong Pagar“.
Do also take a look at the proposal by the Nature Society (Singapore) to retain the green areas that have been preserved by the existence of the railway through Singapore and maintain it as a Green Corridor, at the Green Corridor’s website and show your support by liking the Green Corridor’s Facebook page. My own series of posts on the Green Corridor are at: “Support the Green Corridor“.
The Long and Winding Road 
Hi Jerome,
Channel 8 news will be doing a live cross on the last day of service at tanjong pagar railway station. Would like to get in touch with you as we are interested to conduct a live interview with a participant taking the last train into the station or someone going down to the station to witness the last train. Pls contact me via email, kindly provide ur contact details. Thanks!
PHOTO: Wild flowers growing by the wild side of the tracks.
That’s a native climber called Paederia foetida (Skunk Vine, Lesser Malayan Stinkwort). Supposedly a “common” species, it is however not commonly seen in urbanized S’pore. Glad that you got a nice photo of the plant & its flowers, before the bulldozers run over it.
PHOTO: A damsel in distress? A damselfly seen along the northern green corridor.
The photo actually shows a dragonfly called Neurothemis fluctuans (Common Parasol). The males are dark red, while the females are dull golden. It’s a common local species tolerant of urban & degraded sites. So the male dragonfly in your photo is unlikely to be in great distress — there are many other places it can fly to.