Explore old rail tracks? You can during this month

SLA to do removal works in stages so public can experience green corridor
Jamie Ee Wen Wei Straits Times 2 Jul 11;

TANJONG Pagar Railway Station may be closed and work to remove the tracks is under way, but it is not the end of the road yet for railway buffs.

In response to requests from the public, the entire line of railway tracks will be open to the public from now until July 17, except for a few areas.

After July 17, a 3km stretch of tracks from Rifle Range Road to The Rail Mall will continue to be open until July 31.

A joint statement from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday noted that as agreed with Malaysia, Singapore will remove the tracks and ancillary structures of the KTM railway and hand them over to Malaysia.

The SLA will start these removal works as well as do maintenance works shortly.

But 'in response to requests for an opportunity for the public to trek along and experience the tracks', the SLA will do its work in stages.

It added that members of the public are advised to be careful when walking along the tracks as it can be 'narrow and rough' at certain locations.

The statement said the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and Bukit Timah Railway Station will be closed temporarily to facilitate the moving out of furniture and equipment by KTM and its tenants.

The SLA will also carry out maintenance works and structural inspections. More information on the two buildings' reopening will be announced later.

Tanjong Pagar Railway Station will be preserved as a national monument while the Bukit Timah Railway Station has been gazetted as a conserved building.

From July 1 to July 17, minor works will be carried out at the Bukit Timah station and the railway crossings at Kranji Road, Sungei Kadut Avenue, Choa Chu Kang Road, Stagmont Ring and Gombak Drive.

The public should avoid these areas, which will be cordoned off, said the statement.

Works to remove the tracks along the rest of the former line, except for the 3km stretch from Rifle Range Road to The Rail Mall, will start from July 18.

This will include the clearing of small buildings, tracks, cables, gates, posts, signal lights, level crossings, controllers and traffic lights.

Removal works will be fully completed by Dec 31.

The railway land, which was previously occupied by Malaysia's KTM for its railway use, was returned to Singapore yesterday following a land-swop agreement with Malaysia.

History buff Jerome Lim, 46, said the extension would give more Singaporeans a chance to 'explore the tracks and appreciate the beauty of the green corridor'.

He was at the tracks between Holland Road and The Rail Mall yesterday morning to explore it the day after the handover.

'There was a surreal kind of silence, a sense of calm and peace. The fact that no trains were passing through added to the surreal feeling,' said the naval architect, who has visited various parts of the track in the past.

Mr Leong Kwok Peng, 54, vice-president of the Nature Society of Singapore, felt that two weeks was too short for the public to fully experience the tracks and its surroundings.

'There's a fantastic countryside feel to it. It's a rare piece of land, yet close to many residential areas,' he said.

The society is planning to organise walks for its members over the two weekends.

He recommends taking a walk along the scenic stretch between Holland Road to Hillview Avenue, where trekkers will come across bridge.

Another stretch between Buona Vista and Bukit Merah offers a contrasting landscape of office buildings lined along the tracks, he said.

The more adventurous can venture up north from Choa Chu Kang to Woodlands, where there are mangroves along the way, said Mr Leong.

He advised the public to do the trek in the day as there are no street lights along the track. They should be prepared for rain and wear comfortable walking shoes.

Meanwhile, at the Tanjong Pagar station yesterday, work to dismantle the railings along the train platform began.

Signs stating 'State Property' were also put up around the perimeter of the site.

Several members of the public turned up to catch a glimpse of the building a day after the handover.

Student Janson Chang, 20, was taking pictures of the station's facade from outside its gates. 'I used to live in the area and grew up seeing the trains pulling in and out of the station,' he said.

Retiree Chang Yee Chow, 60, was disappointed when he found out it was already closed to the public. He was at the station on Thursday evening.

'It was very crowded that night. I wanted to see how it was like when the building is empty, whether there would be a different atmosphere,' he said.

Unbroken green stretch along railway land?
Grace Chua Straits Times 2 Jul 11;

THE railway lands that were returned to Singapore yesterday may be kept a continuous green stretch and could even be linked to existing park connectors.

A day after the historic handover of the 26km tract of Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) lands, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said yesterday that it would 'comprehensively review and chart the development plans' for the lands and their surrounding areas.

'The URA will study the possibility of marrying development and greenery, such as applying innovative strategies to maintain a continuous green link along the rail corridor without affecting the development potential of the lands,' it said in its first statement on the lands, much of which is flanked by unspoilt vegetation.

And even though the lines are closed for clearing, train-track trekkers will get a brief respite to visit most parts of the tracks, until July 17. After that, a 3km stretch from Rifle Range Road to the Rail Mall will stay open until the end of the month.

On its website, the URA also suggested that the stretch from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands could one day add to the planned 150km round-the-island park connector network, or be a linear park like New York City's High Line, itself once part of an elevated railroad track.

The so-called 'Rail Corridor', the URA said, will offer people new choices of outdoor activities.

'We hope that it will encourage people to explore parts of Singapore that were less accessible before,' it said.

Environmentalists reacted to the announcement with caution, with some wanting to see what would actually be done.

Last year, nature and heritage groups asked the Government to conserve what they term the Green Corridor, which comprises not just the recently returned KTM lands but also a 14km western stretch of railway towards Jurong.

They argued that the 173.7ha expanse was home to rare birds and animals, and a key part of Singapore's natural and national heritage.

Since then, more than a thousand people have been on guided or independent walks along the tracks.

Mr Steven Lim, president of the Safe Cycling Task Force, said: 'I'm surprised. I thought they would free up the land for commercialisation.'

But he liked the idea of an unbroken stretch, especially one joined to the park connector network. 'It gives leisure and commuter cyclists another option,' he said.

Others gave suggestions on how the land could be developed while still kept unbroken.

Mr Leong Kwok Peng, vice-president of the Nature Society (Singapore) and part of the 'Green Corridor' advocacy group, said there are places, such as Tanjong Pagar, Woodlands and the one-north site in Buona Vista, wide enough for some development at the edges.

'You do it sensibly so that it merges with the landscape,' he said. 'But not like a shopping mall.'

So long as it was continuous, with even the north or south ends lopped off for development, he said: 'I can live with that.'

Environmental law expert Joseph Chun noted that what the land is earmarked for will hint at future land use.

Already, the Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Timah stations will be preserved, and there could be a green link between the two.

The land is unlikely to be a gazetted nature reserve, he said, but could become a nature area whose protection is administrative and not set in stone.

For example, Pasir Ris Park and Mount Faber are zoned as such nature areas. Or it could be like the Chek Jawa wetland area on Pulau Ubin, whose use is reviewed every 10 years.

Mr Chun noted that keeping land-use options open is valuable in itself. 'The moment you develop the land, you close off a lot of options and you can't un-develop it,' he said.

Property consultant Jeffrey Hong described the potential combination of development and greenery as 'perfect'.

Landed property or low-rise condominiums, he said, would enjoy better views of the greenery, while shops could be built at a stretch near Rail Mall, turning it into 'another little Holland Village'.

The URA did not say when it would make a decision, but it is inviting more public feedback on the Rail Corridor at its dedicated website, www.ura.gov.sg/railcorridor

It said: 'We agree with the many suggestions we have received from the public on how to make use of this unique linkage to encourage community activities and foster community bonding.'

Railway tracks to be open to public for two weeks
Removal of tracks and structures to be done in stages
Jasmine Ng Straits Times 2 Jul 11;

THE public can take a final stroll along the tracks formerly occupied by the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) before they are removed in two weeks' time.

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said that it will remove the tracks and ancillary structures of the railway in stages, in response to requests for public for a chance to trek along the tracks for the last time.

Yesterday, the SLA and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced the public works and future plans for railway land.

The lands have been vested in the Singapore government. As agreed with Malaysia, Singapore will remove the tracks and ancillary structures of the KTM railway and hand them to Malaysia.

The entire line of railway tracks, except for some localised areas, will be open to public from July 1-17.

In the meantime, minor works will be carried out at the Bukit Timah Railway Station and the railway crossings at Kranji Road, Sungei Kadut Avenue, Choa Chu Kang Road, Stagmont Ring and Gombak Drive.

From July 18, works to remove the railway tracks along the rest of the former railway line will commence, except for the three-kilometre stretch from Rifle Range Road to the Rail Mall, which will continue to be open to the public till the end of the month.

The removal works include the clearance of minor buildings, sleepers, tracks, cables, gates, posts and debris around the various sites from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands, and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The URA said that it will comprehensively review and chart the development plans for the former railway lands and their surrounding areas.

As part of its review, the URA will study the possibility of marrying development and greenery, such as applying innovative strategies to maintain a continuous green link along the rail corridor without affecting the development potential of the lands.

It welcomes feedback and ideas from the community in shaping the future development plans for the railway lands.

It's not too late to say goodbye ...
SLA has agreed to allow the public access to railway tracks until July 17
Teo Xuanwei Today Online 2 Jul 11;

SINGAPORE - On Thursday, Tanjong Pagar Railway was packed with hundreds of Singaporeans who wanted to catch the historic sight of the last train pulling in.

Yesterday - the first day the Republic took over the station - there was no fanfare, just the odd photographer or two shuffling along the perimeter of the locked premises, snapping their final shots of the now-vacated 79-year-old building.

IT engineer Dave Ang, 35, said: "I wanted to capture the last look of the station for keepsakes." Engineer Rohaizat, 34, who took the KTM train to Kuala Lumpur weeks ago, visited the station again yesterday. "I took some photographs then so I thought I'll just come again to take some more pictures after the station has stopped operations," he said.

Although the Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Timah stations are off-limits to the public for now, as the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) and its tenants remove their furniture and equipment, the SLA, in response to requests by members of the public, will continue to make the entire line of tracks - except for some localised areas - accessible to the public from today till July 17.

During this period, minor works will also be carried out at the Bukit Timah station and railway crossings at Kranji Road, Sungei Kadut Avenue, Choa Chu Kang Road, Stagmont Ring and Gombak Drive, the SLA said.

A 3-km stretch of railway tracks from Rifle Range Road to The Rail Mall in Upper Bukit Timah Road, however, will remain open to the public until July 31.

The SLA added that it will start to remove the KTM railway tracks and equipment such as signal lights and level crossings from July 18. These works will be fully completed by Dec 31 and the structures will be handed over to Malaysia, as agreed.

Information of the re-opening of the railway stations - which will be gazetted as a national monument - will be provided at a later date. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said it will "comprehensively review and chart the development plans" for the former railway lands and their surrounding areas. One possibility being studied is a "continuous green link along the rail corridor without affecting the development potential of the lands", it said.

The public can offer feedback and suggestions on future development plans for the railway lands to the URA at www.ura.gov.sg/railcorridor.