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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Tanjong Pagar Railway Station (丹戎巴葛火车总站) - An Impromptu Visit

I was so happy to collect my DSLR baby after its week-long stay at Nikon (Singapore) Service Centre that i made an unexpected visit to this railway station that is about to end its operation this July.

First thing that caught my inattentive eye was that while many car parks in Singapore are using cash cards; the one here is still using a traditional ticketing system that has long disappeared from this small island.

The iconic building that seems really out of place in modernised Singapore. I am not complaining because i have always enjoyed old buildings and known that history a really important heritage for any country.

Statues that stand separately for agriculture, commerce, transport and industry; four traditional backbones for economy in the olden days. By the way, the letters F, M, S, R, stand for Federated Malay States Railways.

Bare and spacious entrance that might seem boring for many of us but for history buffs, it's a piece of valuable architecture that speaks volumes of its historical past.

An old style ticketing counter! KTM is the main railway operator in Malaysia and this terminal is unsurprisingly managed by it. Due to its pending closure, visitors are scrambling to take the final ride through this station!

Train schedules for this station. From my understanding, there are only three timings every day if you decide to travel from Tanjong Pagar to Malaysia. And i figure that tickets will be more and more difficult to get as the days edge nearer to July 2011.

Wall panels showing scenes of the region's economy early last century. Cavin is not an artistic person unfortunately. *shrugs*

A photograph showing the high ceiling of the station. Bet there will be another museum in this place in times to come.

Partially closed departure platform. There was still another 45 minutes to the next departure at 7pm when i took this picture.

Since it's not locked, i took the opportunity to take a picture of the departing platform. Unlike our usual MRT stations, i had the feeling that i might be able to roam around the station freely with no resistance from anyone.

The arrival platform was another story altogether; it was crowded!

Thanks to the canteen that is situated right beside the railway track! Despite the air and noise pollution, patrons love to sit close to the track.

For the uninitiated, the land surrounding the railway station and the railway tracks that stretch all the way from southern to northern Singapore belongs to Malaysia at the moment.

An agreement is in place for Malaysia to return the land to Singapore from 1 July 2011 in exchange for parcels of prime land in Singapore. Judging from the high property prices in this little red dot, it is indeed a very attractive offer.

What's this?? Gave me the impression that it could be a railway cart used by employees to travel to another area to repair railway tracks. Or to go home, if it's nearby.

A sign that this place belongs to Malaysia! Kind of amusing that a narrow strip of land in mainland Singapore doesn't really belong to Singapore.

Photography fanatics, with one towing a huge ass camera, could not resist the temptation of clicking for a place that is going to close down in just a month's time!

Dirty water that is a conducive environment for aedes mosquitoes - the culprits for the horrendous dengue fever! Hm..... i am just wondering, could NEA fine the railway station even though it is officially on Malaysian land?

On my way out, i saw this interesting information on homestays along the railway tracks in Peninsular Malaysia. I should seriously explore this option once i win the million dollar TOTO!

Wide walkway outside the station. In the past, this should be a very busy place. You can just imagine the rickshaw pullers waiting for customers right here.

The ancient and spoilt mounted clock never fails to attract my attention whenever i take bus no 10! Only the double decker bus that is.

Getting ready my old school car park ticket for payment before exiting the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station (aka Keppel Road Railway Station or to a lesser extent; Singapore Railway Station).

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Location
30 Keppel Road

Car Park Rates
I remember it was S$1 an hour before 5pm from Monday to Saturday.

A per entry charge was imposed for after 5pm from Monday to Saturday and whole day for Public Holidays. There was no mention for Sunday but i presume it should be treated the same like Public Holidays.

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