Bukit Timah Railway Station (Before Malaysia Relinquished Her Rights)

This is more than two months overdue!

I read recently on papers that most of the KTM railways tracks have been removed. So before i take another trip to the 'revamped' Bukit Timah Railway Station , it's best that i quickly post this before it becomes ancient news.

It's not difficult to get to this little lane that eventually leads to the century-old station. But the terrain was so rough and the area so unkempt; i used to think it's an abandoned road leading to nowhere.

Heck care about the no-entry sign, the wordings were too faded to even make out what they really are. I can always say i am wearing my old glasses if i am ever caught by the order of KTM.

Since it's the last weekend before KTM exits from Singapore permanently, Singapore residents (the gang of four inclusive) were loitering around the railway station in order to catch their last glimpse of a train pulling into the station.

According to this helpful schedule, the southbound train will reach this outpost at 4.26pm.

This leaves us with more than an hour to explore the surroundings and one key attraction is definitely the railway bridge 250 meters away.

Most people might have passed underneath the towering steel bridge without knowing what it really is. I could have explored this over ten years ago since i used to transit at a bus stop nearby while schooling at Singapore Polytechnic.

Despite the not very convincing danger sign, many visitors continued to cross the bridge and take pictures just in case the gahmen decides to demolish this historical bridge for the sake of 'inevitable' development.

Compared to the unstable rickety bridge at Sunset Way, this was definitely well maintained as it was still in operation then. There is actually another railway bridge along this track that is located beside Rail Mall.

4.00pm - Time to walk back to the iconic railway station! Built in 1903, it lacks the posh and sophistication of Tanjong Pagar railway station.

This kind of station is common in Malaysia and given the time, i would love to take a railway trip across Malaysia, just like my adventurous friend, Andrew! By the way, 772.75 is the length of the entire railway track (in kilometers) from Thailand down to this station.

There were quite a few professional photographers/videographers (termed as such due to all those expensive looking equipment) on hand to capture snippets of memorable Singapore history.

Let's explore this dilapidated building further. It has already been gazetted as a conserved building and i guess a fresh coat of paint is in the works.

An unassuming waiting area with wooden benches that reminded me so much of waiting areas at hospitals when i was younger.

The enclosure housing the basic tools for manual signalling. This helps to prevent or at least reduce any occurrence of train collision. Not sure what each stick does although they look collectively like a typewriter.

This is supposedly an indicative sign that a key token is to be collected. I am not entirely sure of its usage but the real stuff does look like a handbag containing very valuable items. Drugs maybe? Kidding of course!

Besides the professionals, even the TV station was keen to take a piece of the lucrative media storm prior to the cessation of railway service in Singapore! Some mountain bikers were interviewed in this case.

We were getting a bit restless as our throats were bloody parched! It was again an almost impromptu trip and pampered us did not expect that there was no vending machine!

Purpose of this picture was not to focus on Kon's frustration! I don't think it's common (save for major regional/international events) to see both Singapore and Malaysia's national flags flying side by side.

There was a build-up in visitor numbers ten to twenty minutes before the scheduled arrival of the southbound train. I should have checked this online instead of feeding my precious blood to the mozzies!

In some instances, families were out in full force! What shocked me was that some parents freely allowed their young kids to roam around even though it was mere minutes to the train's arrival. To them, accidents happen but it will NEVER happen to them. 

Twenty minutes past 4.26pm.

=_=

No train in sight and no chugging sound from the distance. Moral of the story; never trust any Malaysia's schedule. To think about it, SMRT's schedule sucks big time too!

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For my Tanjong Pagar station post, click HERE.
For my train ride to the station, click HERE.
For Sunset Way Track, click HERE