Since last month, demolition works have been carried out on 11 small buildings and structures near the former Bukit Timah Railway Station.

The works are expected to be completed next month.

The structures include gate huts along the Rail Corridor at Bukit Gombak, Stagmont Ring, Sungei Kadut, Blackmore Drive and Tanglin Halt.

Many of the huts were work stations of railway workers previously.

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) says the structures have been assessed to be structurally unsound, and are being demolished for safety reasons.

The authorities have also put up signs to inform the public to keep away from the structures.

SLA will also work with relevant agencies to identify suitable existing plots along the Rail Corridor for short-term uses, such as rest stops or rain shelters for the public.

Since April this year, the former Bukit Timah and Tanjong Pagar Railway Stations have been open to individuals and organisations for activities.

They are on land formerly occupied by Malayan Railways or Keretapi Tanah Melayu, but which has since reverted to the State.

Next month, a competitive run will be held along the Rail Corridor.

SLA says since April, it has approved 28 applications to hold activities along the corridor.

As survey works are currently being carried out at the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, it will remain closed to the public. Details on its re-opening will be announced at a later date.

Mr David Poh, Senior Director of PropNex Realty, said: “The railway tracks extend across many areas. If you conserve too many structures along the tracks, it will affect development plans. We need to strike a balance between conservation and modernity.”

Source: Channel NewsAsia

The Singapore Land Authority will be demolishing unsound buildings and structures along the rail corridor starting 26 November 2012. This is expected to be completed by 31 January 2013. For safety reasons, the public is advised to keep clear of the area.

Please refer to the list of FAQs for more details.

FAQs on the removal of buildings and structures along rail corridor

1. When will demolition work begin? What is the timeline?

The demolition works will begin on 26 November 2012. The works are expected to be completed by 31 January 2013.

2. How many buildings or structures will be demolished in total?

In total, 11 buildings and structures will be demolished. Some of these buildings/structures include two buildings and a gate hut at Gombak Gate, a temporary structure at Blackmore Drive and a gate hut at Sungei Kadut Gate.

3. Why is there a need to demolish them?

The buildings and structures have been inspected by professional engineers and found to be structurally unsound. Hence, for safety reasons, they will have to be demolished.

4. What are the plans for the rest of the buildings and structures?

SLA will work with the relevant agencies to identify suitable properties for interim use before they are required for development.

5. Can SLA consider opening up the rest of the buildings to serve as rest stops or rain shelters for members of the public trekking along the rail corridor or open them up for other interim uses?

SLA will work with the relevant agencies to consider putting the vacant buildings for interim uses.

6. Are any of the buildings along the rail corridor currently occupied? What will happen/has happened to the occupants (squatters)?

The buildings are now vacant.

7. Is SLA able to restore the buildings instead of demolishing them?

SLA and the Urban Redevelopment Authority have studied the buildings and concluded that it is technically not possible nor economically viable to restore the buildings.

8. What is SLA doing to maintain the buildings/rail corridor?

As with all other State properties, SLA will carry out regular housekeeping, grass cutting and pest control works to upkeep the premises.

9. What about other structures along the rail corridor such as temples, shrines, makeshift shelters?

The temple and shrines have been relocated or removed and the site is now vacant. The makeshift shelters are unauthorized and will be/have been removed.

10. Is the Bukit Timah Railway Station (BTRS) structurally safe?

The BTRS has been assessed to be structurally sound, and will remain opened to the public from 7am to 7pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

11. Is the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station (TPRS) structurally safe?

As detailed structural inspection and survey works are still being carried out at the TPRS, the station will remain closed to the public. More details on the re-opening of TPRS will be announced at a later date.

Source: SLA

The Green Corridor Run is the first running race to be held on Singapore’s most unique course. The 10.5km course, starting at the historic Tanjong Pagar Rail Station winds its way along the ‘Green Corridor’, finishing at the old Bukit Timah Rail Station.

The run is organised by Groundswell Events Pte Ltd and Nature Society (Singapore) is the Official Charity Partner. Find out more about the run at http://www.greencorridorrun.com.sg/

Venue: Tanjong Pagar Railway Station

Day and Date: Saturday, 8 Sept 2012 and Sunday, 9 Sept 2012

Time: 10am – 6pm

The National Heritage Board (NHB) is partnering various community partners for this event. Members of the Malaysian-Singapore Vintage Cars Register (MSVCR) would be displaying about 50 vintage cars at the event, to showcase private transportation of yesteryears.

In addition, NHB is partnering various heritage enthusiasts, such as bloggers and train enthusiasts to host a photography exhibition on the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, highlighting the train and station operations in the past and people’s memories of the place.

URA will also be displaying panels from their “Journey of Possibilities” Competition, showcasing winning proposals on the future of the Rail Corridor.

It has been one year since the closure of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.

On Sunday, visitors got a chance to explore the heritage site.

For the early risers, there were guided tours organised by the Nature Society of Singapore.

Others chose to hike the entire 10 kilometres from Bukit Timah to the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.

But the highlight was the station itself, where over 100 visitors turned up to learn about its architecture and history.

“Many things can’t be experienced in a shopping centre, so every weekend I will take my daughter to visit different buildings and get close to nature,” said one visitor.

“The railway corridor is a nice stretch of greenery. It’s peaceful and you see abit of wildlife like birds and insects… So it’s quite nice and scenic,” said another.

Source: Channel NewsAsia

For Mr J. Tang, 57, a technical officer, going to Tanjong Pagar Railway Station yesterday brought back memories.

Only five when he moved to Singapore from Thailand with his parents, he remembers fondly the days when he stepped into the station.

He recalls eating fried rice and eggs done sunny side up on the train. “I still remember the taste,” he said.

He and his 23-year-old daughter were among 300 members of the public who visited the Rail Corridor since it was closed down a year ago.

The Tanjong Pagar station was open to visitors yesterday from 8am to 5pm.

Some adventurous visitors embarked on a four-hour trek from Bukit Timah Railway Station to Tanjong Pagar. The event was organised by Friends of the Rail Corridor and Nature Society (Singapore).

Source: my paper

The Rail Corridor Open Day is held on 1 July to allow the public to enjoy the biodiversity and heritage of the Rail Corridor, and to explore the Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Timah Railway Stations. This event is organised by Friends of the Rail Corridor and Nature Society (Singapore).

The public can participate in the following activities during The Rail Corridor Open Day on 1 July:

1) Open House at Bukit Timah Railway Station (BTRS)

Activities

0800 – 1000: Guided nature walks by NSS along Clementi Woodlands from BTRS to old Holland Road

0800 – 1200: Public is free to walk along the Rail Corridor from BTRS to TPRS (detour at Silat Walk)

Wear comfortable clothing and drink lots of water.

2) Open House at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station (TPRS)

Activities

1200 – 1700: Public is free to explore main hall and train platform

1230 – 1300: Guided tour on TPRS architecture and history by Dr Lai Chee Kien

1330 – 1400: Screening of documentary on TPRS – Platform 1932

1430 – 1500: Photo sharing of TPRS and Rail Corridor by Jerome Lim and Darren Soh

1530 – 1600: Guided tour on TPRS architecture and history by Dr Lai Chee Kien

1630 – 1700: Screening of short videos on TPRS and Rail Corridor

No seats so bring your own mats.

About Dr Lai Chee Kien

Lai Chee Kien is Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore. He is a registered architect, and graduated from the National University of Singapore with an M Arch. by research [1996], and then a PhD in History of Architecture & Urban Design from the University of California, Berkeley [2005]. He researches on histories of art, architecture, settlements, urbanism and landscapes in Southeast Asia. His publications include A Brief History of Malayan Art (1999), Building Merdeka: Independence Architecture in Kuala Lumpur, 1957-1966 (2007) and Singapore: towards another Botanical Age (2008).

賴啟健助理教授任教於新加坡大學建築系，他在1996年於該校取得建築碩士學位，並於2005年在美國加州柏克萊大學取得建築與都市設計史博士學位，他的研究領域為東南亞的建築與藝術史，尤其專精於二戰後馬來西亞，新加坡，及印度尼西亞的發展，他在2007年出版了[建造墨迪卡：吉隆坡的獨立時期建築1957-1966]。他也是新加坡的註冊建築師。

About Platform 1932

Platform 1932 (2008) is a documentary about Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, a large historical and architectural landmark located in the heart of Singapore’s financial city centre. This railway station is unique in that whilst it is located in Singapore, both the physical structure and land on which the station occupies belong to Malaysia. Due to this distinctive context of the train station, a vibrant community of diverse individuals has sprung up around the station.

This documentary will delve into the lives of these colourful individuals and track how their lives mirror, over the years, the story of the train Station.

Visit http://www.platform1932.com and http://www.facebook.com/platform1932

About Jerome Lim

Once told that it was his destiny to wander through life, Jerome attempts to capture the many things that have caught his imagination through his wanderings on life’s long and winding road on his blog. In exchanging tweets about an intention to make an ultimate homecoming into Tanjong Pagar, Jerome became part of a trio of unwitting organisers for the ride on the Last Train into Tanjong Pagar. His blog, The Long and Winding Road, won an award for the Best Photography blog during the 2011 Singapore Blog Awards.

Visit http://thelongnwindingroad.wordpress.com/

About Darren Soh

A sociologist by training, Darren once contemplated writing about photography and photographers but found that the process of making images was far more exciting an endeavour.

These days, Darren specialises in landscape and architectural photography, often framed within a historical context. He has an unhealthy obsession with the built landscape both in Singapore and around Asia and can often be spotted where buildings are about to be demolished.

SS24 The Last Train is a project where Darren has attempted to document the railway landscape in Singapore in its last days before it was irreversibly changed.

Visit www.facebook.com/darrensohphotographer

Photo credit: Tanjong Pagar Railway by (アリセ) alicereneztay via Flickr

A compromise has been reached between the Government and the people farming illegally in Clementi.

All 18 who had been tending to crops near Sungei Ulu Pandan will get to stay, but on a smaller plot of land. They will also pay $60 a year to continue farming there.

Member of Parliament Sim Ann said yesterday that when the farmers’ activity came to light in March this year, the Government’s task was to give them ‘a legitimate outlet for their passion for planting’. ‘The legal position is clear – whatever the background reason, encroachment on state land is illegal,’ said Ms Sim, who had been leading the talks between the gardeners and the various government agencies involved.

The land is mostly in the Bukit Timah ward of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, where Ms Sim is the MP.

‘But… we also recognised that these are just individuals and families who happen to love planting vegetables and crops. We knew that they meant no harm,’ she added.

Ms Sim, who is also Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Law, said that other people who want to join in may do so.

The new community garden is located near Block 301 in Clementi Avenue 4. It will be run by the Bukit Timah Citizens’ Consultative Committee, with support from Northwest Community Development Council and the Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council.

The committee is applying for a temporary occupation licence from the Singapore Land Authority, renewable each year, and expects to be able to use the land for at least three years.

Covering an area about 50m by 25m, the community garden will be divided into 30 or so strips, each 8m by 4m. Each gardener gets just one strip.

For decades, several people – mostly the elderly – have been gardening and growing herbs, fruit and vegetables at the 1,800 sq m strip of state land sandwiched between the Sungei Ulu Pandan canal, the former Malayan Railway (KTM) track, Clementi Avenue 4 and Clementi Avenue 6.

In March, they faced eviction after residents complained about burning leaves and mosquitoes, and Ms Sim had helped secure a three-month respite and June 20 move-out date.

Kindergarten teacher Ng Ang Mui, 48, who had made some initial complaints about smoke from burning leaves, said of the new deal: ‘They need to have a proper way of handling the leaves, rubbish and the mosquitoes… If there’s a proper way to handle these, I think there should be no problem.’

Laboratory manager Lester Yeung, 35, whose father tends to a plot just past the Clementi Avenue 6 flyover, said there has been no more burning of leaves since March. Even if the new garden is not as large, he said, ‘at least the objective of having folks be able to continue with what they do is met’.

Source: The Straits Times

President Tony Tan Keng Yam has urged the government to not rush into coming up with a plan for the Rail Corridor.

He said it is more important to take time to wait for good ideas to come forth.

“Don’t rush into doing things (and) say ‘We must have a plan and we must finish it by 2-3 years’ time’… (Let’s) take our time to study the possibilities,” said Dr Tan.

He was speaking after visiting the “Journey of Possibilities” exhibition at the URA Centre on Wednesday.

The exhibition features about 80 entries comprising 18 winning ideas, 19 honourable mentions, as well as other innovative entries received for Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Ideas Competition. The exhibition also showcases some of the interesting feedback and suggestions received on URA’s Rail Corridor website since its launch in July last year.

Dr Tan said he is happy that Singaporeans of various community groups have expressed great interest in the Rail Corridor.

He said the government should continue to find ways to engage different groups and hear their ideas.

And the URA’s Ideas Competition is a good way to get new ideas.

However, he also said authorities should be flexible in experimenting to find out what works best.

“You try things out, if it does not work, you can change it… I think it may take us up to 10 years before the whole thing settles down into an asset which can be enjoyed by all Singaporeans,” said Dr Tan.

One way this will be done is through the Rail Corridor Partnership, which includes government agencies, interest groups and individuals who were part of the Rail Corridor Consultation Group.

Chaired by Minister of State for National Development Tan Chuan-Jin, the new partnership now includes agencies such as the Education Ministry, the Singapore Sports Council, the People’s Association and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.

They will explore ways to promote community use of the Rail Corridor.

The agencies that have just joined the Rail Corridor Partnership will also gather feedback from the community events organised. This, together with the proposals from the Ideas Competition will set the stage for the Rail Corridor Master Plan.

Source: Channel NewsAsia

2 May 2012 – The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced today the formation of a Rail Corridor Partnership to look into the programming and promotion of community activities along the Rail Corridor. The Partnership is an expansion of the Rail Corridor Consultation Group, which was formed last July to provide input to the government on charting the future development plans for the Rail Corridor.

With the re-opening of the Rail Corridor on 9 January 2012, the Partnership will look for opportunities to promote community use of the space that spans the entire width of the island from north to south. Representatives from agencies such as the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Singapore Sports Council, and People’s Association will join the Partnership to further foster public-people sector collaboration along the Rail Corridor.

Collaborative effort to promote activities on the Rail Corridor

President Tony Tan Keng Yam, who visited the ‘Journey of Possibilities’ exhibition at the URA Centre, said, “I am very encouraged that many groups and individuals are taking a keen interest in the Rail Corridor and are actively contributing their ideas and suggestions on the development and uses of the Rail Corridor. I am also glad that URA is stepping up engagements with Singaporeans to develop the Rail Corridor into a unique feature of our urban landscape that can be enjoyed by all Singaporeans.”

Minister of State for National Development Tan Chuan-Jin, who chairs the Partnership, highlighted the collaborative nature of the group. He said, “The expanded role of the Rail Corridor Partnership will see a stronger collaboration between public sector agencies, interest groups, and individuals to promote and support suitable activities and events along the Rail Corridor. I hope that our engagement will continue to be constructive and fruitful going forward.”

The URA will work closely with partner agencies to assess the range of possible community uses and events as well as the necessary infrastructural requirements needed to support these activities along the Rail Corridor. The Rail Corridor Partnership will also provide advice on the public engagement efforts and proposed activities for the Rail Corridor. Such activities could span from community level events to national events that utilise the entire Rail Corridor. The feedback gathered from these events would be used by URA to draw up the design specifications and requirements that will form part of the brief for the Rail Corridor Master Plan and Design Competition that is being considered at the moment.

President met with winners of Ideas Competition

During his visit to the ‘Journey of Possibilities’ exhibition, President Tony Tan met with some of the winners of the Ideas Competition who shared with him their ideas for the Rail Corridor. The President was also introduced to members of the Rail Corridor Partnership and jury members of the Ideas Competition.

The ‘Journey of Possibilities’ exhibition features about 80 entries comprising 18 winning ideas, 19 honourable mentions, as well as other innovative entries received for the Ideas Competition. The exhibition also showcases some of the interesting feedback and suggestions received on URA’s Rail Corridor website since its launch in July last year. The exhibition ends on 11 May 2012.

The URA launched the Ideas Competition on 30 November 2011 to draw innovative and fresh new ideas from the public in addressing some of the key challenges and issues in planning for the future use of the Rail Corridor. The Ideas Competition attracted more than 200 submissions from both local and overseas participants. The URA will study the ideas and concepts from all these entries and distil from them suitable design principles and parameters that can form part of the brief for the Rail Corridor Master Plan and Design Competition that may be held in the future.

Source: URA