The Two Ends of the Rail Corridor

Before Singapore removes the tracks and other ancillary structures and hands them over to Malaysia, the public would have a chance to trek along the railway from 1 to 17 July. From 17 to 31 July, the stretch from Rifle Range Road to Rail Mall would continue to be accessible. In 108 years of Singapore railway history, this is the first time the tracks are accessible to public with absolutely zero danger from incoming trains and did I say we need not worry about trespassing?

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Countdown to 30 June - How to Chiong Five Crossings and Two Bridges for $1.21

With only 10 days before the sun sets on Tanjong Pagar Railway Station ending 108 years of railway operations in Singapore, how would you spend your time capturing the railway's last days and be part of history in the making? After the death knell was sounded last year, there has been a surge of interest in things railway-related: government bodies and interest groups conducted station tours and railway corridor walks; folks snapped up train tickets for a last ride; shutterbugs swarmed the stations at Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Timah; the media put their spotlight on the event. We know time is running out.

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Causeway People - Final Year Journalism Project

In February this year I received an email from a journalism student Ng Wai Mun studying in NTU's Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. She was working on a group project, a multimedia feature "The Causeway People" which traces the border links between Singapore and Malaysia and asked for my inputs on places/things that remind us of our shared geographical/political past with Malaysia. Much honoured to recieve her email, I happily obliged.

Their project is now completed and thanks to Wai Mun for the heads up, we can now view their project online. The work is pretty impressive; what I initially thought was a small project like a photo gallery turned out to be much bigger in scope. The actual photo gallery titled "Vestiges of a United Past" is just one small part of the project.

Enough talk, you have to see it to do it justice.

My First and Last Trip on the Tebrau Shuttle Train

People seek thrill in Johor Bahru differently. For some, it is the naughty massage; for others it is the cheap haircut. For me, it is the experience of taking a 'joy-ride' across the causeway by KTM train.

Tebrau Shuttle, plying Kluang - Singapore - Kluang, was introduced on Feb 1, 2009 to "ease the link up of daily commuters from Singapore to the southern part of Malaysia and vice versa". To me, the highlight was the new stop at Danga City Mall (DCM) along Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, operational since Jan 5, 2009. It was the classic win-win situation - more people would visit the mall with the added comfort and convenience of a train and the train operator would see more business due to increased ticket sales. In fact, the usually low-profile Malaysian train service and ulu shopping centre basked in the limelight of our local papers when the station - a halt - was completed. See reports in Straits Times (here) and The New Paper (here and here).

Finally on May 3, I gave in to temptation and visited the naughty bought a ticket to DCM.


Left: Danga City Mall Halt.
Right: The "Station" platform. There is no station, only a sheltered platform. A staircase and gangway lead to the mall.


Promotion ticket to Danga City Mall - SGD 3/RM 3 one way.

At SGD 3.00, the promotion ticket did not burn a hole in my pocket. The ticket was bought on the day itself at Tanjong Pagar. The return ticket was bought at DCM. I think the Singapore and Malaysian transport operators have a 'tit-for-tat' agreement on their tickets. I first learnt that from taking the buses plying Johore Bahru and Singapore. The practice must be so ingrained that KTMB decided to price both tickets equally in different denomination. So the return ticket set me back by SGD 1.25.


Left: Enjoying my teh-tarik on the station platform.
Right: Tebrau Shuttle hauled by 29116 Sepetir.

Departure was set at 0830 but I got the timing wrong thinking it was earlier. I managed to savour a cup of teh-tarik while waiting for my train, unaware it was already at the station but hidden from my sight. Tebrau Shuttle's locomotive that day was 29116 Sepetir. We met her before in the quiz.

My trip opened up a whole new way of entering Malaysia - the kind with an unprocessed passport and no white immigration card. You can read about that in my 'Escape to Malaysia' entry. Oh boy, did I mention there was no security check on luggage also?

Link to YouTube video. My train leaving Tanjong Pagar Station with Ekspres Senandung Malam opposite. Due to the single-tracking in Singapore, Tebrau Shuttle has to wait for SM to arrive before she could proceed. Note the long consist of SM, even longer than the station platform!

The train chugged along the track to Woodlands CIQ. She did not stop along the way, rather all the vehicles stopped for her at the railway crossings (yg told me every now and then residents have to put up with this inconvenience). I was like a VIP chauffeured from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands. I'm not sure whether our President or Prime Minister's motorcade need to stop at traffic junctions, but I suppose they are required to pay ERP because of the In-Vehicle Unit.

Link to YouTube video. Evidence of train beating traffic lights between Choa Chu Kang and Stagmont Ring (only because the light is in the train's favour)

The only stop was at Woodlands CIQ (Customs, Immigraton, Quarantine). Passengers were to disembark to have their passport out-processed by our immigration officers. Strangely the outgoing train was checked, for reasons I'm not sure. News of Mas Selamat's capture broke out few days later. Was it Mas Selamat or the latest escape from Whitley Detention Centre, or was it just normal routine to check outgoing trains?

Layout of Woodlands CIQ Complex (my impression). Because the KTM railway is single-tracked in Singapore, the incoming and outgoing trains use the same platform. If you hate queuing (or in a rush to answer nature's call), take the front coach for outgoing train and back coach for incoming train. The exit is more for incoming train passengers who choose to disembark at the CIQ instead of Tanjong Pagar. Bus services are readily available outside. I took that option when I was back and boarded a bus to Woodlands Interchange.


The Health Alert Notice (updated 30 April 2009) in our 4 main languages dished out to incoming passengers (tucked into their passport). At that time, it was called human swine influenza A (H1N1).

At Johor Bahru Station, the train stopped "briefly" before resuming its journey to DCM a stone's throw away. Tebrau Shuttle picked up passengers bound for Kluang and waited for an incoming train to arrive before she could proceed. The train schedule estimated the stop to be around 15 minutes.

Link to YouTube video. An incoming train at Johor Bahru Station. Once again because of single-tracking at the Johor Bahru stretch, she has to arrive before Tebrau Shuttle could proceed. It is all a give-and-take game.


Left: My destination Danga City Mall.
Right: 29116 Sepetir at DCM Halt. She would resume her journey to Kluang.

When I left 29116 Sepetir for the mall, I thought she was lost for good. Little did I know that on my return journey to Singapore she would once again render her service. Good o' rattlesnake!

Link to YouTube video. The return of 29116 Sepetir! Quite a surprise to see her again after a brief three hours separation.

Overall I had a good experience on the Tebrau Shuttle 'joy-ride'. At SGD 3.00, the price was unbeatable. Try to beat that with those in amusement fairs where you have to pay twice - for the entrance fee (around $2) and the ride. You have to join the standing queue for popular rides and the ride is often shorter than the wait. Of course you are still stuck on this little red dot.

Sadly the Tebrau Shuttle 'joy-ride' was my first and last one. Tebrau Shuttle plying Singapore-Kluang was terminated from May 19. The reason, I suspect, due to low demand of travelling or low ridership in non-business speak. From what I heard, the volume was a bit pathetic on weekdays.

Hill 100 from 500 Feet: Air and Land Survey of Hill 100 Today

Chun See is right. Hill 100 is at the current Baxter location. :)

Because the hill was flat on top, the highest elevation would correspond to the plateau as seen in his photo from 500 feet. It was here that Chun See did his field fortification simulation exercise – Exercise Albino – in the mid 70s. The plateau is today within the Baxter compound. Therefore Woodlands Ave. 3 outside Baxter did not cut through the tip of Hill 100.

As to why the exercise was codenamed Albino, my guess is that the plateau, devoid of trees, stood out against the surrounding green from aerial observation. Indeed, aerial photos from late 60s show the plateau as one striking white patch.

Hill 100, Different Era. The plateau stood out in the 1970 aerial. At first, I mistook the aerial for a CT scan or ultrasound.

But the white patch did not exist in an 1950 aerial. I do not know why the white patch exists thereafter. In his blog, Chun See recounted his experience of seeing cows grazing on a hill side along Woodlands Road and he believed the hill to be Hill 100. If that is true, then cows may be the culprit. Okay, I’m joking.

Fast forward to the present. Here is a ‘second shot’ taken at 500 feet.

Top: Old air photo (mid 1970s) from 500 feet showing Hill 100 with Woodlands Road in the foreground.
Bottom : Google Earth Terrain (circa. 2008) at 500 feet. Annotations by me.

I believe my ‘second shot’ is accurate because in the previous blog on Woodlands-Marsiling Road Junction, I have determined the U-turn along Woodlands Road to be where the overhead bridge is today. Furthermore, the high ground beside Woodlands Road are very similar in both pictures.

For many days, I poured over old aerials, photos and topographical maps, checking them against Google Earth, to ascertain how Hill 100 has changed over the years. In particular, I’m intrigued as to where Woodlands Ave. 3 cut the hill. The road was added to link Woodlands Road at Kranji with Woodlands New Town and later BKE.

Left: Woodlands Road beside Hill 100. Map and annotation by Chun See.
Right: Google Map of the same area today. Note the addition of Woodlands Ave. 3.

Woodlands Road at Kranji MRT Station. Ave. 3 can be seen in the background, up an incline, cutting the contours of Hill 100.

From my research, I do not think Woodlands Ave. 3 cut through the tip of Hill 100 where the plateau used to be. From the layout of Baxter and comparison with surrounding terrain, I believe the plateau was flattened for the building of Baxter (or whoever used to occupy the site).

Overlay of Google Map (satellite) and aerial photo from 1970.

Today, the highest point of Hill 100 (accessible to public) is the junction of Woodlands Ave. 3 with Woodlands Industrial Park D Street 1.

Highest point of Hill 100 today accessible to public.

It was here that I had that moment of euphoria. Walking along Woodlands Ave. 3 beside Tech Semiconductor Singapore, I noticed the slope looked suspiciously ancient. This was an area untouched by development. But not for long; the Singapore Turf Club Riding Centre is being built on the site. At the junction of Woodlands Ave. 3 with Woodlands Industrial Park D Street 1, I saw what could be the original elevation in the 1970s.

Possible original elevation opposite Baxter. In the blown up 1970s air photo, the 'white patch' plateau is in the foreground.


Articles in the series:
Part 1 – Was This Metal Box Company of Malaya?
Part 2 – Where (exactly) is Woodlands-Marsiling Road Junction?
Part 3 - Air and Land Survey of Hill 100 Today.

Hill 100 from 500 Feet: Where (exactly) is Woodlands-Marsiling Road Junction?

Around the same time the oldies were on their mission to find Hill 180 and Hill 265, I was next door in Kranji surveying the remains, if any, of Hill 100. I have no personal recollection of these hills – not having spent my conscription days sweating on them – but was intrigued by Chun See and Peter’s description of the hills and various inputs by readers.

I have covered Metal Box Company of Malaya earlier and I believe I have found the place. Today I’m moving a little south to touch on the Woodlands-Marsiling Road Junction.

Source: Street Directory of 1963.

So where is the junction today? On a 2009 street directory, Woodlands Road runs in a north-north-west direction after the T-junction with Woodlands Ave. 3. and bends gradually right to a north-east direction almost parallel to the railway track. Outside Woodlands Fire Station, Woodlands Industrial Park D Street 2 meets Woodlands Road. This may be the site of Woodlands-Marsiling Road Junction, after comparing with the 1963 street directory. We need more concrete evidence. Enters Chun See’s “Hill 100 from 500 Feet” photo.

You may like to read how Chun See managed to snap a photo at 500 feet here.

His photo from 500 feet shows the Woodlands-Marsiling Road Junction in the 1970s. I shall use Google Earth to do a “second shot” of the area today.

Top: Old air photo showing Woodlands-Marsiling Road Junction by Lam Chun See.
Bottom: Google Earth terrain (circa. 2008) showing area outside Woodlands Fire Station. Annotations by me.

In 30+ years much have changed, but Woodlands Road in the foreground still runs towards the Johore Causeway (service 170 uses it) and the area below is still forested. On closer look, the U-turn and bus bay look like they were carried over from the past.

Nothing beats a ground observation so I made my way to Kranji on MRT and Bus 11. Standing on the overhead bridge, I commanded a good view of Woodlands Road running below.

Top: The old air photo blown up.
Bottom: View of Woodlands Road in the southerly direction. Annotations by me.

I made the following observation:

1. The loop that is now the bus bay existed from the 1970s (it might not have been a bus bay last time).
   


2. Google Earth seems to show two rows of lane markers beside the bus bay, so they might have been erased recently (before March 2009).
   


3. The road divider on the right side still has the perpendicular network of drains. The bus bay exit coincides with the second road-connecting drain from the overhead bridge and the old photo agrees with this (on the old photo, try peering through the foliage).
   


4. The southern U-turn would be where the overhead bridge is now.
   


5. The fence demarcates the limit of the old 1970s road divider.
   


6. The pedestrian walkway is next to the kerb, but in the 1970s it was some distance from the road. In the old photo, you can see trees planted between the walkway and the road.
   


7. There is a sharp bend of the kerb to accommodate a bus bay, after which Woodlands Road bends noticeably. In the 1970s, this part of Woodlands Road was smooth.

Next, the view of Woodlands Road in the northerly direction shows the northern U-turn and the junction of Woodlands Road with Woodlands Industrial Park D Street 2.

Top: The old air photo blown up.
Bottom: View of Woodlands Road in the northerly direction. Annotations by me.

I made the following observation:

1. Assuming the U-turn existed from the 1970s, the lane markers can lead us to the Woodlands-Marsiling Road junction. I’m assuming the marker interval remains fairly unchanged.
   


2. In the old photo, there are five markers between the U-turn and the left turn into Marsiling Road. In my March 2009 photo, there are also five markers between the U-turn and the left turn into Woodlands Industrial Park D Street 2. I believe I have found the original entrance to Marsiling Road.
   


3. The original exit from Marsiling Road cannot be the exit today because the triangular divider is too wide. Furthermore, the exit today is very near the overhead bridge. In the old photo the exit is pretty far from the southern U-turn (invisible in the blow-up) and earlier we agreed (I hope you do) the southern U-turn would be where the overhead bridge is now.
   


4. Land was taken from the Baxter side to build the new exit to Woodlands Road. The span of Woodlands-Marsiling Road Junction is about eight markers wide, from the old photo. Eight markers from the left turn today will bring you to the corner of the triangular divider, a little short of the exit.
   

I believe I have found the exact location of Woodlands-Marsiling Road Junction. What do you think, readers?

Articles in the series:
Part 1 – Was This Metal Box Company of Malaya?
Part 2 – Where (exactly) is Woodlands-Marsiling Road Junction?

Hill 100 from 500 Feet: Was This Metal Box Company of Malaya?

Chun See’s Hill 100 post on the anniversary of the Fall of Singapore and his follow-up post got me excited over the various landmarks mentioned in the blog. He mentioned Hill 100, Woodlands Home for the Aged, Marsiling Road, Metal Box Company etc. – landmarks from the past. All of them are not on the map today. With an insatiable thirst for heritage mysteries, I embarked on my own missions to find out more about the landmarks. Besides, Second Shot has not had a heritage adventure in a long time….

Today I will blog about my search for the Metal Box Company of Malaya. The company later became CarnaudMetalbox (might be related to CarnaudMetalbox Engineering) and produced aluminium drink cans and tin cans for packaging kerosene and cooking oil, according to the oldies.

Metal Box Company, 1963. Source: National Archives of Singapore.

Woodlands Road, March 2009.

I’m not sure whether the March 2009 photo is a “second shot” of the 1963 one. All I know is, when I was walking along that stretch of Woodlands Road, the coconut? trees behind the fence looked quite out of place. I don’t think these were the same trees in the 1963 photos, but this was as if nature’s way of telling me, “those trees mark the spot, dude!”

Coincidentally, if you look at my next photo, there is a bus stop just before the overhead bridge. Could this be the same bus stop in the 1963 photo but upgraded?

Woodlands Road, March 2009.

Looking at the 1983 Street Directory, my location certainly looks like where Metal Box Company used to be located.

Street Directory by Chun See

View Larger Map

What do you think, readers? Have I found what was once Metal Box Company of Malaya?

Update on March 14, 2009

This was the photo taken by yg of the old gate, as mentioned in the comments:

Articles in the series:
Part 1 – Was This Metal Box Company of Malaya?