Experiencing the Past

Title of Sketch: Experiencing the Past

The Bukit Timah Railway Station was opened in 1915 as part of the Singapore-Kranji Railway, aka the Singapore Government Railway. Before the causeway was opened in 1923, passengers had to take a ferry across the Straits of Johor to continue their train ride. It is also owned by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM), the main railway operator in Malaysia - and the name might be familiar to some, because it is the same operator that owns the well-known Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.

Due to changes in immigration policies in 1993, the Bukit Timah station is now only used for crossings and there are no longer boarding of passengers or collection of cargo at this station.

Most people wouldn't notice the station, but rather the classic cast iron bridge above Bukit Timah Road and Dunearn Road.

A group of friends and I hung around the tracks taking pictures - because after all, how often do you get to take pictures standing on track tracks? The only train tracks we see nowadays are the ones at MRT stations, and you get fined if you ever climb down. After half an hour or so, the malay station master spotted us and yelled at us to get off the tracks. When we reached the station, the station master explained that there would be a train coming soon and it'll be bad if all of us were knocked over by it. 

As we waited for the train to pass by, I observed the old train station and saw that it was made of old red bricks, a rusty metal roof... in fact everything was old. It was nice and quiet as the station is situated a distance away from the busy traffic at Bukit Timah Road. As the station master settled comfortably on his chair behind an old desk and my friends sat down on the bricked floor and waited quietly, it feels as though there was a stillness in the air... it is a huge difference reading about a place in heritage books and really being there to experience it all.

Soon after, we could see the train in the distance, and besides shouting and screaming excitedly, i saw an interesting thing happening when the train passed by the station - a man on the train threw a bag to the station master, while the station master throws another bag back to another man on the train. I found out only later that inside the bags were key tokens, and the exchange of tokens serves as a proof of authority for the train to proceed further from Bukit Timah.

It is a good place to visit and watch trains pass by, but remember not to hang out on the tracks for too long, or better yet don't go on it at all... or you might end up like that 2 students who got knocked over while having a rendezvous in the early hours of the morning.

Kezia Yee
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