“The old train platform canopies are important to the history and memories of Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, a national monument with deep historical, architectural and social significance,” the authorities said in the release.

“The decision to reinstate the canopy structures was taken following consultations with members of the heritage community, as well as detailed studies conducted with an architectural conservation specialist on its technical viability.”

In October last year, LTA engaged a heritage consultant and briefed members of the heritage community on possible plans for the iconic Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, which is set to make way for the construction of the new Cantonment MRT station.

The options were to either dismantle, store, then reinstate the old railway station platform; re-create a replica of the platform; or create a new interpretation of the platform. Heritage groups expressed support for the reinstatement of the platform.

On Friday, the authorities said LTA called a tender for “advanced works to dismantle, repair, and reinstate the former railway station’s train platform canopy structures”. This will help to “retain the sense of heritage and memories of the old train platform area,” they added.

The new station will be built under the platform area of the former railway station, and integrated with the railway station building. To facilitate the building work, about 290m of each of the two old platforms will be dismantled. The first 80m of each platform, extending from the railway station building, will be unaffected by building work and will be protected throughout the construction, the authorities added.

The integration of the new and old train stations will give commuters not only greater transport accessibility and connectivity, but also a unique travelling experience, the agencies said.

“Tanjong Pagar Railway Station will be used as a multi-functional community building for 20 years after the new MRT station is completed. The MRT station will give it a new lease of life, and contribute to making the railway station a highly accessible and vibrant community node of the Rail Corridor,” they added in the release.

Starting from the fourth quarter of this year, the appointed contractor will dismantle the canopy structures – comprising the roof, beams and columns, and store them at a nearby restoration yard. The appointed contractor will then repair and restore the structures, and reinstate them with reconstructed platform slabs in 2025 after the Cantonment station has been completed.

Mr Ho Weng Hin, Partner of Studio Lapis, an architectural conservation specialist consultancy firm involved in the works, said the method of dismantling, restoring, and reinstating the platform structures was developed over months to concentrate on the canopy structures, which are of “high heritage and architectural significance”.

This was done after conducting heritage surveys, studying existing conditions, and working with various parties to review the pros and cons of alternative strategies, he added.

LAST OPEN HOUSE AT OLD RAILWAY STATION: DEC 25

The SLA has opened the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station to the public every public holiday since February 2015, in response to “keen interest” from Singaporeans to visit the heritage site.

The SLA will continue with this practice on every public holiday this year until Christmas Day (Dec 25), it said in the release.

However, to facilitate the construction of the new MRT station, the railway station will subsequently be closed until the completion of Cantonment station in 2025, the authorities said.

During construction, maintenance and stabilisation work will be carried out on the railway station building and mitigation measures put in place to protect it and there will be measures to minimise any potential inconvenience and disturbance to residents and businesses nearby, they added.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 27 May 2016

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Seven trains, bound for Malaysia, will make their final journey from the station on Thursday.

Many have flocked to the station to take a last train ride from the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.

One of them is 64-year-old Mohd Jani Abdul Manap, who arrived in Singapore from Kuala Lumpur to do just that.

Mr Mohd Jani said the station brings back fond memories.

“When I was a boy, my father was a customs officer near Tanjong Pagar Road, it’s nearby this railway station,” he said.

“My brother and I used to play here. This is part of our playground — we used to catch spiders.

“I came here all the way with my brother… to wish farewell to Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.”

Tickets for all five express trains have been sold out since late May).

However, passengers without advance tickets still queued up at the ticket counter for the shuttle trains at 7.15 am and 6.55 pm.

All food stalls have been vacated.

Many who visited the station on Thursday said they will miss the station’s neo-classical facade and art deco features.

Passenger Robert Hoyes-Cock said: “What I’ll miss most, is that I’m currently living in Portsdown Road area, and actually I can hear the train every night when I go to sleep.

“So, it will be a bit strange not hearing the train anymore in my neighbourhood”.

Meanwhile, a Facebook page called ‘The Last Train Into Tanjong Pagar’ has been set up.

It has accumulated more than 600 fans since it was created earlier this month.

Facebook page creator Jerome Lim said: “It was for me a personal journey because what I wanted to do was to have a last homecoming back into Tanjong Pagar.

“There’s always a kind of romance associated with train rides.

“I guess that’s a throwback maybe to the glory days of train travel, maybe in the 30s. (For) Tanjong Pagar, it has this huge great hall, and I think that in itself, is an experience you won’t get again with the train station moving to Woodlands Train Checkpoint”.

The man who will be the last to leave the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station is station manager Mohd Ayob Embong.

“Of course, I’ll be sad. All the staff, I know very well,” he said.

“The thing I will miss most is this building. I have been here for six years inside this building every day from 2.30 in the morning until 11 pm.”

All 91 staff members of the Malayan railway will take the last train out at 11 pm.

At the stroke of midnight, Singapore will take ownership of the station.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 30 Jun 2011

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The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and the Bukit Timah Railway Station will cease all operations on that date.

And all arrival and departure trains will terminate and start at the Woodlands Train Checkpoint.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 18 May 2011

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The Preservation of Monuments Board (PMB) is gazetting the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station as a national monument, while the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is gazetting the Bukit Timah Railway Station as a conserved building.

The prime ministers of Singapore and Malaysia had announced at their retreat on May 24 last year, that the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) station would be relocated from Tanjong Pagar to the Woodlands Train Checkpoint (WTCP) by July 1 this year.

Both leaders also agreed that the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station passenger terminal building would be conserved given its historical significance.

They added that the old Bukit Timah Railway Station building at Blackmore Drive could also be conserved.

With the relocation of KTMB station from Tanjong Pagar to WTCP, both the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and the Bukit Timah Railway Station will then cease to operate as KTMB railway facilities.

PMB director Jean Wee said: “With the causeway linking Singapore (and) Malaysia, the KTMB railway established itself as the only means of locomotive transportation between the two countries for nearly 80 years.

“The gazette of the railway line’s terminus, the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, recognises the uniqueness of the structure and its existence as the key operational railway station in Singapore.

“It will continue to be a landmark even in its adaptive re-use, to reflect the nature and strength of ties between both countries as well as among (their) people.”

With the gazetting of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, there are now 64 national monuments in Singapore.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 8 Apr 2011

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For Singapore, the reversion of the railway land will enable the authorities to amalgamate the track land with adjacent sites and bring about more optimal use of the land, a DTZ report said.

However, DTZ said most of these sites will not be developed upon immediately as some of the adjacent lands are already in use, and that there is no urgency to develop the large tracts of vacant land next to the tracks.

The property consultant added that the railway station site at Tanjong Pagar has the greatest redevelopment potential given its size and the government’s plans for that district.

This includes newly completed and in-the-pipeline offices, hotels and apartments which are pushing rents and prices higher and generating investor interest.

SLP International executive director of research Nicholas Mak said: “The type of residential development that could be coming up at the existing Malaysian railway station will be something that’s similar to inner city living.

“But I do hope that the developers will be building (bigger sized apartments) because currently, many of the so-called inner city apartments tend to be fairly small, typically one-bedroom or two-bedroom”.

Singapore and Malaysia agreed last year, to move the Malaysian railway (KTM) station in Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands Train Checkpoint, near the border, by July 1, 2011.

By 2018, there will be a Rapid Transit Rail System between Singapore and Malaysia served by a single co-located CIQ facility.

According to DTZ Research, the warmer bilateral relations and smoother and cheaper transport system arising from the agreement will also give a boost across all property sectors in Iskandar Malaysia (IM).

In the healthcare sector, the joint development of the iconic wellness township will set a benchmark to raise the international profile of IM to a new level and spur other foreign investors.

More skilled and semi-skilled migrants from other parts of Malaysia could be attracted to reside in IM to take advantage of the employment opportunities in Singapore through daily commute without having to pay for the high residential cost of living in the republic.

Demand for homes from foreign buyers, particularly Singaporeans, is envisaged to improve due to the higher confidence level in IM from the warming bilateral ties.

In the office sector, there is potential for a shift of low-end commercial service activities, namely back office processes, from Singapore into the Johor Bahru CBD to take advantage of cost arbitration.

DTZ added that the railway agreement has unfolded a new chapter for Malaysia and Singapore and both countries can co-build a new growth story that resembles the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Metropolis model.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 12 Jan 2011

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One outcome is that they agreed to reduce the toll charges for motorists using a link which connects the countries.

The meeting was a follow-up on their retreat in Singapore last month.

A key item – details on how both countries will exchange land parcels following the Malaysian railway station’s move from Singapore city centre at Tanjong Pagar to a location closer to the border at Woodlands by 1st July 2011.

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said: “I have made the prime minister a proposal laying out several variations for the prime minister to choose from. He has raised some issues which we are in discussion. As the prime minister said we aim to settle within 3 months.”

Mr Najib gave the assurance that the concept of joint development remains.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said: “The spirit of our discussion today was very warm, very positive and I thank Prime Minister Lee for being as flexible as possible with the intention that there will be a final resolution of the POA issue.

“Our positions would still be to look at the land swap – the parcels of land with respect to Marina South and Ophir-Rochor, the details of which will be considered. And we will convey to the Singapore government in due course within the 3-month time frame. So the whole concept of joint development still remains.”

Being discussed – three land parcels in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji and Woodlands and three others in Bukit Timah could be swapped for land of equivalent value in the Marina South and Ophir-Rochor area.

Both leaders said they had a productive meeting on the land swap offer and discussed some initial response.

Prime Minister Lee revealed that he had sent up Singapore’s National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan a few days ago to present the land swap proposal to the Malaysian leader and Malaysia has been studying the proposal for the past few days.

PM Lee added: “I have brought up with me an offer on the land swap issue which is the only outstanding issue on the POA. In fact I had sent up Minister Mah Bow Tan a few days ago to convey the offer to the Prime Minister and explain the offer.

“So Malaysia has been looking at it for the last few days and I had a useful exchange with the Prime Minister today and we exchanged some preliminary perspectives and views.

“But this is a major decision so Malaysia will think it over and Singapore will take back the comments Malaysia has made and we will consider them and we look forward to settling the matter within three months.

“It should be settled soon because it is something we want to clear expeditiously. Three months meaning the end of September, it will be soon after Hari Raya Aidilfitri, so I think that’s a good moment to have a final settlement of this matter.”

The good news is the reduction of toll charges by 30 per cent from August for motorists using the second link which connects both countries.

Passenger cars for example currently pay RM10.80 and S$4.60 respectively to use the second link and that’s set to go down even further.

The leaders feel this will boost traffic.

PM Lee continued: “It is good news for Singaporeans going to Malaysia and Malaysians coming to Singapore. And may many more Singaporeans and Malaysians do so.”

Mr Lee said other issues like the use of Malaysian airspace and withdrawal of CPF monies by Malaysians working in Singapore would be progressively resolved.

That’s because the focus of their meeting was the POA, something both sides decided as a priority.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 22 Jun 2010

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Singapore and Malaysia announced on Monday that the Tanjong Pagar railway station will be relocated to Woodlands by July next year.

Property observers say the Tanjong Pagar site, located in the Southern part of Singapore, is located on prime land. It’s near the city centre and a big shopping mall Vivocity.

The attraction is the size of the land spanning about five football fields.

A high-rise commercial development with a gross floor area of over a million square feet could be built there.

Though the size is zone for commercial use now, market watchers said residential units may be allowed too.

Donald Han, managing director, Cushman & Wakefield, said: “Currently it’s zoned under commercial, that means potentially you might be allowed some retail component, you’d be allowed commercial office as well.

“I think a developer, whoever comes in, to take over the land potentially can build a combination of retail as well as office. But that being said, a lot of the commercial prime properties of the outskirts of the main financial district may be allowed potential conversion of use to residential.

“So in some cases, you may get a combination of commercial and potentially residential, on top of this site. The site is huge so it can have a multitude variety of different uses in that sense, subject to of course, getting the necessary planning approval.

“If it’s going to be pure commercial, based on the land area, over the plot ratio, we estimate price per square foot, per plot ratio about S$600-650 per square foot, plot ratio. That translates to a price, total quantum of about S$650-700 million in that sense.

“If you get conversion of residential use, the value for residential, which is currently highest and best used in the financial district can potentially be about 25 to 30 per cent higher than the figures I quoted you just now.”

Analysts said relocating the railway station is also timely as Singapore plans to re-develop the Tanjong Pagar area into a new waterfront city.

And when the station moves to Woodlands in the north, that area is set to become more vibrant.

Mr Han said: “Right now, if you go into Woodlands, there is only the Causeway Bay shopping mall, that’s currently located. There are not many activities that are coming up.

“If you look at the potential relocation of the KTM, if it allows an integrated development to be located there, I think it will certainly help to increase land values and existing property values in the area.”

But all this will not be immediate and will take between three and six years.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 24 May 2010

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After 20 years, both sides have arrived at a solution on the Malayan Railway Land in Singapore.

The leaders of the two countries agreed to move the station at the heart of the city centre in Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands Train checkpoint, near the border by the 1 July 2011.

The smiles said it all – of a retreat that has been fruitful with significant moves.

The centrepiece must surely be the issue of the railway land and lines, spelt out in the Points of Agreement (POA) signed in 1990.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong: “Our focus has been developing our bilateral relationship at a time when we face many challenges in an uncertain and rapidly globalising world.

“There are many competitive alternative centres growing in Asia where we need to work together bilaterally in ASEAN and where we also need to clear issues which have been hanging over us for some time so that we can move forward and develop a win-win relationship.

“It is a matter for rejoicing. It is a good deal. Both sides are happy and this will benefit both sides considerably.”

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak said: “A year ago, when we met, we decided that we wouldn’t allow outstanding bilateral issues to be in the way of developing and strengthening bilateral ties and move forward in areas where we could achieve common agreement between our two sides.

“With that positive mindset in mind, we have achieved much within a year starting with the officials from both sides who have been working very hard to find a common ground.

“Today is quite historic because we see now the light at the end of the tunnel with respect to an outstanding issue which has been lingering for almost 20 years.”

Having waited this long, the next move is to move fast.

PM Lee said: “There is urgency. This matter really cannot wait indefinitely because it is already 20 years. And there are many development projects in Singapore which have been held up because the POA has not been implemented as it should have been many years ago.”

So the 1990 Points of Agreement has now been supplemented by new terms and conditions to maximise the potential of the Malayan Railway Lands in Singapore.

When the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB station) moves to the Woodlands train checkpoint by 1 July 2011, Malaysia will co-locate its railway Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) facility there.

On its part, Singapore would ensure that there are bus services to connect KTMB station at Woodlands with a nearby MRT station for the convenience of train passengers.

Another key issue settled is the development of several land parcels linked to the train line.

Both countries will also set up a company known as M-S Pte Ltd by December 31 this year.

Malaysia will have a 60 per cent stake under Khazanah Nasional Berhard while Singapore will have a 40 per cent share to be held by Temasek Holdings.

This company will handle the joint development of three parcels of land in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji and Woodlands as well as another three pieces of land in Bukit Timah.

These land parecls would be swapped based on the equivalent value for pieces of land in Marina South and Ophir-Rochor.

Both sides will conduct valuation studies.

Prime Minister Lee will visit Kuala Lumpur within a month to discuss the land swap.

The transfer of the land parcel to M-S Pte Ltd will take effect at the time when KTMB vacates the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.

Mr Lee added: “Land prices have been moving over this last one year. You have seen the property market is quite active. That is the reason why we did not settle the land swap today. I wanted an updated valuation.

“On the basis of updated valuations, we will make them an offer and it is up to them whether they want to take the offer for the swap. It is substantial. These are very valuable pieces of land if they are developed.

“And that is why the POA as it was and even more now as it has been updated and rounded up is a win- win proposal for both countries because it enables us to develop the land.

“It enables M-S Private Limited to share in the upside of the land which is KTM land and I think enables us to move forward in so many other areas to cooperate and work together for mutual benefit without having this outstanding issue always there a question mark. If you can’t solve this, how can you talk about new things?”

“So with the understanding we have achieved at today’s meeting, we can more or less say that the POA agreement with some enhanced features should be finally put to rest particularly when PM Lee meets me in a month’s time.

“The spirit and political undertaking is to find a resolution on a mutually beneficial manner so that both countries can benefit the finalisation of the enhanced POA agreement.”

Both leaders also agreed the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station’s passenger terminal will be conserved given its historical significance. It will also be the centrepiece for the proposed new development on this site.

The job is now in the hands of a joint implementation team.

It has to complete its work by the December 31.

For joint statement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak at the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat, click here.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 24 May 2010

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