Tanjong Pagar Railway Station still a favourite haunt for S’poreans

SINGAPORE — With some three months to go before the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station closes for the construction of the new Circle Line Cantonment MRT Station, the iconic landmark welcomed its 100,000th visitor — and more — yesterday, since it first opened for special events during public holidays in February last year.

Despite the heavy rain in the morning, crowds thronged the station, which featured a Thai-themed flea market with 120 vendors selling from food to drinks and retail items.

There were also food trucks from Kerbside Gourmet while Kombi Rocks, a company that rents out vintage vehicles for events, offered rides.

The station had welcomed its 100,000th visitor by 11.30am. By 9pm, a total of 52,546 visitors had gone down yesterday, bringing the total number of visitors to 149,978. This is the highest number on a single day since February last year.

Housewife Linda Lin said she and her husband brought their two children — aged four and eight years old — to the station to see the railway tracks as they have historical value.

“Even though it was raining earlier, it still didn’t stop us from leaving the house because we had planned to come here already,” said the 43-year-old in Mandarin.

Retiree Ong Hoon Eng recalled taking the train from Malaysia to Singapore some 20 years ago. “That’s kind of like the last time I saw the railway train and now that I am back, I would want to look at the railway station for memory’s sake,” said the 60-year-old in Mandarin.

Graphic designer Peter Ong said he had turned up to snap some photos. “This place has a historical value, and I would like to take some photos of it before it closes down,” said the 31-year-old.

The station has been gazetted as a national monument since 2011. Cantonment Station will be built under the platform area of the station.

About 290m of each old platform will be dismantled to facilitate construction works, while the first 80m of each platform will be protected throughout the construction works.

The station’s train platform canopy structures will also be dismantled and repaired.

They will be fully restored after the completion of Cantonment Station in 2025.