Greenery around KTM to stay: Minister Khaw
Most of the KTM railway tracks will be closed for removal from Monday, but the growth and fauna that surrounds them will stay, says Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan.
After the tracks have been removed and returned to KTM, parts of the path will be reopened for public access again, he added.
Speaking to reporters after an evening walk along the train tracks with his family on Monday, Mr Khaw shared that there were many opportunities for housing development over the space currently occupied by the train tracks.
"But we will do it in a way where we can still preserve this green spine. I'm quite sure it can be done and it will be very nice," he said. "We can have urban development but still maintain the greenery."
Mr Khaw, his family and his pet Chihuahua were walking a 1.5-kilometre stretch of tracks between Holland Drive and Tanglin Halt as part of an excursion organised by the Ministry of National Development (MND)'s recreational club. He was joined by some 200 members of the public and some of their pets.
A three-kilometre stretch of tracks between Rifle Range Road and Rail Mall will remain open till the end of this month, a shortened period from the two months that the Ministry of National Development had initially hoped for.
This, said Mr Khaw, was due to fears on the part of contractors that the planned removal of the train tracks may not be completed by the end of the year, adding that most of them will probably be clocking in overtime to finish the process on time, reported The Straits Times.
"The commitment with Malaysia is year-end so we have to deliver, just as they delivered on their agreement to move the railway," he said.
Check out our three-part feature on the KTM Railway here: