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Railway tracks to stay open for two weeks: SLA

The train stations may have closed, but their tracks remain fully open till 17 July. (Yahoo! photo/Marianne Tan)
The train stations may have closed, but their tracks remain fully open till 17 July. (Yahoo! photo/Marianne Tan)

If you missed the opportunity to hop on a Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) train to Malaysia from the recently-closed Tanjong Pagar railway station, you can still take a stroll along its tracks through Singapore--at least for the next fortnight.

In a statement on its website, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said that the entire line of railway tracks will be open to the public from 1 July to 17 July 2011.

From the 18th onwards, they will be cordoned off, although a 3km stretch of tracks from Rifle Range Road to the Rail Mall will stay open till the end of the month.

This was "in response to requests for an opportunity for the public to trek along and experience the tracks," said the SLA.

As for the stations at Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Timah, they will be closed temporarily as KTM and its tenants move their furniture and equipment out of the respective properties.

During this time, the SLA will commence maintenance work and structural inspection of the two sites.

More information on their re-opening to the public will be furnished in due course, the agency added.

The lands previously occupied by KTM for railway use have been vested in the Singapore government with effect from 1 July this year.

As agreed with Malaysia, Singapore will remove the tracks and ancillary structures of the KTM railway and hand them over to Malaysia.

The SLA will complete removal of the KTM train tracks and all its affiliated structures by 31 December. (Yahoo! photo/Marianne Tan)
The SLA will complete removal of the KTM train tracks and all its affiliated structures by 31 December. (Yahoo! photo/Marianne Tan)

SLA expects to finish its removal works of the train tracks, as well as other gates, posts and debris from the length of the train line by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is reviewing and charting development plans for the remaining sites occupied by the tracks and train stations. It is also studying the possibility of maintaining a "continuous green link along the rail corridor without affecting the development potential of the lands".

If you have ideas and feedback in shaping the future development of the sites occupied by the railway stations, visit www.ura.gov.sg/railcorridor to share your input.

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