Tanjong Pagar railway station, also known as Singapore railway station or Keppel Road railway station, is a former railway station located at 30 Keppel Road in Singapore. The station was the southern terminus of the network operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM), the main railway operator in Malaysia, until 30 June 2011 when the station ceased operations with relocation of the KTM station to Woodlands Train Checkpoint. The land on which the station and the KTM railway tracks stood was originally owned by KTM and over which Malaysia had partial sovereignty. This arrangement lasted until 30 June 2011, when rail service to Tanjong Pagar was ended and the land reverted to Singapore.
The main building of the railway station was gazetted as a national monument on 9 April 2011, completing one of the objectives of the new Points of Agreement between Malaysia and Singapore. The railway station is now integrated with Cantonment MRT station.
History
Before the Johor–Singapore Causeway across the Straits of Johor was built, the railway in Singapore was limited to the island. The construction of the causeway began in 1919, and it was opened to goods trains on 17 September 1923 and to passenger trains on 1 October 1923. Previously, passengers and goods, particularly to service the transportation of tin and rubber industry in Malaya were transferred at Woodlands to a ferry to Johor Bahru and the connecting train on the peninsula. Tanjong Pagar railway station was completed on 3 May 1932 and officially opened by Sir Cecil Clementi. It was around for 79 years before it ceased operations on 1 July 2011 to be reserved as the Singapore Railway Museum.
Singapore Government Railway In 1859, Captain William Cloughton built the first dry dock. With the emergence of steamships and growth of shipping industry, Tanjong Pagar Dock Company was formed in 1864, building wharves in the area. The area grew and was known as the ‘New Harbour’ shortly before being renamed as Keppel Harbour in 1900 by Acting Governor, Sir Alexander Swettenham.
Subsequently, with much political demands, plans to build a railway through Singapore, primarily to service the New Harbour, came underway in 1899 and the Singapore-Kranji Railway was completed in 1903. Between 1906 & 1907, the line was extended southwards from the terminus station at Tank Road to Tanjong Pagar and the wharves. It was eventually disused due to noise complaints by nearby residents.
Train services KTM used to run six daily KTM Intercity trains between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. It also ran several other trains between Singapore and other parts of Peninsular Malaysia, such as Kelantan state in the northeast. It also operated a shuttle service between Johor Bahru and Singapore for commuters. Until 30 June 2011, the stops in Singapore were at Woodlands (for immigration clearance by Singapore Immigration and disembarkation of passengers travelling from Malaysia) and Tanjong Pagar (embarkation and disembarkation). Since 1 July 2011, the only stop in Singapore is at Woodlands.
Tanjong Pagar and Outram Park MRT stations are approximately 1km from the Tanjong Pagar railway station.
Cessation of operations
Following an agreement between the governments of Malaysia and Singapore on 24 May 2010, railway operations at the station ceased from 1 July 2011. The conserved building may be integrated with future developments on the site or turned into a museum. KTM's southern terminus was relocated to the Woodlands Train Checkpoint.
The closure of the line between Tanjong Pagar and the Woodlands checkpoint was something that had been considered for some 20 years with the intention made clear through the Malaysia–Singapore Points of Agreement of 1990, though the exact details could not be agreed upon until the agreement was signed between the two countries in 2010. Though supported by some, the closure was opposed and lamented by others as representing a great loss of Singapore's heritage and of a key public transportation facility. At the time of closure, Singapore had already built 180 km of domestic MRT and LRT lines combined.
The main building of the railway station was gazetted as a national monument on 9 April 2011.
The station was closed on 26 December 2016.
Proposed redevelopment In 2015, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) proposed that the station be converted into multi-functional community space as part of the revamp of the Rail Corridor stretching from Kranji to Tanjong Pagar. A request for design plan was announced. The winning proposal for Tanjong Pagar Railway Station includes a public park in front of the station named Station Green, and an integrated entrance to Cantonment MRT station. Facilities such as an auditorium and art gallery would be added, and the Railway Corridor would become a linear park that would be nearly ten times longer than New York's High Line. The redevelopment is set to take place over 20 years.
To facilitate construction of Cantonment MRT station, the platform canopy structures of the railway station were relocated to a nearby restoration yard in November 2017. Subsequently, a segment of the old railway platforms were dismantled in March 2018 as part of a heritage preservation effort.
The station is now integrated with Cantonment MRT station.
Architecture
The building is in a richly ornamented Art Deco style. On its exterior are four reliefs of white marble, allegories of Agriculture, Industry, Commerce and Transport. They are works by , a sculptor from Florence, Italy.
The hall has a barrel vault roof.
Inside the main public hall, the walls bear panels with scenes depicting economic activities that were historically significant in Malaya: rice planting, rubber tapping, shipping activities, bullock cart transport, copra growing and tin mining.
These panels and the original floor slabs were manufactured locally, using rubber to deaden noise.
The two long platforms were capable of accommodating the longest mail trains, covered by umbrella reinforced concrete roofs.
Facilities In 1936, a convenience store, Habib Railway Book Store, was established inside the station. After the separation of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965, a money changer was set up beside it due to the splitting of currency. Both shops were owned by the same owner. The shop was closed in July 2011.
The upper floors of the station housed the Station Hotel and Prairie Express Pub, a pub and lounge since 1932. Both places are managed by Lim Jit Chin and his family. In 1992, Lim was acknowledged by the Guinness Book of Records as the second-longest serving hotel manager in the world. Since 1983, the hotel was in a legal tussle with the Malaysian government which wanted to evict the business. The hotel was closed in 1993 after losing its case against the Malaysian government.
The station platform was accessible to non-passengers at a fee of 20 cents to send off passengers. The platform was closed to non-passengers from 18 December 1988 as the platform was congested especially during festive seasons with very high passenger load.
Disputes between Singapore and Malaysia The status of the railway station was disputed between the governments of Malaysia and Singapore.
When Singapore left Malaysia in 1965, there was no border control between the two countries. When the two countries established border controls, both the Malaysian and Singaporean Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) officers were stationed at Tanjong Pagar for clearance of railway passengers. Road travellers clear immigration at the Malaysian side of the Causeway and Woodlands, Singapore upon entry to Singapore. In this case, the CIQ of both countries are separated.
Malaysia–Singapore Points of Agreement of 1990
In 1990, Malaysia and Singapore signed an agreement concerning Tanjong Pagar railway station. Malaysia agreed to relocate the station to Bukit Timah, thus freeing up land for development. In return, Singapore agreed that railway land at Tanjong Pagar would be handed over to a private limited company for joint development, with equity split 60% to Malaysia and 40% to Singapore. However, the parties interpreted the agreement in very different ways. Singapore insisted that the agreement took immediate effect but Malaysia argued that the agreement would come into effect only after it decided to move the station.
Immigration control issues Since 1992 KTM has worked with Singapore on re-aligning its railway tracks at Woodlands, where Singapore built a new immigration checkpoint to replace the old checkpoint, with facilities to carry out train passengers' immigration clearance instead of at Tanjong Pagar. In 1993, Malaysia responded that it would transfer its CIQ operations to the new Woodlands checkpoint.
However, in June 1997 Malaysia stated that the Malaysia-Singapore Points of Agreement of 1990 would come into effect only after it decided to relocate Tanjong Pagar station. Malaysia also informed Singapore that it had changed its mind and decided not to co-locate its CIQ with Singapore's at Woodlands Train Checkpoint (WTCP) but to remain at Tanjong Pagar. In April 1998, Singapore informed Malaysia that it would be moving its CIQ operations to Woodlands while Malaysia would have to move its CIQ out of Singapore from 1 August 1998. Malaysia requested, instead, that space be made available at the WTCP, as an interim arrangement, for Malaysian Immigration officials to operate from there and thereby overcome the problem of sequence of exit and entry stampings by Singapore and Malaysia immigration authorities.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore dated 24 July 1998: Singapore will allow Malaysian customs officials to operate at Tanjong Pagar railway station. Singapore officials will be present at Tanjong Pagar railway station to lend their authority to Malaysian customs officials during the interim period. Singapore has agreed to Malaysia's request to allow Malaysian Immigration to put some desks for its immigration officers on the passenger platform at WTCP to clear passengers after Singapore has cleared them for exit from Singapore. Singapore Immigration must clear departing passengers for exit from Singapore before Malaysian Immigration clears them for entry into Malaysia. Otherwise, the sequence of immigration clearance will be illogical and it will cause problems in crime investigation and prosecution. These interim arrangements will overcome the problems which would be caused if Malaysian Immigration were to remain in Tanjong Pagar railway station.
However, Malaysia refused to have its immigration clearance on the platform: it insisted that Malaysian Immigration should be inside the building at WTCP. If this was not possible, it said that Malaysian Immigration would remain at Tanjong Pagar. Singapore argued that Malaysia's decision to locate its Immigration Control Post in Singapore was not in compliance with Malaysia's own law. Under Malaysian law, it is Johor Bahru railway station, not Tanjong Pagar, that is gazetted as an Immigration Control Post for persons travelling by train from Singapore to Malaysia. Singapore also pointed out that this was confirmed by the endorsement on the passports of passengers boarding the train at Tanjong Pagar, which showed:
"MALAYSIA IMMIGRATION JOHOR BAHRU SOCIAL/BUSINESS VISIT PASS Reg. 11. Imm. Regs 63 [Date]" Permitted to enter and remain in West Malaysia and Sabah for one month from the date shown above"
On 1 August 1998, Singaporean Immigration ceased operations in Tanjong Pagar and moved to WTCP, while Malaysian Immigration continued operating in Tanjong Pagar. Malaysia decided not to endorse the passports of outgoing rail passengers from Singapore and promised to provide legal arguments to show that Malaysia's CIQ had the legal right to stay at Tanjong Pagar.