Terence and I decided we will all say goodbye to the former Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) railway track on Sunday morning. The 3km stretch of the railway from Rifle Range Road to Rail Mall is currently the only stretch opened to the public. It will remain opened only until July 31, 2011.
I've never taken a train from Singapore to Malaysia before. I think my parents would have thrown a fit if I did. Terence did once. He said people would hop in through the windows when the train reached Johor Bahru.
Kit was quite happy to sit in the Macpac Possum throughout the trek and Kai was happy to skip along until he realized he wasn't going to have it easy like his little brother. Both, however, are not old enough to know the significance of the railway line, and what it all meant to Singapore.
It was a nice outing nonetheless and no, we didn't take any stones from the track as a souvenir, in case you are wondering. But by erasing the railway and returning the tracks to Malaysia, we are inevitably deleting a part of Singapore's history. It's almost like we are playing a computer strategy game where you can build a railway track at your convenience and click it away at a whim.
Anyhow, enjoy the experience while it lasts. It'd be interesting to see what the government will do to conserve sections of the KTM railway so that the significance will not be lost to future generations.
Background:
No comments:
Post a Comment