a train ride into history

come july 2011, there is no chance of taking a train from this station in johor bahru to tanjong pagar in singapore anymore. in fact, the malaysian authorities have plans to convert this old train station into a museum when the stop is moved to the new ciq complex.



i have not had that many experiences riding on the malaysian train. i have taken the overnight train to kuala lumpur a number of times. i have been wanting to take the shuttle to kluang but have not got about to doing it yet. today, we rode the 1012 train from johor bahru to tanjong pagar. my malaysian friends have told me that their trains are not punctual; today, the 1012 train showed up at 1100.


we had purchased our train tickets at a counter in the new ciq building. you could also buy your ticket from the old train station. although the train was supposedly due at 1045 a.m. the immigration counter did not open until 5 minutes before the arrival time of the train. however, after clearing immigration, we were not allowed on the platform, but were directed to an enclosed area. we had to wait another 15 minutes before the train finally pulled out of the station.



the travel time from johor bahru station to tanjong pagar is about one hour. add in a compulsory stop at woodlands checkpoint, which lasted about 15 minutes, and we arrived at tanjong pagar at 12.20 p.m. along the way, we were thinking about the land that would be available for use after the tracks have been cleared, the inconveniences that would be removed and the revaluation of properties beside the railway track.



we had chapati with keema at the railway station canteen. it has been a long time since i had eaten chapati. actually we had wanted to have nasi briyani for lunch but the long queue put us off.