16 May 2021
During the pandemic, Clementi Forest started to gain popularity for a trail that ran along an old railway track. This was the Jurong Railway track that branched out from the main line (currently the Green Corridor). Beyond the Clementi Forest, I have always wondered where the track continued to and what else was there. One fine day during the COVID lockdown (when I was incredibly bored), I decided to trace the Jurong Railway track from its start at the Clementi Forest all the way to the end at Tuas. The main objective was to look for the 2nd tunnel along the track. There was a total of 3 tunnels along the Jurong Railway line, the first tunnel is the one at Clementi Forest which has been restored for hikers to explore. There is a 2nd tunnel further down the track that is bigger and longer than the first and has been left flooded and in a derelict state. As far as I know, the 3rd tunnel has been sealed off and is no longer accessible. I found an old map of the Jurong Railway and started my journey.
Googlemap link of the KTMB Lines:
Map of the old KTMB Lines in Singapore:
History
Jurong railway was developed in accordance with the steady growth of Jurong Industrial Estate in the late 1960s. The Jurong line was constructed from 1963 and was officially opened in 1966. The 19.3 km track ran from the Bukit Timah Railway Station next to King Albert Park, through Pasir Panjang, and ended at Shipyard Road, near the Mobil refinery.
Over the years, changing trends in logistics led to more efficient methods of transportation and the Jurong Railway ceased operations in the mid-1990s. Since then, the unused railway tracks of the Jurong Line have been a haunt for explorers and wildlife enthusiasts. Adapted from: https://www.roots.gov.sg/places/places-landing/Places/landmarks/jurong-heritage-trail/jurong-railway
Tracing Old Jurong Railway
1115 | Walk through Clementi Forest and 1st tunnel |
1145 | Through the residential areas |
1300 | Explore the 2nd tunnel |
1500 | Towards Tuas and the end of the tracks |
1115 | Walk through Clementi Forest and 1st tunnel
We started at the Clementi Forest where the Jurong Railway track extends from the main line (currently converted into a hiking trail called the Green Corridor). It was likely my 2nd or 3rd trip to the Clementi Forest, so it was a familiar hike through the muddy trails towards the 1st tunnel. The 1st tunnel ran under Clementi Road, connecting Clementi Forest to Maju Forest across the road. It has since been restored with a nice gravel path. We followed the steel tracks that ran through the muddy trails in Maju Forest. Clementi Forest would likely be converted into a hiking trail in the future due to its popularity with hikers. Maybe I'm the odd one, but I honestly prefer it in its current muddy and flooded state. It's a lot more fun to hike these natural trails!
1145 | Through the residential areas
We continued to closely follow the railway track as it led out of the Maju Forest and into the Clementi residential area after a crossing a small bridge at Sunset Way. The track continued to Ulu Pandan Park Connector and crosses Sungei Ulu Pandan through an old rusty bridge. The bridge however is no longer accessible as it is structurally unsound due to its degraded state. I peeked through a small hole in the gate to admire the old bridge. Hope this bridge could be restored in the future!
The next section of the track mostly passed through the residential areas. There used to be an old kampong in this area, called Kampong Sungei Pandan, unfortunately it has since been shut down by authorities. We tried to follow the tracks as much as we could but sections of it had been converted to new BTO estates and was cut off by the construction. We navigated around these sections and converged back to the track where we could. The tracks in these sections were mostly left forgotten and have been overgrown with grass, with only parts of the steel peeking through. An old toy car laid abandoned on a section of the tracks. The scene looked especially lonely.
1300 | Explore the 2nd tunnel
We finally reached the location of the 2nd tunnel of the railway tracks near a flyover. We looked around but there were no signs of the tunnel. Crossing the road, we found a small metal ladder and led under the roads. This was where my friend abandoned me as he did not want to walk through the tunnels, meh. Climbing the narrow metal ladder down, I saw an area overgrown with tall grass and wild vegetation. I put on my rubber boots and pushed my way through the overhanging veins and wild vegetation. Hidden behind the undergrowth, I finally found what I came here for, the 2nd tunnel of the railway track. The tunnel was long and dark, littered with trash at the entrance and was flooded and muddy. I didn't know how deep the water would be, but hoped my boots could carry me through.
I braced myself and entered the flooded tunnel on my own. I stayed on the edge of the tunnel which was less deep and trudged through the mud and water, it got increasingly dark the deeper I went and was almost completely pitch black towards the middle. I took one careful step at a time, focusing on the exit in the distance. The tunnel was long and took sometime to walk through especially in its flooded condition. I felt relieved as I emerged from the other end into the light of the day. There was an old bed frame and some furniture littered at this side of the exit. Did someone used to stay here? Otherwise, it's a lot of effort to come all the way here to dispose of trash. I pushed past the overgrowth and turned back to see that the tunnel has once again disappeared into the thick vegetation, as if it was never there.
1500 | Towards Tuas and the end of the track
The rest of the track was rather uneventful as we continued into the Tuas industrial area, walking under bridges and along the back forest trails, stopping for lunch on the way. There were barely signs of the tracks, except for the occasional rusty metal and peeked through the ground. We tried to look for clues at the supposed location of the 3rd tunnel, but it seemed completely buried and sealed off.
My Thoughts
I always felt that old railway tracks have a special kind of charm, old forgotten path that led to nowhere. It made for a day of fun exploration especially through the flooded 2nd tunnel. Unfortunately most of the tracks have been sealed off or removed to make way for new buildings, and the ones left may soon be gone as well.
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