The Green Corridor is possibly one of the most interesting walking routes that I've done in Singapore and I highly recommend that you check it out!
Also called the Rail Corridor, it is the path that traces the route connecting us to Malaysia by train. The Singapore portion is about 24km, stretching from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station to Woodlands Road, which would probably take an entire day to complete! Being flexible and to a greater extent, less ambitious, we started at Buona Vista and headed northwards with no fixed end point in mind. It took a morning for us to cover 6km leisurely, bringing us to The Rail Mall, a convenient place to grab lunch.
The terrain is flat, clearly because that would have been most ideal for a train, making the walk easy and relaxing. The path snakes through swathes of greenery, housing estates and sometimes schools. Often, there'd be interesting landmarks, most commonly bridges and the most iconic, at least along this route, being the Bt Timah Railway Station.
Parts of the track have been left intact, such as those at the railway station and bridges. The impressive steel structures make for dramatic photos and were the highlight of the trip.
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| Walking in the "woods". There's a clear path where the rail used to be. |
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| Off the path, there are spaces to discover. |
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| Bamboo doesn't break. It bends. |
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| A Bangladeshi woman was getting some vegetables that apparently goes well with prawns. |
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| One of the railway stations that is still standing! |
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| Bukit Timah Railway Station |
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| A bridge overlooking the road, near Jardin condominium, with Bt Timah nature reserve ahead. |
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| The bridge overlooking the road near The Rail Mall |
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| Explore, go your own way. Throw caution to the wind. |
Unlike other NParks-type of places, there aren't shelters along the way having an umbrella would be helpful if it rains. It's a continuous route apart from when the rail intersects some roads and finding a convenience store would be challenge so bring all your refreshments - chips, biscuits, water - with you. You could even stop and have a picnic at the wide open spaces such as the Bt Timah Railway station if you wanted (I hope it's not illegal) - just whip out a mat!
I read these before the walk, just to get an idea of what I was getting into:
The Green Corridor website, with maps and suggested routes: http://www.thegreencorridor.org/category/maps/
Development-weary Singaporeans back Green Corridor: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/development-weary-singaporeans-back-green-corridor-000451690.html
URA calls for proposals for Green Corridor: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/development-weary-singaporeans-back-green-corridor-000451690.html
Since I haven't completed the entire trail, I'd definitely be back to complete the last segment from Buona to Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.
Let me know if there are other walking routes that I should explore!
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