The Changi Depot

The bird's eye view of the MRT Changi Depot, while we were circling around Changi Airport.



Info from Wikipedia, this depot comprises a train yard, which can hold a capacity of 35 trains and has an area of 250,000 square metres.

SMRT Train Depot Ulu Pandan.

Everytime I pass by this place, I have an urge to take a photo of it. So here it is.
Since the last 'Swiss Invasion', I think security has been tightened.

I always wonder if SMRT is going to organise some guided tours of the depot. I think many people would be interested. Probably not for everyone, but for people who takes the trains very frequently. They could always check the transaction records on our EZ Link / Flashpay cards to see how often people take their trains.

If McDonald's have Open Doors for their kitchen, Universities have Open Days, why not SMRT having an Open Train Day?



Looking at the huge space they occupy reminds me of Melbourne. When I was living and studying there long ago, it was all ugly tracks near the Flinders Street station. What they have done is to cover it and made it into Federation Square. It's now a place where everyone gathers.

I wonder if they can do something similar. This depot is not below ground like in Melbourne, so I guess they just can't cover things up. But they can use the space below the huge depot right?

Build a flood retaining pond below it? That will be a very very huge retaining pond. Water from Bukit Timah Canal can be diverted to Ulu Pandan River along Clementi Road. Ulu Pandan River overflow can be diverted to below the Ulu Pandan Depot. Sounds ridiculous? LOL. The train depot is too far from Ulu Pandan River? That's the point right? Let is flow.....

Or divert the excess flood water into the South Tunnel of the S$3.65 billion Deep Tunnel Sewerage System?

Training Bus

There seems to be more training buses around these days. I guess it's either:
- the government is putting pressure on bus companies to provide more services
- the bus companies having changed buses, so they need to train new drivers on how to drive the new buses.



It was the first time I was just next to a stationary training bus.
Ooo. The trainer just stack two chairs and sit and train the bus driver.

Guess what? My colleague thought I was mad when I said I wanted to get all the different kind of driving license in Singapore. I was thinking of getting a Class 4A - Omnibus license!
I was thinking of getting a flying license once too! (I have flown a Cessna for around 15 mins before!)

After doing all the research about getting a license, I realise that I have to submit the application through SMRT or SBS Transit. Hmm... I don't want to work for them, I just want to get the license for my own ego collection. I think the urge to get the license started when Kim Ng got a license! I want too!

Anyone also wants to get a bus license? ;-P

Daily Photo Theme Day: Public Transportation

I am a bit late for this month's Theme Day. The photo was taken after 1 Nov! haha..
The theme for the City Daily Photo blogger community for November is Public Transportation.



Public Transport in Singapore is always packed!  This is the Monorail that goes into the resort island of Sentosa where Universal Studios Singapore is located.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in the Daily Photo Theme Day

Love Your Ride

"Love Your Ride", is a recent initiative to educate commuters in Singapore to be polite, gracious and considerate when they are taking public transport.

I think it's a good initiative. Anything to remind commuters in Singapore. Even if some people don't think it will work, I think they bring the message across. Let's hope one day those twirps who needs to get it in their head will get it.




In the train stations, and inside the train, they play the 'Train is Coming, Train is Coming, Please queue up" jingle. You can do a search on YouTube to view and listen to the jingle.

I think they should have a "Let people in, let people in, please move in" jingle for the buses!


Here's the youtube video of the whole campaign. Enjoy!

Distance Fare / Pay By Distance

A few more days to go....
On 3 July 2010, everyone taking public transport (bus and trains) in Singapore will have to change the way they pay.

First of all, the starting fare will be 71 cents as you can see from the chart below. We now pay 69 cents.

Propaganda has been telling everyone that 2/3 of the commuters will be paying less for their journey. Only 1/3 will be paying more. Kinda hard to believe when the starting fare for buses starts from 71 cents instead of 69 cents. Probably 1/3 of the people are the short trippers?



Anyway, if you are in Singapore, and take public transport, click on to http://www.publictransport.sg/ (opens a new window) to calculate your new fares based on Distance Fare / Pay By Distance.

For me, I will be paying more. From 88 cents to $1.09
Will you be paying more or less?

Gigantic hole in the ground..

This is one of the many big holes you can find in Singapore now. The on-going construction of the "Circle Line" mass rapid transit.



I would like to congratulate one colleague who just given birth yesterday. We visited her today at the hospital. Mother and baby's well and the baby is so cute.

The MRT Station designed by Sir Norman Foster

I only found out recently that this train station is designed by a world renowned British architect. Of all places, I found out when I was in a bookshop overseas!

I took this a few days ago. From the outside, it looks like a spaceship!



You can read more about this station in wikipedia.

Train Station again...

Happen to walk past the same spot as I did two days ago!



Today I got to capture the lights in a different colour! The LED panel facade changes every few minute or so.

The building behind is International Plaza that got renovated quite recently. I just found out that this building was actually completed in 1976!!

Blessed are those who ride the train...

It has been a long long day. Those are my friends as they are all entering the Tanjong Pagar train station.




We have just finish Bible Study at a church just 100 metres away. From the passage in Matthew we studied today, we can say....

Blessed are those who take the train service.
For they will reach home in time.

Blessed are those who take the train service.
For they lower their carbon footprint.

Blessed are those who take the train service.
For they rode with SMRT which won the international "Best Passenger Service" award.

KTM Singapura

This photo was taken a few days ago on a wet wet day. The walls are partially wet.



This is the Keretapi Tanah Melayu or translated Malaysian Railway. It's the railway service from neighbouring Malaysia that terminates near the Financial Centre of southern Singapore. Interesting eh?

Some people like to take the railway to Kuala Lumpur from this Tanjong Pagar Station. If you purchase your tickets here, you pay say SGD19 (cheapest day fare). If you just board from the next station which is in Johor Bahru, you pay only MYR18. Now that's almost half price off! 1 SGD = 2.3 MYR.

Double Deck Buses

This is a photo of a double deck bus in Singapore. I used to like going to the upper deck, but nowadays I seem to prefer the lower deck. I wonder why... (old age? haha...)



Does you city have double deck buses? In Singapore, one of the two major bus companies, SBS Transit has quite a few of these double decks.