The opening of the Singapore-Kranji Railway in January 1903 provided a direct rail link between central Singapore and the northern part of the island. Trains left from the terminus at Tank Road Station, with stops at Newton, Cluny, and Bukit Timah stations.25 Three months later, Woodlands Station opened, allowing travellers and cargo to be transported directly to the jetty where ferries would bring them on the final leg of their journey across the Straits of Johor.26
By the time work commenced on the Causeway, the railway line had been expanded with several new stations, including a connection to the wharves at Pasir Panjang.27
Although the Causeway was only officially opened on 28 June 1924, the railway lines that traversed it had already been in use since the previous year. The Causeway opened to railway goods traffic on 17 September 1923, followed by passenger traffic on 1 October 1923. The first passenger train across the Causeway was the "down" night train that had left Kuala Lumpur the night before. It contained 12 carriages and reached Tank Road Station at 7.41am. With its arrival, the ferries that had been the main mode of transport over the Straits had finally become a thing of the past. In its place, for the first time, was a through train connection between the island of Singapore and the Malay Peninsula.28
Tank Road Station remained the starting point of the passenger train route to Johor after the opening of the Causeway. It was replaced in 1932 by the new Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.29
Click here to explore another aspect of the Causeway's beginnings, or here to return to the main Causeway Centenary page.
Photographs
Media - Image No: 19980005101 - 0031
Source: National Archives of Singapore
Description: Exterior view of Tank Road railway station with jinrickshaws parked outside waiting for passengers. The station served as the main terminus for passenger trains coming down from the Woodlands jetty on the Singapore-Kranji Railway.
Covering Date: c. 1903
Media - Image No: 19980007376 - 0055
Source: Arshak C Galstaun Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore
Description: View of the railway tracks running through Tank Road railway station. The station closed in 1932 following the opening of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.
Covering Date: c. 1906
Media - Image No: 19980005117 - 0094
Source: National Archives of Singapore
Description: The Orchard Road railway bridge near Emerald Hill. From 1903 to 1932, trains ran from the Tank Road Station, across this bridge and to the Woodlands jetty.
Covering Date: c. 1913
Media - Image No: 19980005493 - 0056
Source: National Archives of Singapore
Description: View of the platform at Newton Station. Trains travelled from Tank Road Station, via Oxley Hill and across Orchard Road to Newton Station, before continuing north to Woodlands Station.
Covering Date: c. 1910
Media - Image No: 19980005030 - 0024
Source: National Archives of Singapore
Description: View of the railway station at Johor with the Causeway in the background. The Causeway opened to rail traffic in late 1923, ahead of its official opening on 28 June 1924.
Covering Date: 1930
Oral History Interviews
Accession Number 000588
Source: National Archives of Singapore
Covering Date: 1985
In this 1985 oral history interview, Natesan Palanivelu talks about his arrival in Singapore from Klang in 1930, including his impressions of Tank Road Station (time code 22:56).