Cluny Road railway station explained

Cluny Road
Status:Disused
Country:Singapore
Platforms:1
Original:Keretapi Tanah Melayu
Opened:1 January 1903[1]
Closed:2 May 1932[2]
Other Services Header:Former services

Cluny Road railway station was a railway station on the Singapore-Kranji Railway from 1903 to 1932.

History

Cluny Road railway station was opened to the public on 1 January 1903, along Bukit Timah Road,[3] as one of the first four railway stations in Singapore, along with the Tank Road, Newton and Bukit Timah railway stations. Cluny Road station, Holland Road station and Bukit Timah station helped attract residents to the area surrounding the stations.[4] However, many residents were later forced to move away from both Cluny Road station and Newton station as the land in the surrounding areas were low and were constantly flooded during wet seasons.[5] The highest passenger volume was on Sundays, as the railway allowed easier access to gambling dens in Johor, which offered to pay for return fares, attracting gamblers from Singapore.[6] In 1907, the station reported a decrease in revenue, as many residents had left the surrounding area for other districts, and fewer residents were using the station to get to Johor.[7]

As it was decided that Tank Road station was unfit to be the terminus of the line, it was decided that the Bukit Timah-Tank Road section of the line would be abandoned, and the line would instead deviate in between Bukit Panjang and Bukit Timah, travelling down a different route which ran along the west of the main town, to a new terminal station at Tanjong Pagar.[8] Cluny Road station, along with the rest of the Bukit Timah-Tank Road section of the line, was closed and abandoned on 2 May 1932, with the opening of the new terminus at Tanjong Pagar.

The former site of the station is currently being occupied by a part of the Dunearn Underpass.[9]

Incidents

On 22 February 1908, at around 11.30 at night, a night signal man, stationed near Cluny Road station, was decapitated, and mutilated by an oncoming train. Earlier, he had left his lamp on the tracks, and went to sleep. As he heard the oncoming train, he made a dash for the lamp, but was instead hit by the train. An inquest was held at the station on 26 February 1908, and a verdict of accidental death was returned.[10] The accident was one of two fatal incidents on the railway that year.[11]

Notes and References

  1. News: . 2 January 1903. Singapore-Kranji Railway. The Straits Times. Singapore. 21 March 2022.
  2. News: . 2 May 1932. The new railway deviation. Malaya Tribune. Singapore. 26 March 2022.
  3. Web site: Historical Maps of Singapore. . NUS Libraries. National University of Singapore. 28 March 2022.
  4. News: . 31 December 1903. 1903. The Straits Times. Singapore. 26 March 2022.
  5. News: . 7 November 1904. Our suburbs of the future. The Straits Times. Singapore. 26 March 2022.
  6. News: Lee. Joshua. January 28, 2018. S'pore's first railway cut through Orchard Road, ferried people to gambling dens in Johor. Mothership. Singapore. 26 March 2022.
  7. News: . 1 July 1907. Gambling at Johore. The Straits Times. Singapore. 26 March 2022.
  8. News: Chandy. Gloria. 30 April 1979. Once, Singapore connection crossed over the Johore Straits by steam ferries. New Nation. Singapore. 26 March 2022.
  9. Web site: Historical Maps of Singapore. . NUS Libraries. National University of Singapore. 28 March 2022.
  10. News: . 27 February 1908. Accident on the Railway. The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (Weekly). Singapore. 26 March 2022.
  11. News: . 29 May 1909. Singapore Kranji Railway. The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. Singapore. 26 March 2022.