This is Walking in Singapore!

Not what you’d expect from a city-state which measures just 733 square km (283 sq mi)??? The country has an area that is just 1/8th the size of Rhode Island or one-third the size of London yet manages to squeeze over five million people in! Green spaces are vital to the country and there are some stunning spaces across Singapore.

The newest one which opened in 2021 is Rail Corridor SG which runs for 24km (13 mi) from Tanjong Pagar railway station in downtown Singapore northwards to Kranji, near the Woodlands Checkpoint and causeway to Johor Bahru (JB) in Malaysia.

The last time I was at this spot was when I rode the old Singapore to Kuala Lumpur Sleeper train in 2010. The railway line’s Singapore section which originally opened in 1903, closed in 2011.

You can still catch a train from the Singapore border and travel to Kuala Lumpur (KL) and then onto Penang, Bangkok (Thailand), Vientiane (Laos) and Kunming, Shanghai and Beijing (China). When/if Russia re-opens, you could, in theory, travel from Singapore to London by train using the Trans-Siberian Railway. I rode the section from Singapore to Bangkok and onto Vientiane in 2017. I hope to do the whole journey to the UK one day!

(Singapore and Malaysia have recently revived plans to build a 90-minute-long high-speed rail line between KL and Singapore, which will connect to the new KL to Bangkok high-speed train. Don’t expect anything before 2030 though).

I highly recommend this free walking trail which is divided into three sections:

1. Northern Trail (10km/ 6 mi)
2. Central Trail (4km/ 2.4 mi)
3. Southern Trail (10km/6mi )

You can start and finish the trail at any point. Public transit access to the trail is easy. Ride on n Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system to any of the following stations and walk a few metres to the nearest access point:

• Buona Vista station (East-west line)
• Hillview station (Downtown Line)
• King Albert Park Station (Downtown line)
• Kranji station (North-South line)

There are also numerous bus routes that pass by. You can easily emerge at any point on the trail and order a Taxi/Grab to get you to any part of Singapore.

The trail is open all the time, but it is not lit at night to protect wildlife movement. Visitors are, therefore, encouraged to exit by nightfall. Take plenty of water and snacks as it gets quite hot in Singapore. There are no Convenience Stores on the trail, although there are shops and Cafes nearby.

PS In 2022, I walked and ran 4000 km/ 2400 mi in across 17 countries! Part of this effort was participation in several walking and running events to raise funds for charities, notably cancer-related charities in memory of my late sister. Where did you find yourself walking in 2022?