With the impending closure of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station in 2011 we took a last ride on the train to Johor Baru.
Completed on 3 May 1932 and officially opened by Sir Cecil Clementi, this beautiful old Art Deco railway station and corridor was owed by the Malaysian Government and managed by KTMB (Keretapi Tanah Malaysia Berhad). As part of the separation agreement signed between Singapore and Malaysia in 1965, KTM Berhad was to retain control of the railway land, meaning that Tanjong Pagar Railway Station became part of Malaysian sovereign territory. Arising from this arrangement, the station was gazetted as a checkpoint along with the customs checkpoint in Woodlands.
That early morning in May, the station was not very busy but there was a mix of nostalgia buffs like us and Singaporeans and Malaysians commuting to Johor Baru or any of the stops on the way to Kuala Lumpur. The station was showing signs of years of neglect but was still a beautiful example of days when buildings weren’t just stainless steel and glass without character. The main hall of the station had a high ceiling with elongated windows that allowed daylight to filter in. The coats-of-arms of the Federated Malay States and the Straits Settlements armed both sides of the grand hall while vibrant murals on its walls depicted important economic activities in Malayan history such as tin mining and rubber tapping. 
The Habib Railway Book Store and Money Changer greeted us when we entered the main hall. We were told that they had been there since 1936 and was popular with many regular passengers before embarking on their trip. The station canteen, renowned for its tasty and affordable food, started their business in 1984 by the Hasan brothers. One of the hawkers, Mohammed Ali Latif, told us he had been selling Nasi Bryani in the canteen for last 8 years.
We queued up for tickets then had roti prata at Hasan Brothers stall. Then proceeded through immigration and onto the platform. The train pulled away and took us through Tanjong Pagar, past Pearl Bank apartments. Winding through the rail corridor past housing estates and Bukit Timah Railway Station which was still manned and the key still dropped on the way through.. Then through the last level crossings in Singapore, Stagmont Road and Kranji Road where the boom gates though automatic were still attended to by an operator.
The train platforms, each 950 ft long, were designed to accommodate the longest mail trains at the time when the station was built. Continuing on to Woodlands Station to pick up more passengers then over the Causeway to the modern station in Johor Baru.
The station was in operation for 79 years until 30 June 2011. Sultan Ibrahim Ismail of Johor drove the last train out of the station. On the same day, the Malaysian Government returned the land on which the station stands (which had belonged to Malaysia under the Railway Ordinance of 1918) to Singapore, in exchange for other plots in the downtown area. Since 1 July 2011, Woodlands Train Checkpoint has been the terminus for KTM trains.