The Green Corridor - Bukit Timah - Jln Kilang Barat - Chinatown, 20 Sept 20
Date: 19 September, 3pm
Start: King Albert Park MRT, 3 p.m
End: Chinatown MRT, ~7 p.m
Distance: 15.19km
(Photos : Courtesy of fellow walkers)
We started the rail corridor walk at the old Bukit Timah Railway Station. 😊
Apart from the few metres of tracks at the start of the trail, the rail tracks had been turfed as a walking path in its place. 
It was a nice walk through largely untouched scenery that went on for about two kilometre, ending near Greenleaf Close.
We then walked along the pavement and emerged from Bukit Sedap Road onto Holland Road near Jelita Caltex Station and rejoined the Corridor. We continued walking until the track cut off at Buona Vista MRT.
From there, we headed along Commonwealth Avenue to Tanglin Halt Hawker Centre for NICE COLD ChinChow drinks (Thanks HP for q-ing and buying them, SO refreshing) 😋. After the short break, we then found the connecting track and resumed our walk.
There were more walkers and joggers along this portion of the track; many seemed to use this path as a usual exercise track. The walk was also made more pleasant by the several points along the way that went under bridges and overpasses, as they also provided temporary but much needed respite from the hot afternoon sun. 🌞
Still, along the way, the unexpected diversity of flora and wildlife we encountered helped divert our attention from the scorching sun. 📷🍊🐤🌼
This portion of the track ended at Jalan Kilang Barat. We waited for HP/HL before looking for the next section of the corridor to resume our walk.
For whatever reason, we assumed we could re-connect back to the corridor. We made these attempts:
(1): Jalan Kilang Timor
Walked up the relatively steep Jalan Kilang Timor, and then OK+YC were seemingly relieved when the car ahead has turned left 🚗 (which led to the inference that we weren't walking up a dead-end road). When we reached the top of the top however, and turned left, it turned out we were at a dead-end road, ⛔ with a steep slope leading down to Jalan Bukit Merah. 😟
We had two options:
(I) to retrace our steps back down to the main road and 😯
(II) to take the (more perilous) shortcut down the steep slope pictured.🏃
OK: "I think it is possible to walk down the slope".
Me: "Are you sure?"
[A quick mental assessment of the terrain told me that I might be able to climb down the slope but would definitely not be able to cross the drain]😨
Without much delay, he started walking down! Option II has been chosen and we followed. Luckily, we did make it down the slope, and I also managed to cross the drain with help... 😅
(2): Behind Bukit Merah Carpark:
We saw a wooden plank across a drain leading to somwhere(?). We crossed it and climbed over a railing to check for possible entrance to the corridor. There was no access to the track.😕
(3): We continued walking, and into Henderson Industrial park. We failed to find any corridor access and walked back onto Jalan Bukit Merah. 😔
(4): Flyover leading to AYE
We walked towards Lower Delta Road as we knew we could see the corridor from the flyover. We did see the track but it was blocked and inaccessible. 😞
We gave up, and headed back onto Jalan Bukit Merah to walk to Chinatown.
Fortunately, Sally had already reserved a table at a Thai Restaurant, and we had a good dinner (except for the Vietnamese Spring Roll, which was underwhelming), and then proceeded for dessert at Chinatown Point. 😋
Pre-Walk:
Most of the available information on the Rail Corridor was outdated
We were told (or did we assume) that the section between Jalan Kilang and Tanjong Pagar had been opened?
Post-Walk:
(1) On a positive note, the extra walk after Jalan Kilang Barat 'boosted' our walking distance to more than 15km...
(2) YC double confirmed that Tanjong Pagar portion is closed. [Photos below]
(3) When I heard the plan to build a park connector between East Coast and Changi Beach, the first thought that came to my mind was when would it be completed, given how long it seems to take to complete the rail corridor.
(4) The tracks reminded me of the Busan rail-walk that I discovered but did not manage to 'squeeze' the time to walk it. Maybe, it can be an overseas walk when we eventually can travel again 💭 Busan Walk