END OF AN ERA: 108-year-old station will be demolished for electrified double-tracking project
TAMPIN: THE 108-year-old Tampin Railway Station in Malacca has officially made way for Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad's (KTMB) electrified double-tracking project.
Yesterday's passengers on KTMB trains will go down in history as the last to use the station (officially known as Pulau Sebang Station), as it will be demolished today for the project's Seremban-Gemas line.
The historical station, located at the Negri Sembilan-Malacca border, has stood the test of time, including the three-year Japanese occupation.
The then 32km railway line from Tampin to Malacca town, which was laid in 1903, had been scrapped to build the Death Railway in Burma (Myanmar). The line was never rebuilt.
The station now serves as a link for tourists, especially from Singapore to travel to Malacca.
The station was also the location for 1955 movie Sarjan Hassan which starred the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee. In the scene, Ramlee, who played the lead role, was featured waiting by the station's signboard for a train to take him to an army recruitment centre.
It is learnt that popular Hong Kong actor Andy Lau had also shot scenes at the station in 1996.
When the New Straits Times visited the station yesterday, all that was left of the original building was a partially built iron pedestrian bridge.
Its stationmaster, Ramli Saidin, 52, said the station was going through its third reconstruction.
"The station underwent reconstruction in 1995. In my 23 years of working at this station, I have met many tourists who spoke about their relatives who had served in the war."
Showing the NST laminated pictures, Ramli said tourists had mailed them to him to share their knowledge on the station's history and legacy.
Ramli also showed the station's old railway bell, believed to have been used during the British occupation.
The stationmaster added that he accepted that the station had to go, saying he hoped the new station which was scheduled for completion in April, would breathe life into the quaint town.
KTMB's Seremban-Gemas-Johor Baru electrified double-tracking project general manager Major Abdul Rahman Din said the Seremban-Gemas line, along with its five other new stations, including Senawang, Sungai Gadut, Rembau, Gemas and Batang Melaka, were scheduled to be completed by July 31.
"We have completed 90 per cent of all works involving the line.
"When the new train service is up and running, passengers can travel from Kuala Lumpur to Gemas in two and a half hours compared with four, previously."
KTMB is embarking on its electrified double-tracking project in the west coast from Johor Baru to Padang Besar, which is divided into several phases.
Expected to be fully completed by 2018, it is touted to be the fastest metre-gauge railway line in the world.
The Tampin railway station had stood the test of time for almost 11 decades. Pic by Mohd Yusni Ariffin
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