How to get to Singapore's new international railway station

Trains that go to Singapore now leave from Woodlands Train Checkpoint right next to the border with Singapore. Bus 950 goes to and from MRT Marsiling which is in walking distance. Buses 160 and 170 connect the station with Kranji MRT. Be careful about the 170 buses if you are coming from Kranji, not all the 170's go to the train station. There several other buses that stop on Woodlands Road near the station entrance most of these go to Woodlands MRT, but I don't know which side of the street send buses in that direction.

To find the station location on Google Maps, you need to enter Woodlands Crossing, Singapore which is what Google thinks the station is named. If you enter the stations actual address, Google sends you to another location in Woodlands.

There have been complaints about a lack of toilets in the new facility, so be careful about that. Are there bathrooms in the MRT stations?

And now for a video in which immigration and transport officials talk about the change. I am concerned that the transit guy does not think that they need more buses:



Hopefully, light rail will connect to the station by 2018 as planned.

Looking for Blogs That are Updated Frequently?

The National Blog Posting Month posts a list every month of blogs that are updated every day. This month the theme is "Fan". Let's hope that we get some rail fans posting.

Free Tram Rides for a Day in Hong Kong

Today is the 150th Anniversary of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. To celebrate, they are paying the fare of anyone who takes the tram from Western District and Shau Kei Wan. Ferries between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui will also be free. 1,000 passengers will also get sets of the stamps being issued by the Hongkong Post to commemorate the chambers history.

Good on them for helping people get to work and school. June 9 is a Thursday, a work day.

Traveling by train in northern Japan (links)

Here are some links for information about how the earthquake and tsunami are impacting trains in northern Japan.

Earthquake Info in English @wiki: Transportation Status

Pictures and Discussion of the Damage

Service south and west of Tokyo has not been distrupted. Unfortunately, this catastrophe occurred in the center of northern Japan, damaging routes between Tokyo and Sendai and points north.

Here We Go Again

News in March from Southeast Asia: Kuala Lumpur again announces that they are going to have one smartcard that will work on all trains, and Jakarta restarts and then shelves their monorail project in a single week because Indonesia apparently does not invest in infrastructure.

My prediction: Kuala Lumpur will gradually add services to its smartcard system, and make an major announcement for each one. Malaysia will have full rail connectivity, including one high speed rail line, before Jakarta even starts on a public transportation system. If I am wrong, I hope that it is Indonesia that proves me wrong. Lots of Indonesian citizens would benefit from more infrastructure investments.

Here is a link with a little history of Kuala Lumpur's buses and trains: The Integrated Approach to Solving Transportation Woes and a video of Kuala Lumpur's monorail (which should have been a conventional train so it could have been expanded and connected into the rest of the rail system).