I was headed to Jurong East on Saturday. While I was in the train, I was wondering how many stops it would be to my destination. I looked at the map and counted the stations.
It took me a few moments to realise that I was looking at a retro MRT map!
This was from the time before the North-East Line, when each direction had a unique colour. The current map has one colour per line (regardless of direction) a la Harry Beck’s London Underground map.
The map was the only retro one in the train. I walked up and down a few cars, but I saw the current maps elsewhere. Was someone at SMRT feeling sentimental? Or did they run out of the current maps?
Whatever the case, it was nice to see this old map, a small look into MRT past…
Speaking of which, do check out PY’s Yesterday.sg post about the very first MRT ride! Can you believe it’s been 20 years since the MRT started operating?
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Hi there Kenneth,
I wanted to obtain one of those maps before the new ones went into the trains but i was not exactly sure how to go about it. I think I have a Singapore postcard with one of the older maps.
One of the weirdest experiences I had on the MRT was an almost empty train en route to Marina Bay early one morning. I documented this back in May 2000 on my old online “newspaper”.
http://www.larkin.net.au/prm/newmrt/index.html
We could do with a MRT in Sydney and Wollongong! I even caught the new MRT on the north-east line on the day it opened. I was a bit of a MRT junkie I guess.
Cheers
John
I prefer the old maps as they have arrow heads showing the directions. The new one has only 2 colours and I have old folks getting lost because they don’t know which train to take during the switch.
Yes, I can believe its been 20 years because I can remember my very first mrt ride! There used to be the orange barriers that opens sideways when we insert the magnetic mrt card into the slot. However on my first ride I thought those barriers were meant to be physically pried apart to enter…
The SMRT officers at the Station Control were too busy laughing at me to intervene.
Wikipedia’s Singapore MRT entry is detailed and well annotated - lots of links to highly relevant and interesting resources.
I enjoyed your article at the Pasir Ris Mercury. You have a photo of the pre-plasma train arrival displays… nice!
@ WishBone Yes, that seems to be a sentiment shared by many people. I know it is confusing for the older folk. However, I prefer the new style for its expandability. Can you imagine if we use the old system, Dhoby Ghaut will have six colours passing through or connecting to it once the Circle Line opens! The future map already looks very colourful without doubling the colours.
@ steelwool Funnily enough, many overseas train/metro gates work that way! After you put your ticket into the slot, you have to push through the gate. If you put the ticket in and wait, the gate is not going to open automatically.
And the same thing applies to the train doors…
i must confess i had a blonde moment last weekend while on the train from edinburgh to glasgow. train door was closing with me inside and bf outside. Panicked, yelled, tried to put my leg in between the doors. however, it was too late and the doors closed. bf then promptly pressed the “door open” button outside and calmly walked in.
mrt rocks! it’s affordable, efficient, on time, fast, clean and safe. hated melbourne trains because they almost always get cancelled, stop in the middle of nowhere for 15 minutes and are full of graffiti/young hoodlums using hammers to smash window/door panes. london trains are small and cramped. glasgow as well. come to think of it, edinburgh too.
worst offender for me was the train from gare l’est to charles de gaul airport - gantries were the type that had 3 rotating steel bars. everyone was carrying their luggage above their shoulders to get in. even the old latvian trains are better in that respect!
Yes I similarly had my oops experience with the Connex train doors in Melbourne that requires passengers to pry open the doors to alight. Being so used to the mrt system, I’ve initially waited for the doors to open. What made it embarrassing was that I since the doors still weren’t opening when the train was about to move off, I scuttled to the next door that someone else had already opened.
Hi Kenneth, Thanks for mentioning my post on Yesterday.sg.
Yes, the MRT is 20 years old.
I was in sec 4, and living in Braddell View then. If memory serves me well, the inaugral service was between Toa Payoh and Yio Chu Kang.
I remember the many mishaps associated with the new train stations. People who slotted their ticket on the left side, and one who even deposited coins in the slot!
Thanks Kenneth, thanks for bringing back the good old memories
yeah… Expo and Changi air[prt line are not in the map yet,,,