Riding the Rails of Malaysia, in Singapore
The Tanjong Pagar railway station sits in the heart of the port district of Singapore, yet the frigid efficiencies of the city-state fell quickly away as I stepped under the 78-year-old station's Roman-style arches. There was no air-conditioning in the central hall inside, nor were there any boards to signal my train's arrival or the platform it would depart from. A Muslim woman in a headscarf sat at an entrance to the urinals, collecting coins from every visitor. Backpackers moved in slow circles under the ceiling fans, watching anxiously for the platform's accordion metal grill to be dragged open. The modernity of Singapore felt far away.
In a way, it was. The Tanjong Pagar station has long been an irritation to Singapore, a physical reminder of Malaysia's former sovereignty over the island nation. The train station is situated on a narrow bridge of land, which, 45 years after Singapore broke away from Malaysia, is still legally administered by its erstwhile master. It's a quaint historical oddity that has become a legal quagmire: according to the terms of the station's lease, signed in 1918 when both Singapore and Malaysia were under British colonial rule, Malaysia enjoys certain sovereign powers over the property so long as the rail service that begins in Singapore and creeps slowly through its rural hinterland up to the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, still runs. For years, Singapore tried to curb those powers, suggesting, for instance, that Malaysia process the immigration papers of railway passengers at the border instead of inside the station itself. But past negotiations could not resolve the dispute.
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Backpackers moved in slow circles under the ceiling fans, watching anxiously for the platform's accordion metal grill to be dragged open.