Jerome remembers his first train ride to Kuala Lumpur from the Tanjong Pagar Railway station – not quite the romantic journey he had originally envisioned!

Jerome describes the facade of the station:

I had very much been in awe of the old grey façade, one that had appeared to be dominated by the four large statues that straddled the three large archways, each one meant to symbolise one of Malaya’s four economic pillars, with the letters FMSR, the Federated Malay States Railway, giving evidence of the time at which the station was built. The façade later drew me as it reminded me very much of the great trains stations of Europe that I had dreamt of travelling through, whilst embarking on one of the great train journeys that featured in the many black and white movies. The architecture of the station, built in 1932 had itself drawn inspiration from a great European station, Helsinki’s Central Station, and as much as Helsinki Central is a landmark in Helsinki, Tanjong Pagar Station is a landmark along Keppel Road.

Sounds like a promising start to an adventurous journey… how was Jerome’s first journey to Kuala Lumpur like on the train? Find out in his post, Journeys through Tanjong Pagar: First Impressions …