In the 1960s, when the Singapore government decided that the area of Jurong was to be the site for Singapore’s second port (after the existing one at Tanjong Pagar south of the city-centre) and a new industrial estate, it was realized that most of Jurong lacked proper roads and related infrastructure (as the area was, at that time, largely undeveloped and was regarded as a rural district, with many farms and villages (kampongs) scattered across the jungles and swamps in the area). Therefore, an agreement was struck between Singapore and Malaysia for the extension of a railroad line from the Bukit Timah railway station on the main KTM-operated railroad line between Malaysia and the Tanjong Pagar railway station near the city-district of Singapore towards the newly-established industrial estate and Jurong Port.
The construction of the Jurong railway station and the so-called “Jurong Line” (the unofficial name for the new railway line for freight transport) started in 1963 and was completed in 1965 amidst much public fanfare, even though the railway line was not intended to be catered for passenger-based train services. Despite the significant investment in the establishment of the “Jurong Line” with its relevant infrastructure and the general notion amongst the population at large that it would play an important role in serving Jurong’s industrial estate and the port through freight-based railroad transportation, there was not much true worth in the “Jurong Line” (only a few industrial operators based in the surrounding area made use of the railway line for its original (and sole) purpose of transporting freight; these included the Sugar Industries of Singapore (SIS) Ltd., Asia Cement (Malaysia) Ltd., the Pan Malaysian Cement Works Ltd. and Exxon Mobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd). Thus, throughout the entire duration of its existence, the activity level of the “Jurong Line” was generally quite low.
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