Train Matters!!!

Submitted my FYP report yesterday... Felt so relieved!! However, my supervisor suggested me to do something extra to boost up my grades... Just great!! At least I don't have to write any follow-up reports, for the meantime... Spent the whole afternoon zealously studying Robotics - the adverse mathematical equations... Finally managed to understand some bits here and there...

Spent the night lolling around and found a website that caught my attention: TRAINS!!! I have always had a knack for trains, probably due to the fact there are no public trains in Brunei... I used to try and take the MRT whenever I can when I first arrived in Singapore, though the frequency is much lesser now.

I have always wondered how trains in other countries look like. Found a website - Virgin Vacation, listing the TOP 11 Underground Transit Systems in the World. Only trains from 4 Asian cities made it to this list(in order of ranking) - Tokyo Subway, Seoul Metropolitan Subway, Beijing Subway, Hong Kong MTR.

Seoul Metropolitan Subway

Wow, I wonder if the seats are cushioned. Looks very comfortable.

Beijing Subway

Reminds me of Singapore's MRT - the yellow lines, advertisements on train bodies, interior arrangments. They did not erect any underground barriers though.

HK Disney MTR Station

The Disney MTR station is so spacious!! Must visit some day to see for myself.

HK MTR Interior

Hmm... Could vaguely remember how HK trains looks like... The last time there was some 10 years back. All I remember was taking the wrong line, taking 2 hours to reach a station that was supposed to be only 3 stops away.

Sao Paulo Metro, Brazil

Honestly the seating arrangements seems very nice. Have yet to board a train like this.

All pictures above are courtesy of Virgin Vacationwebsite. You can visit for full information on the train rankings.

Based on anecdotal perspective, I do find find train rides rather pleasing. I always enthusiastically take trains, or public transport when I went overseas. There's this unknown animosity between me and taxi rides while on vacation, and I only use them to and from the airports.

So far among places I've been to, I realized that only the KL monorail/light rail uses the old magnetic striped cards. The monorail is quite unique that it has only 2 carriages, filling up only one quarter of the train station. It can be pretty claustrophobic during peak hours.

Trains are cheaper, and easy to navigate. It could probably be faster too as it doesn't get caught in traffic snarls, or unscrupulous drivers who just drive you round and round just to earn some extra bucks.

In addition, it is quite interesting to discover how tickets are issued. Most stations now use the EZ-Link like system, albeit in variable forms. I was astonished when the ticket I purchased at Bangkok Metro turns out to be a black plastic token, but functions like EZ-link!!

Ah trains - one of the wonders of modern technology.....