This post continues my long-term project of visiting every MRT and LRT stop in Singapore—this time by riding the Singapore LRT Sengkang Line. Running in a double loop with Sengkang smack in the middle, this 10.7-kilometer line runs through a small section of Singapore’s northeastern corner.

LRT stops are pretty close together (generally an eight-minute walk or a one-and-a-half-minute ride), and they tend to be clustered in the middle of HDBs (Housing and Development Board apartment complexes), so you don’t necessarily see much variety along the way. But I still enjoy spending ten to fifteen minutes at each stop to see what surprises might be in store. Here’s what I found.

East Loop: Sengkang to Compassvale

Sengkang

Sengkang is great if you like shopping malls, big green lawns surrounded by HDBs and condos, and LRT/MRT/bus interchanges (among other options, you can pick up the North East Line here). Beyond that, there’s not much to see.

Because Sengkang is also home to an MRT station, there is a nice Art in Transit piece— in this case, the stained glass T.R.A.N.S.I.T.I.O.N.S, by Koh Bee Liang.

Ranggung

The relentless march of HDBs continues into Ranggung, which is definitely a contender for the most-boring stop along the Sengkang line (though I do like that the station name means “stork” in Malay). The only saving graces I found were this hawker, which serves a nice cup of teh-c …

… this very strange, unlabeled piece of sculpture in the middle of an HDB courtyard:

As a side note, if you’re wondering what an empty LRT car looks like, here’s an early-morning view:

For my money, the best place to ride is right up front, where you can see the tracks stretching out in front of you. It’s like being on the world’s slowest roller coaster.

Kangkar

The HDBs at Kangkar spring up in massive flocks of greys and pinks that look straight out of the 1980s. But what I most liked about Kangkar was the easy walk to the Sungei Serangoon Park Connector. You can’t really see the river, but the greenery (and the terrible puns on the signs) made for a nice change of scenery:

Bakau

The pink-and-grey theme continues in the HDBs at Bakau …

… as does ready proximity to the park connector.

If you walk in a different direction from Bakau, it’s just a few blocks to Chong Ghee temple, one of the few places of worship I encountered along this journey.

Rumbia

My notes on Rumbia say “orange HDBS, blue statues, Rivervale Mall.” That pretty much sums it up.

The blue statues are formally titled “Flow of Harmony,” but I kept calling them “Bunny and the Blob” in my head.

Compassvale

I like that the HDB designers at Compassvale went for a sort of seafoam green spiky theme:

I walked through this complex for a while en route to the Sengkang Sculpture Park. What a strange and delightful assemblage of concrete statuary!

West Loop: Cheng Lim to Renjong

Cheng Lim

I feel a little bad giving Sengkang Sculpture Park all to Compassvale, because in truth, the sculptures lie smack in the middle of three stops: Sengkang, Compassvale, and Cheng Lim. And maybe I should have given them to Cheng Lim — because otherwise, this is a super-boring stop (unless you like hospitals, in which case Sengkang General Hospital is right here).

Farmway

I really liked Farmway, though I did wonder about the name choice, because absolutely everything else here is called Anchorvale. There are the prettily-landscaped Anchorvale Cove HDBs (above), Anchorvale Road, and the Anchorvale Community Club:

The very best thing here, from my perspective, is the access to the Coast-to-Coast Trail and Sengkang Riverside Park.

Kupang

Sengkang Riverside Park continues on the other side of the river, close to Kupang station.

I spent a while admiring banana flowers …

…checking out the empty dog run, and then getting trapped by construction hoarding. This was also the first spot along my journey where I saw big, empty green fields, which lay just across from these HDBs.

Thanggam

My notes for Thanggam are short but sweet: they say, “variety!” A linkway from the station leads you directly to tiny Fernvale Park (above), and from there you soon find yourself amidst a mix of landed houses, condos, and shophouse restaurants. I wandered around here for a while enjoying the break from tall buildings, stopping to enjoy sights like the even tinier Lorong Tanggam Park …

… these wildflowers (not a common sight in Singapore)…

… and this interesting-looking church.

By the way, if you’re wondering about the origin of the name “Thanggam,” (I was), it means “gold” in Tamil.

Fernvale

Ah, the HDBs of Fernvale … I love a cheerful design, and these tiny triangles won my heart.

What else does Fernvale have? Well, I suspect that most people travel here for the Seletar Mall, but I would skip right past that (unless you need your Din Tai Fung hit) and head to the hawker stalls on the third floor of the Fernvale Community Club.

There are all sorts of things to choose from here; if you want an excellent snack, I would recommend a teh and an original Biscoff min jiang kueh from Munchi Pancakes. So good!

Layar

Layar struck me with an abundance of green, from the lush foliage to the HDBs themselves …

… which meant that anything of a different hue, like this tiny incense burner, immediately stood out.

Situated just next to the Punggol West Bank Park Connector, Layar offers easy access to Sungei Punggol. Should you be in the mood for a bit of education, if you walk south along the river, there are signs that teach you about mangrove ecology.

Tongkang

Tongkang felt grey and grim. The predominant features are empty-feeling HDBs and barbed wire.

If you’re feeling determined, you can make your way down to the Coast-to-Coast trail from Tongkang — but it’s a bit of a hike, and the scenery along the way leaves a lot to be desired. That said, the trail itself is a great place to walk:

Note that it’s probably just as easy — and definitely more aesthetically pleasing — to get to the trail from the Layar stop.

Renjong

The last stop! Well, because the LRTs all run in loops, there are technically no first or last stops — but this was the final stop along my journey.

I wanted to like Renjong more than I did, but it’s mostly a mass of HDBs …

… and a food centre where both the teh and the rojak were too sweet.

My favorite part of Renjong was this small and adorable community garden.

I was excited to have finished the day’s journey. Exploring Singapore’s rail lines is always satisfying, but it’s also surprisingly exhausting work.

If you’re ever tempted to try riding an entire LRT line just for fun, I would recommend starting with the Punggol Line — it has the most to offer beyond lots of HDBs. Among the many MRT lines, Downtown remains my favorite, and the Thomson-East Coast line has some great stops in its middle section. Enjoy exploring.