TRAVERSE 78
By 2018, Train Street had become one of the most recognisable images in Southeast Asia. It was no longer just a place; it was an experience. Sit here, order a drink, wait for the train. Feel the rush as it passes. Capture it. Share it. Move on.
But the very thing that made it compelling— the intimacy, the proximity, the sense of danger— also made it unsustainable.
The street was never designed to hold crowds. It was never built for spectators. As visitor numbers swelled, so did the risks. Tourists lingered on the tracks too long, chasing the perfect photograph. Some misjudged distances. Others simply ignored warnings. Train drivers, faced with the growing unpredictability of human behaviour, began reporting near misses. What had once been a tightly understood rhythm between residents and railway became something far more chaotic.
In 2019, authorities intervened. Access points were closed, barriers erected, and cafés along the tracks were ordered to shut. The message was clear: the situation had become unsafe. no longer just a place, it is an experience. feel it. capture it. share it. move on.
TRAVERSE 78