Tiong Bahru Park stands at the corner of Tiong Bahru Road and Lower Delta Road. The green park stands out for one particular feature – its crazy, tilting train playground. The centrepiece of the park, the Tiong Bahru Park playground is great fun for kids looking for an adventurous day out. And there’s more to the park too.
Tiong Bahru Park Playground – the Tilting Train
Tiong Bahru Park train playground is made up of an engine, three carriages and a caboose at the end. Elevated off the playground’s sandy ground, the wood-clad carriages and caboose trail behind the engine at an angle – as if about to derail.
OPEN HOUSE: Explore a Charming Montessori school at Mount Sophia on Saturday, 2 Dec 2023
NINJA CHALLENGE: Bring your A-game for a Day of Sporty Fun at this Mall
This version of the train is a refreshed one. In late 2017, Tiong Bahru Park Playground was closed for a revamp and this renovated version of the train reopened in September 2018.
Inside the train, it is a crazy, fun house – which makes it one of our favourite outdoor playgrounds in Singapore.
Walking from one end of the train to the other provides plenty of silly fun as you try to keep upright and moving forward. New hand-holds have been added to parts of the playground, along with netted sections.
Kids can climb all the way to the very front of the engine and there is a bell upfront too.
Access to the train from the ground is via ladders and stairways. One stairway at the front of the train leads up into the locomotive engine while another set of stairs can be found at the rear.
In between, there are various entryways to climb aboard the train. For example, intrepid young adventurers can attempt to board the train using a ramp with handholds and a rope.
Exiting is a more straightforward affair. Just shoot down one of the tube slides found in the middle of the train or from the open slides towards the rear.
At the front of the Tiong Bahru Park Train are a set of green seats which look like railway tracks.
Cowboy Adventures, Swings & More
If kids need more help imagining that they are riding along on a runaway train through the desert, there are cacti popping out from sand beside the train. Instead of needles, these cacti have handholds for children to use.
A group of horse-shaped teeter-totters add to the cowboy-and-western vibe of the playground.
Beside the train play structure and the teeter-totters, there is also a pair of swings at the playground. There used to be a set of flying fox play equipment but all that’s left are its frames and cable.
Toddlers can explore a colourful little maze too.
Other Facilities at Tiong Bahru Park
Tiong Bahru Park is also the site of one of the earliest therapeutic gardens in Singapore. It is rather a small but that also makes it easy to wander around.
Alternatively, there is also a bridge which spans a river of granite chips, creating a picturesque pathway with weeping willows adding to the beauty of the scene.
A foot reflexology path, which swirls around, also provides some care for the soles.
A little raised platform also serves as a look out for those who expend the effort to climb it.
Close by is the Tiong Bahru Park allotment garden with elevated planters where local gardeners show off their green fingers.
There is even a garden shed or CleanPod containing tools for those who wish to do their part to care for the park.
An interesting feature that can still be found at Tiong Bahru Park are the poles where bird enthusiasts can hoist up their songbirds for all to enjoy.
All these, together with the Tiong Bahru Park train playground, make it a nice place for a little day out.
