Bukit Panjang

A scene in Bukit Panjang

Bukit Panjang is a suburban area situated in the Central North-Western part of Singapore. The Bukit Panjang Planning Area, located in the West Region, encompasses the Housing Development Board's housing estate of Bukit Panjang New Town and the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

Etymology

Bukit in the Malay Language means "hill" and Panjang means "long". Bukit Panjang literally means "long hill" which gets its name from the long range of high hills which ends in Bukit Timah to the south.

At the height of the movement to change place names in Singapore to Mandarin ones using hanyu pinyin romanization, the new town to be built in the area was initially known as Zhenghua (正华), along with Yishun (义顺) for Nee Soon, and Zhujiao market for tek kha (竹脚) market in Kandang Kerbau. The trading of old dialect names which have gained common currency for unfamiliar, Mandarin ones was not well-received by the public, and Bukit Panjang was quickly reinstated. However, the name Zhenghua is preserved in the name of the flyover between Bukit Panjang Road and the Bukit Timah Expressway as well as the Zhenghua Park.

Administration

Bukit Panjang Plaza, near the Bukit Panjang LRT Station.

The Bukit Panjang area comes under the administrative lead of the Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council, which oversees the management and maintenance of the many apartments (HDB Flats) and commercial units in Bukit Panjang.

Political history

Bukit Panjang is politically divided into three constituencies. The central area of Bukit Panjang is in Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency whose Member of Parliament is Teo Ho Pin who is the mayor for Northwest Community Development Council. The other two constituencies are enclosed in the Holland-Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency. This includes Senja, a part of Jelapang, Segar, Gangsa and a portion of Petir. Senja, Segar and Jelapang are located in Zhenghua constituency of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC whose Member of Parliament is Liang Eng Hwa with Gangsa and the remaining portion of Petir belonging to Cashew division of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC with its Member of Parliament being the Community Development, Youth and Sports minister Dr.Vivian Balakrishnan.

Education

Primary Schools

• Beacon Primary School
• Bukit Panjang Primary School
• Greenridge Primary School
• West View Primary School
• Zhenghua Primary School

Secondary Schools

• Assumption English School
• Chestnut Drive Secondary School
• Fajar Secondary School
• Greenridge Secondary School
• West Spring Secondary School
• Zhenghua Secondary School

Transport

In addition of Bukit Panjang LRT Station, the Bukit Panjang Interchange, also near that station, is of moderate size and wholly used by SMRT Buses, part of SMRT Corporation. In 2015, Bukit Panjang MRT Station will be open near Ten Mile Junction.

Main article: Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange

* Feeder services

Service	Between	And
SMRT Buses Feeder Services
920	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Bangkit Road (loop)
922	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Bangkit Road (loop)

* Trunk services

Service	Between	And
SMRT Buses Trunk Services
75	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Marina Centre Bus Terminal
176	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Bukit Merah Bus Interchange
177	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Bukit Batok Bus Interchange
180	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Boon Lay Bus Interchange
184	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Clementi MRT Station (loop)
700	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Shenton Way Bus Terminal
700A	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Suntec City (loop)
970	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Shenton Way Bus Terminal
975	Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange	Lim Chu Kang Bus Terminal (loop)

In addition, the following bus services pass through parts of Bukit Panjang:

• SMRT Buses

Service	Between	And
SMRT Buses Trunk Services
67	Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange	Tampines Bus Interchange
171	Yishun Bus Interchange	Marina Centre Bus Terminal
178	Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange	Boon Lay Bus Interchange
187	Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange	Boon Lay Bus Interchange
190	Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange	New Bridge Road Bus Terminal
960	Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange	Marina Centre Bus Terminal
961	Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange	Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal
961C	Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange	Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal
963	Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange	HarbourFront Bus Interchange
966	Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange	Marine Parade Road (loop)
SMRT Buses Express Services
963E	Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange	HarbourFront Bus Interchange
963R	Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange	Resorts World Sentosa
SMRT Buses NightRider Services
NR3	Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange	North Canal Road (loop)

• SBS Transit

Service	Between	And
SBS Transit Trunk Services
160	Jurong East Bus Interchange	Kotaraya II Bus Terminal (JB)
170	Queen Street Bus Terminal	Larkin Bus & Taxi Terminal (JB)
SMRT Buses Premium Services
555	Bukit Panjang Ring Road	Fullerton Road

References

• Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1

External links

• Zhenghua Park (owned by the National Parks Board of Singapore)
• SMRT Trains (Bukit Panjang LRT)
• Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council