[1] This arrangement lasted until 30 June 2011, when rail service to Tanjong Pagar was ended and the land reverted to Singapore.

[2][3] The main building of the railway station was gazetted as a national monument on 9 April 2011,[4] completing one of the objectives of the new Points of Agreement between Malaysia and Singapore.

Previously, passengers and goods, particularly to service the transportation of tin and rubber industry in Malaya were transferred at Woodlands to a ferry to Johor Bahru and the connecting train on the peninsula.

With the emergence of steamships and growth of shipping industry, Tanjong Pagar Dock Company was formed in 1864, building wharves in the area.

Upon arriving in TPRS's main hall, the first thing that many encountered was Habib Railway Book Store and Money Changer.

Having lived and worked there most of his life, Lim also mentioned that the hotel exuded a strong colonial ambience, with massive rooms having high ceilings and restaurant's waiters dressed in white with silver buttons.

The popularity of the hotel began declining in the 1970s due to physical deterioration of the station building and the negligence of maintenance by the Malayan Railway authorities.

Though supported by some, the closure was opposed and lamented by others as representing a great loss of Singapore's heritage and of a key public transportation facility.

In 2015, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) proposed that the station be converted into multi-functional community space as part of the revamp of the Rail Corridor stretching from Kranji to Tanjong Pagar.

[6] Facilities such as an auditorium and art gallery would be added, and the Railway Corridor would become a linear park that would be nearly ten times longer than New York's High Line.

The two long platforms were capable of accommodating the longest mail trains, covered by umbrella reinforced concrete roofs.

[12] When the two countries established border controls, both the Malaysian and Singaporean Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) officers were stationed at Tanjong Pagar for clearance of railway passengers.

[13] However, in June 1997 Malaysia stated that the Malaysia-Singapore Points of Agreement of 1990 would come into effect only after it decided to relocate Tanjong Pagar station.

Under Malaysian law, it is Johor Bahru railway station, not Tanjong Pagar, that is gazetted as an Immigration Control Post for persons travelling by train from Singapore to Malaysia.

Singapore also pointed out that this was confirmed by the endorsement on the passports of passengers boarding the train at Tanjong Pagar, which showed:

Regs 63 [Date]" Permitted to enter and remain in West Malaysia and Sabah for one month from the date shown above"[15] On 1 August 1998, Singaporean Immigration ceased operations in Tanjong Pagar and moved to WTCP, while Malaysian Immigration continued operating in Tanjong Pagar.

[18][19] On 24 May 2010, a meeting between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong in Singapore resolved the relocation issue.

Both sides agreed to create a consortium called M-S Pte Ltd, of which 60% equity is owned by Malaysia's Khazanah Nasional Berhad and 40% by Singapore's Temasek Holdings Ltd.

Both sides also agreed to the building of a rapid transit link between Johor Bahru and Singapore to enhance connectivity across the Causeway.