20-year-old man plans to walk entire Downtown Line in a day to ‘prove anything is possible’
Singapore’s Downtown Line may be one of the most convenient ways to get around the island — but one 20-year-old is planning to experience all 41.9km of it on foot.
Trevor Kam, who describes himself as a “competitive MRT walker”, will attempt to walk the entire Downtown Line in one day on Friday (21 Aug), starting at 7am.
He previously announced the challenge on Instagram, sharing that he plans to walk with a Singapore flag and invited others to join him.
Source: @3vuhhh on Instagram
Challenging the notion that Singapore is boring
Speaking to MS News, Trevor said that the idea came from a desire to challenge the perception that Singapore is boring.
“Maybe it isn’t that Singapore is boring,” he told MS News. “Maybe it’s that people in Singapore don’t think of doing anything too crazy that can make their lives more exciting.”
Trevor said he wanted to create something people could look back on at the end of the year and remember as a shared experience.
“I want to spread that message,” he said. “Hey, remember that big event? Remember that big thing that everyone was just doing for fun?”
Source: @3vuhhh on Instagram
Plans to walk every MRT line
The Downtown Line is not Trevor’s first MRT walking challenge.
He has already completed walks along the North East Line and Circle Line, and plans to eventually cover every MRT line.
The order is based on the distances recorded by Google, with the Downtown Line next, followed by the Thomson-East Coast Line, North-South Line and East-West Line.
His ultimate goal is to cover the East-West Line, which is publicly stated as being around 57km, according to the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
However, while Google puts the Downtown Line at 41.9km, Trevor told MS News that he expects the actual walking distance to be longer.
For example, the Circle Line is listed at around 39km on Google, but his completed walk ended up being about 47km.
Source: @3vuhhh on Instagram
“I’ll probably have to do some research,” he said.
Trevor has yet to finalise the route, but plans to stop at every station and potentially have two to three food and rest stops along the way.
He also intends to stop in front of each MRT station sign — rather than simply passing through the general area — to mark that he has visited each station along the line.
When asked about the Downtown Line’s Bugis to Bencoolen loop, which is 14 minutes by foot if one cuts from Bugis to Bencoolen but much longer if he walks through the whole loop, Trevor said he may walk the full loop depending on which route allows him to reach every station most efficiently.
Source: Land Transport Authority website
‘I have not done any training’
Despite expecting to walk more than 40km in Singapore’s heat, Trevor said he has not undergone any specific training.
On an average day, he clocks only around 2,000 to 3,000 steps.
Source: @3vuhhh on Instagram
“Honestly, I have not done any training,” he said.
“I think I’m just eating healthier, but that’s not really related to the walking.”
Instead, he believes the biggest preparation will be mental.
He expects the 20km mark to be particularly challenging, when participants may begin to realise how long they have been walking.
The early start is also intended to prevent the group from finishing too late in the day.
‘It’s about whether you choose to live an exciting life’
For Trevor, the walk is about more than completing an unusual physical challenge.
He said he previously challenged himself to try 20 new things in a year, eventually exceeding his goal by trying around 30.
Source: @3vuhhh on Instagram
That experience changed how he viewed the idea of living an exciting life.
“It’s not about whether Singapore is boring. It’s about whether you choose to live an exciting life or not,” he said.
Trevor said he hopes his MRT challenges will encourage others to push past their own “limiting beliefs”.
“I just want to inspire people to take more action in their lives, to realise that they are capable of so much more,” he said.
Source: @3vuhhh on Instagram
He acknowledged that following a conventional path can be the safer option, but said he feels young Singaporeans can sometimes become too accustomed to predictable routines.
“I can’t imagine a life living like that,” he said.
“You don’t grow if you don’t do anything about it.”
Trevor’s Downtown Line walk will take place on Friday (21 Aug) from 7am, starting at Bukit Panjang station and ending at Expo.
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Featured image adapted from @3vuhhh on Instagram and @3vuhhh on Instagram.
