Have you ever tried to outrun an MRT train? In a viral Instagram video on Sunday (July 5), local content creator Michael Collins shared his race against a train from Shenton Way to Marina Bay.
In the video, the 26-year-old explained that he had two minutes and 35 seconds to reach Marina Bay station in order to get onto the same train he had alighted from at Shenton Way station.
"I have always dreamt of being the first man to beat the MRT," wrote Collins in the caption.
He described how he had "studied every single MRT line" and "researched every newly opened MRT station" to find stations that are less than 600m apart.
He told AsiaOne that he started by manually keying in every adjacent MRT station into Google Maps to find which stations were situated most closely to one another.
Through his research, he found four pairs of stations that fit the bill: Chinatown and Clarke Quay, Rochor and Little India, Downtown and Telok Ayer as well as Shenton Way and Marina Bay stations.
"Once I had shortlisted the four shortest sets of stations, I went down in person to scout how long the trains take to travel between the two stations and how many traffic lights I would encounter between stations to find out which one would be my best bet at beating the train!" Collins told AsiaOne.
He spent a couple days doing his research and landed on Shenton Way and Marina Bay stations because he realised it bought him some extra time to make the sprint.
"I was very pleasantly surprised during my scouting when I realised that Marina Bay is an interchange with three different lines passing through so the doors stay open there longer, giving me an extra 30 seconds to reach the station," Collins explained.
Despite how deep underground Shenton Way station is, Collins made his choice as there is only "one traffic light separating the entrances" between the two stations.
The content creator recounted how his quads were cramping by the time he reached street level, since he had to bolt up three escalators to exit Shenton Way station.
Even though Collins admitted that he "actually hate[s] running" and "felt like dying during the run itself", he described the experience as "so much fun" as he was "just so excited about the prospect of becoming the first man ever to beat the MRT in Singapore".
Asked about what inspired him to undertake this endeavour, he shared how he had come up with the idea around two years ago after watching a similar attempt in London posted on YouTube by Epic Challenges.
"[It] made me wonder whether I could sprint out of the train and get back on it at the next stop."
He was "suddenly reminded of [his] dream of beating the MRT" recently when he noticed all the new Circle Line stations opening.
He added that Caldecott and the upcoming Keppel station are situated rather close to one another, so he may try racing between the stations on opening day as well.
At the end of the viral video — which has since garnered more than 170,000 likes, over 21,000 shares and more than 4,500 reposts — Collins shows how he was defeated by the train.
"My legs have failed me," quipped Collins in the caption, standing metres away from the entrance of Marina Bay station at the end of his video.
Still, he is determined to try again.
He joked how he might be able to "beat the train" with some training, adding that he planned to race the train between each of the sets he had initially shortlisted.
If he still fails, he said he might even incorporate using a bike for the overground part of the journey or "roping in some national runners to help finish my goal of beating the MRT".
"Even if it's not me, I hope to see the train beaten by the end of this month one way or another," he added light-heartedly.
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laili.abdeen@asiaone.com
