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If you find yourself walking around the void decks of Yishun, you may come across an unexpected sight: MRT seats.

No, this isn't an extreme case of vandalism and theft of property as part of the Devious Licks trend.

Instead, it is a joint initiative between Nee Soon Town Council and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to upcycle parts of decommissioned MRT trains.

More than just some new seats

The new initiative, which was launched on Saturday (Mar. 26) morning, will see 10 sets of two-seater seats from decommissioned trains installed throughout Nee Soon Town for residents to rest on, Member of Parliament (MP) Louis Ng announced in a Facebook post.

He explained that it is more than "just launching some new seats in the estate":

"It's an important of our green plan and our Action for Green Towns Initiative.

AND it’s about changing mindsets — moving from just recycling to much much more importantly, reducing, reusing and upcycling. This will help save our planet much more than recycling."

Nee Soon Town Council stated that the initiative is part of the Action for Green Towns programme — set up by 15 PAP Town Councils in May 2021 — and added that they are the "first Town Council to launch such an initiative in the heartlands".

"Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do in Nee Soon and most importantly we want our residents to join us on this sustainability journey," Ng wrote.

"Together we will make Nee Soon not just our home with a heart but our green home with a heart."

Seats come from decommissioned NSEWL trains

These new Nee Soon void deck seats came from the first-generation fleet of North-South and East-West Line (NSEWL) trains, which had been introduced between 1987 and 1989 and were decommissioned in 2020 as they reached end-of-life.

LTA had announced that they were in discussion with public and private organisations about ways to give the decommissioned trains "a new lease of life".

There have been some challenges in finding way to new home for the decommissioned trains, though, mainly due to their size, Straits Times (ST) reported.

It is difficult for heritage institutions to take them in due to their large size and their old condition, making it expensive to renovate them. Only a "small proportion" of the 106 MRT trains and 19 LRT trains have been rehomed.

According to ST, some ways the train parts are being repurposed include incorporating parts into a library being set up at a Bukit Panjang void deck and teaching students with disabilities how to navigate public transport in a realistic and safe set-up.

Anyone with creative ideas and means for upcycling the decommissioned NSEWL trains or their parts can write to LTA at [email protected].

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Top photos via Facebook / Louis Ng Kok Kwang.