This Christmas, the historic former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station will open its doors to the public again.

The station, gazetted as a national monument in 2011, will be open from 9am to 6pm on Friday.

Visitors are encouraged to take photos and sketch their impressions of the building and train platforms, said the Singapore Land Authority in a statement yesterday.

Drawings can be left at the ticketing counter and may be displayed at future openings of the station.

Besides hosting events ranging from flea markets to fashion shows, the station has also been open to the public on every public holiday, since Chinese New Year this year.

In October, the Land Transport Authority said that parts of the station's platforms will have to make way for the building of Cantonment MRT station on the Circle Line, to be completed by 2025.

But it stressed that measures will be taken to integrate the new MRT station with the railway building.

The railway station marks the southern end of the Rail Corridor, the former KTM railway land.

Last month, the Urban Redevelopment Authority announced winning proposals for the corridor's development, including specific plans for Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.

An additional entrance and exit for Cantonment MRT station, emerging from between the railway platforms, is part of the winning design by a team comprising local firm MKPL Architects and Chinese firm Turenscape International.