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Third disruption in Penang Hill railway service

By K.Kasturi Dewi, The Star/ ANN | Wed, Sep 23 2009

Repair works caused a two-hour wait for scores of holidaymakers waiting to go up.

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GEORGE TOWN, MALAYSIA: There was yet another disruption in the Penang Hill funicular railway service, resulting in a two-hour wait for scores of holiday makers waiting to go up the hill.

The service was suspended from 9.05am to 11.10am yesterday for repair works in the upper station's engine room.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's political secretary Ng Wei Aik said visitors and residents were notified of the suspension earlier in the morning.

"The service was temporarily stopped because the Public Works Department team wanted to carry out thorough repair work in the engine room, which experienced some electrical problems last night," he said after visiting the upper station yesterday.

Ng said the breakdown of the train service for about three hours on Monday night was due to faulty relay and limit switches that controlled the speed and sensor.

"On Monday night, the repairs were only carried out to get the train running but did not address the root of the problem," he said.

Some 500 holidaymakers were stranded on Penang Hill from 6.45pm to 9.45pm on Monday following electrical problems in the upper station’s engine room.

The incident is the third this year, as on July 30, about 300 tourists were stranded for three hours following a power failure at the upper station.

A transformer also broke down at the middle station at the same time.

Ng said the RM60mil (S$25 million) project to upgrade the funicular railway, undertaken by the Federal Government, would kick off on Oct 28.

The project, expected to take a year to complete, will include upgrading the railway tracks, cables, engine room, upper and lower stations, and the coach.

"When the project starts, there will be an alternative route for visitors to go right up to the hilltop using the jeep trail," he said.

Hotel worker Albert Lim, 61, who travels daily from his home in George Town to Penang Hill, said frequent disruptions in the train service were causing anguish to residents and visitors.

"I know the situation at the stations is often chaotic, with angry people raising their voices whenever the trains break down," he said.

Lim said it was high time for the funicular railway system to be replaced with a more efficient one.

-The Star /Asia News Network

Read also:
- Stranded on Penang Hill