Penang mountain railway

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Penang mountain railway
The Doppelmayr / Garaventa 100-FUL car at the valley station
The Doppelmayr / Garaventa 100-FUL car
at the valley station
Route length: 1.996 km
Gauge : 1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Legend
   
 1.996 Mountain station
   
   
   
   
 Viaduct stop
   
   
   
   
   
   
 0.000 Valley station

The Penang Mountain Railway ( English Penang Hill Railway , Malaysian Kereta api kabel Bukit Bendera or Funikular ) is a narrow-gauge funicular railway that runs from Air Itam near George Town to the Penang Hill in Malaysia . The mountain railway opened in 1923. At that time there were two sections of the route, and passengers had to switch vehicles halfway up. The mountain railway was completely overhauled in 2010. The journey time is between 5 and 20 minutes, depending on whether you stop at the intermediate stations. The train usually runs without a stop between the end stations, but can stop at the stops on request.

history

construction

The old mountain railway was in operation from 1923 to 1977

The Penang Mountain Railway was originally built for the British colonial rulers who wanted to enjoy the cooler air on the Penang Hill. The first attempt to build a mountain railway up the Penang Hill began with the proposal of three British residents, D. Logan, Joseph Heim and Alan Wilson, and the establishment of a private company in 1897 with funds from the colonial administration. A steam locomotive should be used, but not a funicular, which turned out to be a failure. The line was built between 1901 and 1905, but did not work due to technical malfunctions.

The Straits government then organized a new project in 1909. The funicular was this time designed by Arnold R. Johnson, an engineer with the Federated Malay States Railways, based on a Swiss design. The construction of the second railway costing 1.5 million Straits dollar and the 2,007 m long funicular was informally opened on 21 October 1923 and put into operation. After the successful trial period, it was opened on January 1, 1924 by Sir LN Guillemard , the governor of the Straits Settlement. In the first year of operation, it carried 35,201 passengers on 4,021 trips. The city government administered and maintained the railroad from its opening until February 1, 1977, when it was taken over by the Penang government.

Until 2010, the Penang mountain railway had two independent sections due to the different incline in the upper and lower section, and passengers had to change at the middle station. The upper and lower sections each had two balanced 40-passenger cars, and each section had a double-track meeting point in the middle and two more stops each. The cars were pulled by a steel cable that was powered by a 500 volt electric motor. The railroad has a 79 m (258 foot) tunnel which is arguably the steepest tunnel in the world. It took 30 minutes to go up the hill with a change of train at the middle station.

New car material 1977

80-FUL carriage of the Penang Mountain Railway from 1977 to 2010

The four original wooden first and second class cars were replaced in 1977 after 50 years of use by modern red cars that had fans and sliding doors. Each of these cars built in Switzerland could carry up to 80 passengers, mostly standing room. They were in use for over 30 years until 2010.

General overhaul from 2010

The 100-FUL Penang Hill Car

After technical problems, the 87-year-old runway was temporarily shut down on February 22nd, 2010 for a general overhaul with a budget of RM 63 million. New rails were laid and new wagons procured to increase the speed of the trains and increase transport capacity.

With the new train, the entire route can be traveled without changing. Up to 100 passengers can travel in the blue-and-white, modern, air-conditioned cars that are again imported from Switzerland. The maximum total weight of the wagons is 7.5 t each. The train can now transport 1,000 passengers per hour instead of the previous 250 per hour.

On April 25, 2011, the new railway went into operation, but there were some teething troubles, so that regular operations could only begin with delays. The train runs daily from 6:30 am to 9:00 pm and can reach the mountain station in less than 5 minutes. The modernization increased traffic to 1.365 million passengers in 2014, compared to half a million in 2008.

Stations

Base station in Air Itam

The train runs from the base station in Air Itam to the top station on the top of the Hill. In addition to the middle station, there are the stations Claremont, Moniot Road, Viaduct and the upper and lower tunnel stations along the way. Since 2010, the train has normally been running between the end stations without stopping. If you wish, you can stop at the intermediate stations.

The mountain station has been modernized with a larger viewing platform called the Skywalk and now has an elevated walkway to the food court as well as a lift, a café and a museum gallery. The base station in Air Itam was modernized with a new building with a retractable roof and a multi-storey car park. The valley station can also be reached with the Rapid Penang Bus No. 204 from George Town .

Tickets

Malaysian citizens pay RM 10 for adults and RM 4 for seniors or children between the ages of 3 and 12. Foreigners pay RM 30 for adults and RM 15 for children. The ride is free for disabled people with the OKU card. Penang Hill residents and people who work on it can purchase a monthly pass for RM 24.

Technical specifications

Car at the meeting point

1923-2010

The lower section of the mountain railway had the following technical data from 1923 to 2010:

  • Length: 907 meters (2,976 feet)
  • Elevation: 319 meters (1,047 feet)
  • Maximum gradient: 50.5%
  • Car: 2
  • Capacity: 80 passengers per car
  • Configuration: Single track with meeting point
  • Travel time: 11 minutes
  • Maximum speed: 1.4 meters per second
  • Track width: 1,000 mm (3 feet 3⅜ inches)
  • Traction: electricity

The upper section of the funicular had the following technical data:

  • Length: 1,313 meters (4,308 ft)
  • Elevation: 367 meters (1,204 ft)
  • Maximum gradient: 51.3%
  • Car: 2
  • Capacity: 80 passengers per car
  • Configuration: Single track with meeting point
  • Travel time: 13 minutes
  • Maximum speed: 1.8 meters per second
  • Track width: 1,000 mm (3 feet 3⅜ inches)
  • Traction: electricity

After 2010

  • Length: 1,996 meters
  • Elevation: 691.4 meters (2,268 feet)
  • Maximum gradient: 52.9%, 27.9 °
  • Minimum gradient: 18.8%, 10.7 °
  • Car: 2
  • Empty weight of the train: 14,500 kg
  • Maximum payload: 7,500 kg
  • Capacity: 100 passengers per car
  • Maximum speed: 10 meters per second (33 ft / s)
  • Carrying rope diameter: 38 mm
  • Traction: electricity
  • Main drive motor: 710 kW

Web links

Commons : Penang Hill Railway  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Up Penang Hill in five minutes . The Star Online. Archived from the original on March 21, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  2. ^ A new joy ride up the hill . The Star Online. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  3. ↑ a b Penang Hills Funicular Railway . Joe Thompson. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
  4. ↑ Joe Bindloss, Celeste Brash: Kuala Lumpur, Melaka & Penang . Lonely Planet Publications, 2008, ISBN 978-1741044850 , p. 202.
  5. ↑ a b About us: Corporate Info . Archived from the original on April 22, 2015.
  6. ^ Railways . In: The Railway Magazine . 120-121, September, p. 385.
  7. ↑ a b Brief History Of Penang Hill Railway . In: Penang Hill with forestexplorers.com .
  8. ^ Penang Hill funicular trains to attract more tourists . The Star Online. Archived from the original on March 20, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
  9. ↑ Penang hill railway Mad genius? . In: The Sunday Times , May 24, 1998. 
  10. ^ A new chapter begins . allmalaysia.info. Archived from the original on February 12, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
  11. ^ A b New hill railway coaches ready for the ride . allmalaysia.info. Archived from the original on February 26, 2011. Retrieved on August 20, 2010.
  12. ↑ All set to soar uphill Handover of refurbished funicular train today . The Star Online. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
  13. ↑ Slow or fast ride, that's the question now . The Star Online. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  14. ↑ Penang Hill train service delayed . The Star Online. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  15. ↑ Hafiz Marzukhi: Penang Hill railway gets clean bill of health . In: Malay Mail , October 11, 2014. 
  16. ^ Penang Hill train resumes service . The Star Online. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved on August 19, 2011.
  17. ↑ Mixed response to hill project . allmalaysia.info. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
  18. ↑ Matthew Tan Kiak Hin: To the summit, anyone? . In: Penang Monthly . December 2015.
  19. ↑ Bukit Bendera visitors doubled last year . In: Astro Awani . January 8, 2013.
  20. ↑ Frances Wilks: Penang's Hill Station . In: Expat Go . December 21, 2012.
  21. ↑ Facilities coming up include museum gallery and cafe . In: The Star , February 9, 2015. 
  22. ↑ Kae Min Goh: Skywalk on Penang Hill to draw more visitors . In: The Malay Mail , February 9, 2015. 
  23. ↑ Christopher Tan: Lift glitch at new Penang Hill car park . In: The Star , January 20, 2015. 
  24. ^ Ticket Fares . Penang Hill Inc. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015.
  25. ^ Penang Hill Railway (section 1) . Funiculars.net. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
  26. ^ Penang Hill Railway (section 2) . Funiculars.net. Retrieved March 12, 2007.

Coordinates: 5 ° 24 '55.59 "  N , 100 ° 16' 26.13"  O