Penang Hill Railway: Heritage lost
While others are marvelling at the unique Penang Hill funicular railyway, we are about to lose large chunks of a priceless heritage, thanks to a hasty federal “upgrading” project. Who was the RM63...
View ArticlePenang Hill Railway: Selling the family silver?
You know they are supposedly “upgrading” the Penang Hill Railway. So what’s going to happen to all the vintage machinery (scroll down that page to see the equipment) that pulls up the funicular trains?...
View Article‘Upgraded’ Penang Hill railway shut for repairs
What, already? I think there’s a story in here somewhere. The Penang Hill Corporation has issued a statement. Notice these lines in particular, which suggest that all is not well: Repair work is...
View ArticleFlaws in ‘upgraded’ Penang Hill Railway
I ran into a visitor who had taken a ride on the ‘upgraded’ Penang Hill railway and he made the following observations: The train appears designed for colder climates or built for a Swiss environment....
View ArticlePenang Hill Railway ‘upgrade’: From RM40m to RM73m
Initial news reports for the Penang Hill Railway ‘upgrade’ had mentioned an allocation of RM40m. But later news reports put the cost at RM63m and finally RM73m. According to an NST report, former PM...
View ArticlePenang Hill Railway breakdown: An insider’s view
The recent flurry of comments in the press following an incident that temporarily knocked out the Penang Hill railway has prompted its operations manager, Ahmad Chik, to respond. As the Operations...
View ArticlePenang Hill Railway kaput … again
Here we go again. Says a lot about the RM73m ‘upgrading’ work, doesn’t it? At 11.45am today, Penang Hill Corporation discovered a failure of an electronic component in the power supply module in one of...
View ArticleOld Penang: Penang Hill Railway
Why rush to the top of Penang Hill, when the ride up in the slow ol’ wooden train was itself a priceless multi-sensational experience. A ride up Penang in the 1960s by tunglang The old, steady and...
View ArticlePenang Hill Local Plan recommends maximum capacity of 10000 people/day
According to the Penang Hill Local Plan, the recommended maximum carrying capacity of the hill is 10000 people daily – a threshold that has been hit or even exceeded during peak periods with the...
View ArticleThe landslide that knocked out the Penang Hills Railway
Here are a few images you may not have seen. These photos, taken about a week ago by a concerned Penangite, give us an idea of the extent of the problems facing the Penang Hills Railway, which was...
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