Reviews & Press : : Penang Trams, Trolleybuses & Railways: Municipal Transport History 1880s-1963

The Star
Tuesday, 14 August 2007

Tramway proposal for island

The proposed tram services in the George Town heritage area and buffer zones will also serve as another tourism product for Penang.

Australian tram engineer Ric Francis said in other countries like New Zealand, trams were used for tourism purposes.

“Visitors can follow the tram’s route to visit many of the historical buildings in this area,” he said.

Francis was spending a week in Penang under the Penang Lions Club’s community service programme to study the sites, road conditions and other related aspects before proposing tram routes to the Penang Tourism Action Council.

The routes include a 7km one-way tram route from Komtar to Weld Quay, Light Street, Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, Penang Road and back to Komtar.

Francis is commissioned by the state government to conduct a study on the proposal.

He said he needed at least two weeks to calculate the estima-ted cost to implement the sys- tem.

It would include building the tram tracks and installing at least five trams for the proposed first stage, including a traditional tram for tourism purposes.

“It depends on the materials we use. Some of them are available in Malaysia but not all.

“However, it should be affordable if you are looking at the longer term as the tracks can last for at least 90 years,” he said.

“We need a modern tram system that is comfortable enough for the locals to use as public transport,” he said at a lecture at Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) recently.

Francis said the electrically powered trams would also be more environmentally friendly compared to other modes of transport.

He said the trams would complement the current public transport system.

“We are not asking the state to take away the buses but just sug-gesting an integrated system that gives the public an alternative,” he added.

Heritage Walking Tour guide Joann Khaw said the reintroduction of trams would be an additional tourism product.

When contacted, state Local Government, Traffic Management, Information and Community Rela-tions Committee chairman Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan said the state was currently concentrating on Rapid Penang buses.

“We will have to look into the proposal. There are many aspects, including the cost, to be consi-dered,” he said.

State Tourism Development and Environment committee chairman Teng Chang Yeow declined to comment..