Penang Hill funicular trains to attract more tourists

GEORGE TOWN: Trips up Penang Hill by the upgraded funicular train service will be as fast as five minutes or less in air-conditioned coaches but the public will only experience that in a month when the service resumes. Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the faster speed and new coaches that can accommodate 100 passengers each would enable 2.4 million tourists to visit the hill annually compared to 607,198 in 2009. She said the hill received 65,176 visitors in the first two months of last year before the service was halted for the ministry’s RM73mil-upgrade.

“With the new and faster system, we expect there will be an influx of local and foreign tourists,” she said after handing over the project to the Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) on Saturday. She said the project was in line with the ministry’s aim to build more parks and gardens. “Penang Hill is a unique place for botany enthusiasts who love nature. I hope PHC will fully utilise its potential and make Penang Hill an icon in the state,” she said.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is the head of PHC’s board of directors, said they would make an announcement in a month’s time on when the train service would be reopened to the public. “We need to sort out several matters after we take over the project,” he said. Prior to the upgrading, it took 30 minutes to go up the hill on the funicular service with a change of train in the middle station. No change of train is required in the upgraded service.

-thestar online.