The Original Coach before 1977
Present Coach
Brief History Of Penang Hill Railway
(c) Forest Ang
The construction of Penang Hill Funicular Railway begun with the first attempts by Mr. D. Logan, Mr Joseph Heim and Mr. Alan Wilson in the years 1897-1905. However, it met with failures.
The project was then taken over by Penang Municipality, George Town in the years 1907-1923 (16 years). Mr. Arnold R. Johnson, as Senior Engineer, Administration of Railway for Federated Malay States was assigned the task to plan the construction and produced the Master Plan of the railway. The plan was inspected by Municipal Engineering Department and approved by the Governor of Municipal Council under Section 21 (2) and 57, Ordinance No. 90 (Railway). An order to build four cable cars was made with L. DE ROLL-IRON WORKS COMPANY BERNE FOUNDRY ENGEERING WORKS IN SWITZERLAN.
This cable train is pulled by steel cable electrically driven with 500 volts power. On each side of the railway is a staircase rising from the foot to the top of the hill at an altitude of 2381 feet above sea level. There is a tunnel which measures 258 feet long and 10 feet wide starting at steepness of 35 feet high. This is the steepest tunnel in the world.
On January 1, 1924, Governor of Straits Settlement, Sir Laurence Nunn Guillemard officially declared open the Penang Hill Railway service. An extract from his speech, “….it is one of the finest Hill Railways in the world today and it is to be hoped that Penang now become the recognized “Sanitarium” of the Far east”. Since the official opening, the Penang Municipality, Geoge Town managed and maintained the railway until February 1, 1977, when it was taken over by the Penang state Government.
In 1977, a new model of the cable train was introduced. It was designed by Lau & Partners, KL, and was built in Switzerland by HARBEGER ENGINEERING WORKS LTD. THUN SWITZERLAND.
Resources : State Museum Board
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Penang Hill is the first hill resort in Malaysia. Although it was originally called Flagstaff Hill, the locals have always affectionately referred to it as Bukit Bendera (Flag Hill). It got its name when a flag on Bel Retiro was used as a beacon for signalling to Fort Cornwallis at the north-eastern tip of Penang Island.
The highest point in Penang Hill is about 830 metres above sea level. The temperature on the hilltop is considerably cooler than the coast. During weekdays, the hill is relatively quiet and can serve as a recuperative getaway for those who want to get away from the city heat.
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