The funicular coach with its 100th anniversary logo stickers and thematic graphics. ―Courtesy of Penang Hill Corporation
PENANG Hill Corporation (PHC) has decorated its third-generation funicular railway coaches, Pinang and Mutiara, with anniversary logo stickers as well as thematic blue, green and yellow graphics in conjunction with its centenary celebration.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the new face of the two coaches would have the centenary message “100 Years of Transformation” that visitors would see and remember.
“The centenary celebration is to heighten the visitors’ appreciation of the railway’s history and the social economic transformation that it has created over the past century.
“Before the funicular railway was built, ascending the hill was a challenge and the only way up was by walking, using pony rides or doolies (a simple stretcher on poles).
“It was thanks to Arnold Robert Johnson (1879-1966), an engineer with the Federated Malay States Railways, who constructed and completed the funicular railway in 1923,” he said.
It is now a unique piece of European-made railway heritage, undoubtedly the first of its kind in South-East Asia, and it still remains timeless even after 100 years.
Chow, who is also PHC chairman, said the railway had to date carried over 47 million visitors including the late Queen Elizabeth II, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, the Prince of Cambodia and also the residents and workers on the hill.
“Last year, 1.48 million visitors used the Penang Hill railway. The current funicular coaches have also made more than 275,000 trips, exceeding 550,000km over the past decade after the second-generation coaches were replaced in April 2011.
“The funicular coach may have physically changed from the first to third generation but its historical heritage, socio-economic values and importance still remain, befitting its status as one of Penang’s historical icons,” he added.
PHC will be celebrating the century milestone until the end of the year by hosting a series of events and activities such as exhibitions, book launches including a coffee-table book, documentary videos, social media contests and sale of commemorative merchandise.
In addition, special-edition fast-lane funicular tickets and a collectible ticket for this year’s centenary celebration are available.
More events are expected besides experiential ones such as Penang Hill Festival, Penang Hill Heritage Forest Challenge and Trash-Free Hill.
