The Iconic Penang Ferry

2nd of January, the transition of the new year seems negligible. We are now in 2021 but I don't feel any significant difference emotionally. Maybe it is due to the fact that I can't travel back to Malaysia this year due to Covid-19.

However, things do change a lot especially for Penang since the beginning of 2021. The iconic Penang Ferry will be replaced by more modern water buses and vehicle transporters. While there are lots of noise mostly created by the politicians on both sides in the social media, let's cast aside emotions and look at what are the changes.

First let's hear the objection voices. DAP's Lim Guan Eng blasted Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong incessantly that the current move to scrap the iconic ferry is a revenge by the current government against the people of Penang. He claimed that Penang contributed RM7 billion to the federal government through taxes but the development fund allocated to the state always trailing behind other states. Lim went on to say that by cancelling the iconic 126 years old ferry service, the PN (Perikatan Nasional) government is declaring war with all Penangites. I think this statement has gone too far and sounds more political than logical to me.

Now, let's look at what the government has to say. Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong defended his decision to cancel the iconic ferry services for the safety and well-being of its passengers. This explanation puzzles me. I have been riding on the ferry numerous times both in person and in my car. The staff of Penang Port are always there to ensure that all passengers and vehicles and on board before they raise ramp/ gate of the ferry. The huge windows on both sides of the ferry providing stunning views of the Penang Channel have very high walls to prevent people from over-leaning and fall into the water. So safety is not the issue. Now what about the well-being of its passengers? The ferry has spacious interior with high ceiling, it is very cooling thanks to the large windows/ openings that allow sea breeze into the vehicles. I find it very comfortable and relaxing every time I'm on one of this iconic ferry.

So if safety and well-being are not the real issue, what then drove the government's decision to cancel this much loved iconic and historic vehicles from keep on operating? The answer lies in the operating and maintenance costs. Everyone knows that an old car requires more frequent service/ repairs than a brand new one. More spare parts have to be changed due to prolonged wear and tear. Now imagine that your car is 126 years old! So does this justify the government's decision to scrap it all together. Lim Guan Eng argues that there are only 3 such ferries in operation, new engines can bee fitted into them and the cost will not be exhorbitant.

Cast politics aside, I think we should keep at least one of such ferry for its significant historical values especially when George Town is an Unesco World Heritage city. We should still use it as transport vessel and not just for recreational purposes as there is no issue with its safety and well-being to its passengers. In Melbourne, old trams were fitted with new spare parts and equipped with air-conditioned and still carrying passengers around its century old rail network. It can be done technically but there must be a political will to do it.

However, we must also welcome the government's plan to introduce modern fleet to improve efficiency in carrying people across the Penang Channel. Let's get less political and focus on logic and practicality. Same goes to all the other issue that the country is now facing.

Hundreds of people rushed to ride on the ferry on its last day of service to count down for 2021.

Melbourne Lockdown - Train Stations

Melbourne Stage 4 Lockdown has resulted the city became a ghost town overnight. This post is the first of a series to celebrate the uniqueness of this great Australian city.

The most iconic building that represent Melbourne, The Flinders Street Train Station was the busiest train station in Australia. Its majestic architecture reminds us of the significant role it plays for the city.

The empty Southern Cross Station only further exaggerate its grandness.

Penang To Learn From Japan and Hong Kong On Public Transport

Chow-Kon-Yeow-GEORGE TOWN: Penang will tap into Japanese expertise to manage its future mass transit infrastructure, state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow said.

Chow said private Japanese rail companies were highly profitable as they ran a sustainable operations regime, which Penang hoped to emulate closely.

“A major reason for the success of Tokyo’s private rail lines is because they diversified their businesses beyond transportation into real estate holdings and retail outlets.

“Rather than relying strictly on farebox revenue and ads, the transit system in Penang should also develop other revenue sources, just as the Japanese private railways have done successfully.

“For this reason, we will look to Japan for its sustainable operations regime for mass transit infrastructure,” he said in a briefing on Penang’s Transport Master Plan (PTMP) to some 50 reps of Japanese companies operating in the state.

Also present were Embassy of Japan in Malaysia Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister Yoshinori Kodama and Japan Consul-General to Penang, Kiyoshi Itoi. They were accompanied by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Penang plans to build its own Light Rail Transport (LRT) and other modes of public transport via PTMP.

The RM27 billion project will be financed by creating three artificial islands south of Penang Island.

The PMTP includes a 5-in-1 transport solution encompassing an undersea tunnel; a cable car service across the channel; ferries and water-taxis; light rail transit and monorail; including buses, taxis and highways.

Earlier, 48 representatives from 31 Japanese companies based in Penang participated in the seminar on PTMP. It was hosted by PTMP’s project delivery partner, SRS Consortium.

GEORGE TOWN, June 13 — Penang hopes to secure a conditional approval for its first railway scheme connecting Bayan Lepas to Komtar by next month, state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow said.

The local government committee chairman said SRS Consortium, the project delivery partner (PDP) for the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), met with Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) last week.

“The meeting went well and seemed favourable,” he told reporters after a PTMP briefing with Japanese delegates at Komtar this morning.

Chow added that a July approval for the proposed Bayan Lepas Light Rail Transit (LRT) would allow the state to proceed with a three-month public inspection beginning August, to allow public feedback.

The Bayan Lepas LRT project, along with the pan island highway link and the reclamation of two islands off southern Penang, are part of the first phase of the PTMP implementation.

Chow also said that once SPAD grants the approval, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be set up to administer the implementation of these projects.


The SPV will be a government entity that that will also be tasked with facilitating city planning, development, promotion and management of the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, he said.

Chow added that the state hopes to commence construction on the Bayan Lepas line - the first phase of the LRT project - by next year. Operations for the first phase should begin by 2023 while the full line should be operational by 2030, he said.

Earlier, during a question and answer session, SRS Consortium business development senior manager Andrew Chan said it will take up to three years before they could have land to sell under the PSR to fund the PTMP.

He said they can proceed with construction of the LRT and highway project first but would still need to time it with the sale of lands from the reclamation.

“We will depend on bridging financing first to fund the reclamation and construction of the LRT and after the third year, we will have lands to sell to fund the project,” he said.

When asked about sustainability of the future transport assets, Chow said the transport system will not rely strictly on farebox revenue and advertisements.

“We are looking at property development to generate another revenue source to sustain the transport assets, like in Japan and Hong Kong. I think Hong Kong’s MTR is known more as a property developer than as the LRT operator,” he said.

Source: The Malay Mail

Mega projects for Penang Traffic

Two major projects are in the pipeline to alleviate traffic congestion in the state, said state exco member Lim Hock Seng.

 

In his oral reply to Nordin Ahmad (BN-Bayan Lepas), he said the Bayan Lepas LRT and the Pan Island Link I Highway under the RM27bil Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) were scheduled to be carried out between 2017 and 2023.

The Bayan Lepas LRT willhave interchange stationsconnecting three more future LRT and monorail lines still on the drawing table.

The 20km Pan Island Link Highway will connect Gurney Drive and the Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas.

He said the project would be carried out by SRS Consortium, the appointed project delivery partner.

He added that three proposed islands have been planned on the southern tip of Penang island which are financial model to carry out the PTMP.

Lim said the proposed undersea tunnel and three paired roads would be carried out by Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd.

The 6.5km Penang Undersea Tunnel will connect north Butterworth to the Gurney Drive-Pangkor Road junction.

As for the three paired roads, Lim said it would be carried out in stages from 2016 to 2025.

The three paired roads are from Air Itam to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang and Jalan Pangkor-Gurney Drivejunction to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.

“In fact, the paired road from Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Express-way to Air Itam can be carried out in June.

“Next year, it will be the road from Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang followed by the one from Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Express-way to Jalan Pangkor-Gurney Drive in 2018,” he said.

On why the three paired roads could not be carried out simultaneously, Lim said some of the lands were not ready.

“Besides, we also cannot afford to pay lump sum for the roads. It is not feasible. That’s why we have to carry out everything in stages,” he said.

Source: The Star

Komtar-Bayan Lepas LRT

The LRT line linking Komtar and Bayan Lepas, estimated to cost around RM7bil to construct, is expected to generate about RM2bil worth of jobs for the local construction industry, said Penang Master Builders and Building Materials Dealers Association.

 

Its president, Datuk Lim Kai Seng, said the first phase of the LRT, which involved soil investigation and alignment studies, had already generated about RM100mil worth of jobs for the local construction industry.

The proposed 30km LRT project will cushion property prices in Penang, according to Real Estate & Housing Developers Association (Penang) past chairman Datuk Jerry Chan.

“Although the volume of transactions has declined by about 30% in the first quarter compared to the previous year’s corresponding period, the price of properties, however, has not been affected yet by the decline, due to interest rates remaining at the same level, and high land and building construction costs.

“The other factor that will help to bolster property prices in Penang is the proposed LRT project. The project will definitely help (hold up) the property prices in areas where there is a high density.

“In popular areas of the island where properties are sought after, we will see prices moving up due to the accessibility of the LRT over time,” Chan said.

Zeon Properties Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Leon Lee said that the price of properties near integrated transportation systems in other countries was either stable or tend to move upwards most of the time.

He said infrastructure such as transportation centres and bridges were vital elements.

“The completion of a bridge connecting Shenzhen (China) and the New Territories of Hong Kong resulted in property prices in the surrounding areas escalating by about 155% over a period of 10 years.

“In 2002, the property price in New Territories of Hong Kong was about HK$2,742.69 per sq ft.

“It shot up to HK$7,007.38 per sq ft in 2013, which took only about 10 years,” Lee said.

Lee added that the price of property in Batu Maung had increased significantly when the second Penang bridge open.

“In 2007, a terrace house in Batu Maung was worth about RM700,000. A similar unit now is priced at RM1.4mil. This proves my earlier point (about bridges),” he said.

The Komtar-Bayan Lepas LRT is the state’s first rail network proposed under the RM27bil Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

It will begin from Komtar in the northeast corner of the island and pass through Jelutong, Gelugor, Bayan Lepas and Penang International Airport before ending at the proposed Penang South Reclamation development. It is expected to provide a fast route to the airport and will traverse densely populated residential, commercial and industrial areas.

There are 27 LRT stations along the alignment, with the maintenance depot located on the first island that is to be reclaimed on the island’s south coast. The alignment also factors in interchanges with future LRT, Sky Cab and monorail lines that are being planned, including one that will cross the channel to connect Gelugor with Penang Sentral in Butterworth.

Source: The Star

Gossip Penang: Cable Car Update

Change on the horizon: The planned cable car station is part of the future development of Jelutong landfill (foreground) and it will be along Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway near the landfill’s entrance (circled) next to a petrol station. This aerial photo was taken 175m above sea level with a drone camera.

A major realignment to the island-mainland cable car plan – Penang Sky Cab – could see passengers travelling 90m directly over Middle Bank.

This change will also see the cable car station built as part of the future development of Jelutong landfill.

A source revealed that the cables could stretch from Penang Sentral, where the ferry terminal is on the mainland, to the future development of Jelutong landfill.

It will cut across Middle Bank and be about 5km long instead of the previous 3.6km.

“At low tide and with a pair of binoculars, passengers might clearly see the large sea anemones and crabs that live on this 50ha carpet of green grass,” the source said.

He said an environmental impact assessment (EIA) would begin on the project soon.

The planned cable car station, the source said, will be by the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway near the entrance to the landfill.

Previously, the cable car station on the island side was to be at Nordin Street Ghaut, but he said consultants had calculated that the area’s roads might not cope with the potential swell of traffic.

The 21.44ha landfill is 21 years old and would be rehabilitated.

But while the tourism value of Penang Sky Cab could go up a notch with this plan, the source is worried about Middle Bank.

“The cable pylons are 50m apart and the towers are 500m from each other. Middle Bank is 1km from the island, so how close will the pylons be to the seagrass bed?”

He said although the structures would have a small footprint, the construction would still kick up tonnes of seabed sediment that could hurt the seagrass.

He said there was an optional plan to turn one of the towers into a restaurant and observatory.

“If they choose to build one for passengers to stop and look at Middle Bank at low tide, the construction might be major enough to affect the seagrass environment.”

When contacted, a senior state government official who declined to be identified confirmed that the plan was being studied.

“There shouldn’t be any pylons or towers built on or near the bed. This change is not to capitalise on the seagrass but to manage the traffic and wind channelling effects on the cable cars as they cross the sea,” the official said.

Source: The Star

Bullet Train Of China

China has become a world leader in high-speed railway technology with its development of a cutting-edge permanent magnet synchronous traction system that will take bullet trains to an ultrafast 500 kilometers per hour.

The advanced 690-kilowatt traction system was developed by CRRC Corp, the country's train-making behemoth, at its Zhuzhou Institute in Hunan province. It will soon enter mass production, said Ding Rongjun, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering who heads the institute.

"Now we have our own permanent magnet synchronous traction system with full intellectual property rights, marking a new chapter in China's high-speed railways," he said, adding that only a handful of countries are capable of manufacturing the sophisticated apparatus, including Germany and Japan.

 

Feng Jianghua, deputy director of the institute, said the adoption of the technology will reshape the high-speed railway industry because traction equipment is the most important part of a bullet train.

Currently, most high-speed trains in service in the world are propelled by alternating current asynchronous motors, a traction system first developed in the 1970s.

The Zhuzhou Institute began research and development on permanent magnet synchronous traction technology in 2003 after it noticed that major international train makers, such as Siemens and Bombardier, had launched projects to acquire the equipment, Feng told China Economic Weekly.

The magazine quoted Xu Junfeng, a senior engineer at the institute, as saying that engineers overcame a large number of technical difficulties. China had never looked at the high-tech equipment before the project.

After eight years, engineers completed development in 2011 and installed the advanced traction system on trains running on Subway Line 2 in Shenyang, Liaoning province, as a trial.

The test has proved successful, Xu said.

In December 2013, the institute brought the system to bullet trains, expecting speeds of 500 km/h. Trials were undertaken on several trains in October.

Jia Limin of Beijing Jiaotong University, who heads China's high-speed railway innovation programme, said that if everything goes well, trains equipped with the new traction system will become fully operational by 2018.

Compared with an alternating current asynchronous motor, the new system boasts more power, simpler configuration and lower electrical consumption, Jia said.

"The new system has fewer parts than the current traction apparatus, so it is more reliable and efficient," he said.

Sheng Guangzu, general manager of China Railway Corp, has pledged to speed up the development of key technologies in high-speed rail and to design a new bullet train using Chinese standards.

Source: AsiaOne

Gossip Singapore: Upgardes On SMRT

Christopher Tan | The Straits Times | Thursday, Jun 18, 2015 

When Mr Desmond Kuek went from being permanent secretary at the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources to heading rail operator SMRT Corp three years ago, some of his close friends told him he was either brave or plain crazy.

"I said there's a fine line between being brave and crazy," the 52-year-old former chief of defence force quipped.

As it turned out, the retired general's mettle was put to the test immediately.

Within weeks of his appointment on Oct 1, 2012, the new Circle Line suffered a major breakdown.

The following month, a bus driver strike - Singapore's first strike in 26 years - shook the company to its core.

More rail breakdowns followed, prompting Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew to express his disappointment publicly.

All these piled pressure on a company that was already in deep crisis after two massive breakdowns in 2011 triggered a costly and humiliating public inquiry.

Mr Kuek, who is not easily fazed, admitted that the task of getting SMRT back on track is "incredibly tough and challenging".

His earlier assessment of the company was damning, describing it as having "deep-seated issues... managerial, structural, cultural and systemic issues".

One of the first things he did was to assemble a team of senior executives made up largely of former career soldiers. Then he started beefing up the technical staff. In the past three years, SMRT's team of technicians and engineers have grown by 21 per cent and 59 per cent, to 2,169 and 278, respectively.

He reshaped the company's organisational structure and streamlined processes to offer employees clearer career paths, and for them to give feedback and voice grievances effectively. These moves are bearing results, Mr Kuek said, noting that there has been "a clear shift in our staff culture", even though this is "not yet consistent everywhere".

SMRT's train withdrawal rate - where a train is withdrawn from service because of faults - has come down from 3.3 for every 100,000km operated in 2012 to 1.05 last year.

"This is the lowest in seven years," Mr Kuek noted. "And we are targeting to go even lower this year."

He admitted that reducing the number of major breakdowns, or breakdowns that last 30 minutes or more, remains a challenge.

"We have made tremendous progress on many fronts... but there is much more to be done to improve rail reliability."

Most of these works are arduous and span long periods.

SMRT has replaced all the rail sleepers on the North-South Line (ahead of schedule), and is now replacing those on the East-West Line. The Straits Times understands some of the wooden sleepers were in such a bad shape that it looked like they would fall apart when removed.

In the next few months, SMRT will start replacing the power-supplying third rail on the two lines.

The overhaul of older trains has also begun. All these trains will be fitted with new motors from Toshiba. SMRT tested them on two trains last year and found that they used 30 per cent less electricity.

Meanwhile, the network's 30-year-old train signalling system - which determines how tight train service intervals can be - is also being changed.

"This may not sound like anything exceptional to some, but Thales, our contractor, tells me that this is its biggest project on a 'live' system anywhere in the world," Mr Kuek said.

The North-South Line's resignalling is expected to be completed next year, allowing peak-period intervals between trains to be shaved to 100 seconds, from 120 seconds today.

When all the upgrading is done and with the "robust preventive and predictive maintenance regimen" the company is putting in place, Mr Kuek is confident SMRT will rise from its recent chequered history to recapture its spot as one of the world's top metros.

"Whatever has happened in the past does not faze us - it only makes us stronger," he said.

The chief executive officer has also been busy transforming the business. "Sustainability, not simply profitability, is our aim," he said. Since assuming the helm, he has set up a department to look at mergers and acquisitions.

He started a rail engineering subsidiary, which has clinched a deal to market Toshiba train motors, and tied up with France's Faiveley Transport to supply train maintenance, repair and overhaul services in South-east Asia.

In April, SMRT announced it was eyeing a stake in OMG, a new company vying to be Singapore's fourth telco. But it dropped the idea amid mounting criticism that the move might distract it from its core business, even though it intended to be nothing more than a passive investor.

SMRT is also bidding aggressively for new bus operating contracts. Even as its failed bid for the Bulim contract, Singapore's first public bus contract, raised eyebrows among investors for being the lowest, Mr Kuek claimed it would have been profitable.

The company is also negotiating with the Transport Ministry over transitioning to a new rail financing framework that sees the Government owning all operating assets. This will allow SMRT to focus on service quality without being weighed down by huge and lumpy capital expenditure.

Talks have been ongoing for well over a year now, and industry watchers reckon the main impasse is the operating margin that SMRT should enjoy in the new regime, which is deemed to have lower risks.

But Mr Kuek would not comment on this, merely saying the new model is more sustainable, and "we have made good progress in the ongoing discussions".

And although he does not say it outright, it is clear he does not think Singapore can support more rail operators.

"It takes five to 10 years to groom an experienced rail engineer," he said. "The question of who will run upcoming new lines does place some uncertainty on an operator. Should it invest in growing the expertise for the future?

"There is a very real risk of incurring the cost of raising the manpower but not winning the licence."

He looks to Hong Kong as one success story, where a tightly regulated operator derives synergy from a fleet of trains that can be deployed on any line.

"Hong Kong's MTR has a rail plus property model, and an integrated design, build, operate, maintain arrangement that presents it with great flexibility in network design, whole life cycle asset management, and effective decision-making on a host of rail-related issues," he added.

Nevertheless, he concedes that "each city evolves its own system based on its socio-economic and political considerations", and there is no one size that fits all.

"Within our own structure, we are determined to achieve as high a level of operational excellence as MTR's. Our aim is to be the people's choice - that people will take the train because they want to, and not because they have to," he said.

Source: asiaone