Penang mulls subway system instead of monorail
By Marina Emmanuel Published: 2008/03/27
BusinessTimes (http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/Thursday/Nation/pngsub.xml/Article/index_html)

PENANG is mulling the idea of building a subway system as a long-term solution for its traffic and flooding problem, instead of the elevated monorail project mooted by the federal government.

"The final say on this matter, however, rests with the federal government, since the monorail is a project which is to be financed by the federal authorities," Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said.

He was speaking to reporters after chairing his second state executive council meeting in George Town yesterday.

Lim said he realises that an underground transportation system will cost at least three times more than the monorail system.


The chief minister, who received a courtesy call on Tuesday from Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) officials, said he was briefed on the monorail project.

"The parties involved in the monorail project said that they are unable to secure financing for a subway system," Lim said.

MRCB, together with Penang Port Sdn Bhd and Scomi Engineering Bhd's subsidiary, Scomi Rail Bhd, have jointly bid for a monorail project on the island.

In January, Syarikat Prasarana Negara (SPNB) issued a letter of intent to the consortium for the monorail job. The monorail is said to comprise two lines measuring 25km.

The first route proposed is between the Penang International Airport and George Town, while the second line will be from George Town to Tanjung Bungah.

MRCB: Subway system is several times costlier than monorail
by Jose Barrock, 27 Mar 2008 3:40 PM
THEEDGEDAILY (http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_ee503ced-cb73c03a-158f1fa0-307ab780)

KUALA LUMPUR: While the suggestion from Penang’s new Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to build a subway system in Penang as opposed to a monorail is technically feasible, it will cost considerably more, said Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) managing director Shahril Ridza Ridzuan at Invest Malaysia 2008.

MRCB was picked to build the monorail system by the Federal government.

“Engineering-wise it is not so much an issue. At the end of the day, it is whether it meets the requirements of what they (the state and federal governments) are trying to achieve on a technical point, or whether from a cost point of view it is attractive.

“A tunnel solution for public transport will cost substantially more, you are talking about maybe a factor of four or five times more depending on soil conditions,” said Shahril.

Lim said recently that a subway rail system could be considered over an overhead structure, as a subway system could also double up as a flood mitigation tunnel.

If the state government led by Lim insists on a subway system and not a monorail, this could trigger a bout of fresh negotiations. The estimated cost for the proposed overhead monorail system, which spans 35km, is RM3.5 billion.

A consortium headed by MRCB (other members include Scomi Group Bhd and Penang Port Sdn Bhd) had been given a letter of intent to build the Penang monorail system late last year. The letter of award, however, is pending with negotiations on the salient features still ongoing.

“At this stage, we have been awarded a letter of intent and we are in the final stages of negotiations with the potential client, Syarikat Prasarana (Negara Bhd).

“Syarikat Prasarana and the state will have to work together closely to determine the configurations. We stand ready to be guided by our potential client as to how they want to take this further,” Shahril added.

MRCB had recently commenced base level negotiations with Syarikat Prasarana, a company under the Minister of Finance Inc, which is in charge of the country’s public transportation system. However, it is still awaiting the conclusion of negotiations with the state authorities.

In Penang, other than the proposed monorail or subway project, MRCB’s Shahril said the group would also bid for the RM1.1 billion Penang Outer Ring Road project, which was mooted by the Government during the last budget. If secured, these projects would give a strong boost to MRCB’s existing orderbook of RM3 billion.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2007, MRCB posted a net profit of RM40.7 million on the back of RM903.7 million in sales.

MRCB closed three sen lower at RM1.36 yesterday. The stock has shed about 50% of its value since the beginning of the year.

KL is the one which should have gotten a subway, and Penang have "KL's version of the light rail".

If they go for metro, they would be wise to provide provisions for extensions to the mainland.

i prefer a subway for Penang as it will be more suitable for the heritage centre of georgetown. besides, even outside of georgetown, the roads are so narrow and there are lots of trees along them. if the monorail were to be constructed i think it will make the roads look very congested and there might be felling of trees.

however, i think the cost factor makes the subway nearly impossible. let's see what happens...

IMO a subway is waaaay too expensive even for Penang. Construction will create chaos in Penang already choking roads/streets.

I like to toy with allurban's idea of a tram system.

Whatever it is we will have to wait and see. So far, the Penang Monorail is fast becoming smoke.....

Somebody should propose the revival of tram in Penang, there's old tram tracks that can be unearthed, repaired, and maybe extend it, so that new, modern trams can travel around Georgetown....

Just look at this..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variotram

Variobahn, metre gauge tram...

Reviving tram can be cheaper and faster way to provide Georgetown with mass transit...

My humble opinion why a subway is the way to go - When they hatched the plan for the monorail, it was many years back. At that time, Penang was already facing congestion. So the monorail proposal was reactionary rather than proactionary (ie. it was planned in reaction to the congestion, and not planned as a forward-looking measure to deal with anticipated congestion). But look at where that plan is now - the project has yet to break ground after so many years of talk! I'm not even sure the allignment of the route has been finalised. With the change in govt, things can be expected to slow down further, if Federal govt chooses to be difficult, since it is the one controlling the funding.

So, by the time the project really gets off the gorund, it'll be another 5years. Then, given a further 5 years for completion. By THAT time, I seriously don't think the monorail capacity will be adequate to deal with the population growth at that time, let alone to anticipate further projected growth after that.

As for congestion on the roads caused by subway construction, there are new technologies available that's able to minimize such congestion. Singapore currently has construction going on simultaneously for not one, but two new subway lines - the Circle and Downtown lines, but inconveniences are kept to minimum.

Any growing city will need to keep expanding its infrastructure to keep pace with population growth. This does not seem to be happening in M'sia - there doesn't seem to be any construction of new lines currently underway in Malaysia at all. In fact, there's nothing planned for KL to my understanding (Pls correct me if I'm wrong on this). What a pity.

^^

Since the Rawang-Ipoh electrified double track railway is completed and Ipoh-Padang Besar railway are underway (at least according newspaper)...

There's two railway projects for sure, it is entirely in implemention process...

- Sentul - Batu Caves electrified double track railway (extension to the current KTM Komuter network)
- Rehabilitation of Sabah state railway..

The Sabah state railway rehabilitation should be completed around this year, while the Sentul - Batu Caves railway should be next year, since the refurbished Class 83 Komuter does include those extension in their route map...

Subway > Monorail.

Monorail doesnt do a good job in KL. So Subway is the way to go for all main cities in Malaysia.

i like subway better!!!

I also prefer subway..... subway sandwich.

subway, yes.
They should go by phases, and build the critcal one first, like linking ferry terminal to airport, and have stations along the route, ie Bayan Baru, Sungai Nibong, Gelugor, Batu Lanchang, Gelugor etc.

Later only moving into next phase like having linking ferry to Komtar, Air Itam etc.

Shenzhen also moving this way of completing the critical route, and later only doing the extension.

Source : http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_2bd8a63c-cb73c03a-a010ba00-4efb2817

7 Apr 2008: Net Value: Can Penang lead the way in public transport?
Commentary by Lee Wei Lian
Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com


I read with huge relief recently that the new Penang state government had indicated that it would prefer a subway over a monorail to ease Georgetown's traffic woes. When I was in Boston last year for a conference, I had expressed my concerns about building a monorial to former chief minister Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon but he was non-committal. While I had no chance to speak with new chief minister Lim Guan Eng, fortunately, the new Penang government seems to have realised what I told Koh - that above-ground rail transport will further disrupt the already distressed heritage environment of Georgetown.
Another concern is that a monorail is not suited to rapidly moving large numbers of people in a city environment. Compare for example, the capacity and speed of the monorail in KL, which is a light rail system to, say, the sleek subway system in Singapore or Hong Kong, which are considered heavy rail systems.
The KL Monorail is capable of handling 5,000 passengers per hour per direction with between 158 and 258 passengers per two-car train. The maximum speed is 80kph but the average speed is just 30kph. Hong Kong's MTR, in contrast, can carry 2,500 passengers per train and 70,000 passengers per hour per direction on the Tsuen Wan Line. Singapore's North East line is designed to carry 42,000 passengers per hour per direction.
In Bilbao, Spain, which closely resembles Georgetown in size and character, the metro train system is completely underground in the city's heritage portion. As it does not face any building obstacles in its alignment, it can move in a more linear fashion unlike a monorail or above-ground rail transport, which has to trace a path along road meridiens, riverbanks, sidewalks or whatever limited open spaces are available. The underground stations, which were designed by celebrity architect Norman Foster, are also spacious unlike monorail stations that have to compete with pedestrian walkways for space above ground.
For people who have only moved to KL during the last decade, they may not realise the environmental cost of building the monorail. Many tall and leafy trees were chopped down along Jalan Bukit Bintang and Jalan Sultan Ismail to make way for the monorail, thus depriving this already hot city of much needed shade and greenery.
Subways are also better than monorails or LRTs in cities as huge concrete elevated guideways and pillars are not a pretty sight while partially blocking out the sky and potentially trapping noxious exhaust fumes and dust. Can you imagine civic-conscious cities like Paris or Barcelona slapping an above-ground railway across Champs Elysées or La Rambla? Well, that's what happened in KL, where the LRT, with its imposing watermark streaked concrete pillars, slashes across heritage areas like Dataran Merdeka and Chinatown district.
Penang also has a valuable opportunity to plan public transport based on what's best for the public and free it from political and business interference. Witness the commuting tragedy in KL where the monorail line terminates 100 metres from the KL Sentral station. Whenever I pass the area, I cringe at the sight of the commuters from KL Sentral, who usually include tourists and the visually impaired, having to cross a busy road to board the monorail.
Another example of poor planning is the Masjid Jamek interchange where to change from the Kelana Jaya LRT to the Ampang LRT line, one has to exit the underground station and then cross the road to access the Ampang LRT line, depending on where they are heading. It is even worse for commuters wanting to use public transport to go from KLCC to Bukit Bintang. They would have to take the Kelana Jaya LRT line in KLCC in a direction away from Bukit Bintang and then walk about five minutes to the nearest monorail station, which only then takes them to Bukit Bintang.
A more logical alignment would have been for the line to go from Central Market to Chinatown to Bukit Bintang and then KLCC. It could then continue its journey from there to Kampung Baru and onwards to Ampang. An interchange with the Ampang LRT would still be possible at the Hang Tuah or Plaza Rakyat station. Another glaring example of short-sighted planning is the existence of the usually deserted Abdullah Hukum station, which is near to, but inaccessible from, the high traffic Mid Valley commercial centre. Public transport should be centrally planned in a cohesive manner and not parceled out to well-connected companies. Hopefully, this will not be repeated in Penang.
Lastly, I hope Penang, KL and all cities in Malaysia will take the time to study the world's best public transport systems before making their next move. I've tried the four oldest subway systems in the world (London, New York, Paris and Boston), newer ones like Bilbao, Vancouver and Washington DC as well as exemplary ones like Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore.
I've also taken the monorail in Sydney, Seattle and in theme parks like Sentosa Island, Singapore and Disney World. I still feel Barcelona is the one that has got it closest to perfect. You can go almost anywhere of importance in the city using the subway system without much hassle. The city has a mostly underground heavy rail train system with six lines and 123 stations. An impressive 29 interchanges make it a breeze to switch from one line to another. Each train can carry about 1,000 passengers and the lines can transport up to 60,000 passengers per hour per direction.
They are now building the longest, most advanced metro line in Europe, with 46 stations and a target capacity of 90 million passengers per year. As the system is mostly underground, expansion is not an issue. It was recognised by CityMayors.com, a site that promotes strong cities and good government, as one of the best metro systems in the world. Will we see Malaysia's metro systems one day being ranked among the best in the world?
Hopefully, Penang will show the way.

The design of the LRT, Monorail station in KL is not user friendly at all.
This is how it will end up, when cronies and corruption came in place.

Maybe at RM5bil, a very integrated public transport can be setup. But due to corruption, end up only RM1bil being channel to the project, make it look like what we have now in KL. Really is a shame lar. The capital of Malaysia have such a lousy not integrated public transport system.

Our garment way of execution a project really make Malaysian shame, like we don;t have enough profesional to measure or to plan that people have to cross the busy road from monorail to LRT. Haha...

We have bunch of profesionals, but being brain drain. Then the rest of the profesional who speak truth, not being employed in the garment sector. End up those with CGPA 1.0 profesional who design such a shameful public transport system for KL.

I saw an article about the Penang state government to look into the Tram to replaced the Monorail. It is cheaper and will have a lot of tram-stop. It will cover just the georgetown. It will be like old days. Down memorylane.