MONORAIL BACK IN OPERATION

Sunday November 27, 2011

Malacca monorail up and running again


MALACCA: The Malacca river monorail service is back on track.

The service, which was suspended after a breakdown on Sept 30, was given the go-ahead by Land Public Transport Com mission (SPAD) to resume operations starting Thursday.

The monorail service, which has suffered numerous technical glitches since last year, now has better safety measures.


A ‘rail’ relief: People boarding the monorail after SPAD gave the green light to the operator to resume its service in Malacca.
SPAD chief operating officer Azhar Ahmad said the commission was satisfied that monorail operator Menara Taming Sari Sdn Bhd had fulfilled all safety and security requirements.

“During our engineers’ inspection on Nov 23, all safety and security measures were in place,” he said.

Azhar added that the China-made monorail line was now equipped with a cherry picker – a hydraulic crane to rescue stranded passengers, should the coach stall.

“Passengers need not come down using a ladder any more,” Azhar said.

The monorail’s operation and service manual, previously in Chinese, had also been translated into Malay and English, he added.

On the monorail’s tyre traction which was said to be weak when it rains, he said a thermal paint was required to provide better traction during slippery conditions.

Azhar said the operator had set a date for this to be done.

Menara Taming Sari chief executive officer Nazary Ahmad said work to apply the thermal paint would be carried out in early January.

“Until then, we will follow SPAD’s instruction to only operate the monorail when there is no rain,” he said.

Nazary said the lifting of the suspension was good news for Malacca’s tourism industry, especially as the year-end school holidays had started.

The RM15.9mil monorail line had experienced 21 service disruptions since starting operations on Oct 20 last year until the suspension on Sept 30. The company suffered losses of more than RM74,180.

The monorail line spans 1.6km from Taman Rempah in Pengkalan Rama to Kampung Bunga Raya Pantai, along the scenic Malacca river.