The old tram track on Penang Road
A tram expert has been spotted in Penang.
Putting two and two together, I believe the proposal to bring back trams to Penang is now being given serious thought. Things seem to be moving.
The pros and cons of a tram system and its financial viability need to be carefully weighed and if it is found to be feasible, by all means go for it. If it is found to be unfeasible, forget it.
That said, putting in place a basic tram network for the George Town inner city area would cost only a tiny fraction of what a monorail system would cost. Of course, trams would complement the bus system, which has to be progressively improved.
Penang has the opportunity to try something really different in this region which could enhance its heritage appeal.
In connection with this, we also need a public transport master plan for the whole state, which would include the mainland and the cross-channel links (ferries and bridge).
tram may have cost a fraction of the initially allocated budget for monorail. But the coverage, network and capacity of the tram is also a fraction to that of the monorail project. The original monorail budget also reeks of corruption and inefficiencies, many ppl are in the opinion that if the monorail project is handled the CAT way, the project cost could easily be slashed by half.
If u hav a tram system in the city as proposed. Commuters would still have to drive their car to the peripheral of the city network. They have to park their car near the tram station. I don’t think we have a massive centralised free space to be dedicated as car park within the city centre. It’s not an independant system, the tram system still needs a good bus system to compliment it. Given the condition of our bus system, I’ll say we fix this problem first before we venture into something unproven
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The Association for the Improvement of Mass-Transit believes that comprehensive improvements to the rapid-transit network are absolutely necessary in order to build an effective public transport system.
Penang will be an excellent place for improvements to public transport-if the government will hold proper public consultations and open up the projects to competitive tenders.
To respond to Din Merican, I do hope that the government will hold a forum soon on Penang public transport. Until then, we have the Urban Public Transport forum on September 18, hosted by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute.
Transit will be attending the forum and we hope to that the forum will be a positive opportunity to share ideas for public transport improvements.
Sincerely,
Moaz Yusuf Ahmad
on behalf of the Association for the Improvement of Mass-Transit
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apparently such discussion had gone dead since Sept 2008???
Please bring back the trams!!!!
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