Malacca wants to revive monorail line to promote river

MALACCA: The state government is resolute in reviving the Malacca Historic City Council monorail line despite the many glitches that halted its operation.

The system is too expensive to be left abandoned and must be revived, it said.

The line cost RM15.9mil to build and spans 1.6km, from Taman Rempah in Pengkalan Rama to Kampung Bunga Raya Pantai along the Malacca River.

The state wants to use it to promote the river as a tourist attraction.

Launched on Oct 20, 2010, the China-made monorail system has been idle since 2011 after it was plagued by technical problems.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron said yesterday a special steering committee led by the state secretary had recommended that the project be revived.

The committee was set up recently to identify and recommend to the state government any abandoned projects that were worth pursuing.

“The monorail is a project that we can’t afford to ignore because a lot of money has gone into it,” Idris told The Star.

He said the committee was also looking at 10 other projects, including Arab City, a sea lion park, an aviary, a planetarium and Malacca International Airport.

“We will be reviving the monorail service first by getting new locomotives and coaches,” he said.

The project was a joint venture by the Malacca Historic City Council, state subsidiary Kumpulan Melaka Bhd and Agibs Engineering & Construction Sdn Bhd.

Soon after its launch, the train stalled with 20 passengers about 100m from Hang Jebat, the main station, and they had to be rescued with a sky lift.

The following year, 18 tourists from Hong Kong with their tour leader and guide were stranded when the train failed again, this time about 300m from the same station.

Then state Tourism Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Datuk Latiff Thamby Chik had reported that the service suffered 21 disruptions since its start.