GEORGE TOWN, September 14 – The Bi-Annual Funicular Maintenance which is usually carried out in January and June is a routine activity that must be carried out as recommended by the manufacturer to ensure that the funicular system is always in good and safe condition. Following the closure of the national border due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the maintenance works which require the service of the manufacturer’s engineers, Garaventa AG from Switzerland has to be postponed.
The maintenance works shall be carried out by the Funicular Operations Division of Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) and the number of maintenances will be increased as safety and control measures to ensure that the funicular system is always in tip-top running condition and meet stringent safety checks. The 2022 Bi-Annual Funicular Maintenance which was initially scheduled to be in the first quarter of 2022 will be carried forward as PHC anticipates that the tourism sector will slowly recover in the first quarter of 2022 following the projection for the nation to achieve herd immunity by the fourth quarter of 2021 under the National Recovery Plan (NRP).
This is also to ensure that the vendors at Penang Hill will be able to resume their business and economy activities after facing a difficult period throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. For the convenience of the public and to ease the burden of the vendors, PHC has decided to carry forward the maintenance which was initially scheduled to be carried out in January 2022 to November and December 2021. The maintenance shall be carried out on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for four (4) consecutive weeks during the said period. The Penang Hill Funicular service will be temporarily closed as shown in the table below.
Visitors may opt for the jeep service operated by the Penang Hill Residents Association at the entrance of Jeep Track (nearby Penang Botanic Gardens) or the existing hiking routes to reach the top of Penang Hill during the shut-down period. PHC would like to thank all visitors for their patience and continuous support to Penang Hill. Any inconvenience caused is very much regretted.
For enquiries, please contact Penang Hill Corporation at 04-828 8880 or email to [email protected].
