GEORGE TOWN: Penang Hill’s funicular service has been shut down today to make way for maintenance work, just over three weeks after the service malfunctioned.
Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) in a statement today said that the maintenance work was due to the unexpected power failure to the main drive motor.
“PHC’s funicular operation team is working around the clock to identify the root cause and rectify the situation.
“We would like to thank you in advance for your understanding and patience. Any inconvenience caused is much regretted.
“Please check our official Facebook page or website for further updates,” it said in a statement posted on its Facebook page today.
The funicular train service disruption happened a few hours after Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah visited the hill last month.
It was reported that about 150 visitors were trapped at the middle station after the train stopped at about 8.30pm.
Al-Sultan Abdullah in a statement by Istana Negara, expressed hope that immediate efforts would be taken to fix the problems to prevent the incident from recurring.
In the incident last December, PHC general manager Datuk Cheok Lay Leng said that it happened due to a faulty hydraulic component of the brake system.