Twice weekly on steam locomotive ride to Papar

KOTA KINABALU: The steam locomotive of the hitherto North Borneo Railways brought 60 guests back down memory lane yesterday when it took a jaunt to Papar, about 39 kilometres from the state capital.

Launched as a joint-venture project between the Sutera Harbour Resorts and the Sabah State Railways Department in 2000, it aimed to preserve the historical significance through the run, while supporting the tourism sector in the state.

Commenting on yesterday’s run, the resort’s director of communications and marketing Kattie Hoo said, although the guests on the ride were mostly hotel guests, there were also some members of the public who were interested in the event and merely wanted to participate.

Hoo said, the train may well be the last locomotive in the world and as such it was an attraction not only to tourists but to locals as well.

According to her, the steam train which utilised wood as its fuel ensured a scenic ride for passengers at it brought them through villages and settlements that were still basically untouched by time.

“We started on July 4 this year and seats were fully booked which only goes to show that the response had been very encouraging so far,” she told reporters during the event yesterday to coincide with the train’s third run.

She expressed hope that the trend would continue and pick up more as it goes along.

Meanwhile, the train would be carrying out two runs weekly, on Wednesdays and Saturdays with five carriages.

It would leave the Tanjung Aru train station at 10 am and reach Papar at 11.45am.

Guests who take the package would be entitled to breakfast and lunch.

Continue reading at: Twice weekly on steam locomotive ride to Papar
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Plans afoot to extend railway services to major towns in Sabah

SANDAKAN: The Ministry of Transport plans to extend the railway transport services to connect all major towns in Sabah.

In this connection, the ministry through the Sabah State Railway Department (SSRD) and the Malayan Railway Berhad (KTMB) has been carrying out short-term work projects to modernise the railway service from Tanjung Aru to Tenom spanning 133.7 kilometres as a precursor to linking the major towns in the state.

This modernisation work has been divided into two sectors, i.e. Sector 1 (Tanjung Aru to Kimanis) and Sector 2 (Kimanis-Tenom).

In terms of progress, modernisation works for Sector 1 has been completed in full whereas Sector 2 is 74.5 per cent complete. The modernisation work for Sector 2 is expected to be completed by March 2012.

This was the ministry’s response to the oral question raised by MP for Batu Sapi, Datin Linda Tsen Thau Lin in Parliament recently.

The short-term work projects to modernise Sabah railway services from Tanjung Aru to Tenom are among the efforts undertaken by the ministry to connect the major towns in the state. Plans to link the other major towns in the state will be implemented after the ongoing modernisation work is completed.

The ministry has taken note of a study conducted by the State Ministry of Infrastructure Development (KPINS) to have railway services connected to all major towns in the state and this study will be scrutinised and taken into account in the planning for the future railway services.

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Sabah railway service to resume with free rides

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Railway Department is resuming its train service from Tanjung Aru to Beaufort and is celebrating the event by offering free rides to the public for one week.

According to its general manager, Mohd Zain Mohd Said, the service to and from Tanjung Aru to Beaufort will commence on February 21.

“So from February 21 to February 28, commuters from these two areas can take a train ride for free,” Mohd Zain told reporters yesterday.

The train will depart from Tanjung Aru at 7.45am and 1.40pm daily while the return trip will leave Beaufort station at 11am and 4.30pm.

Commuters traveling to and from Tanjung Aru and Beaufort can also request for the return tickets before leaving the respective stations, he said, adding that the coaches can accommodate about 210 passengers one way.

“As of March 1, the fare to and from Tanjung Aru and Beaufort is RM4.80 per adult while children under 12 will be charged 50 per cent off,” he said.

“We will be using Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) 6601 and 6602 as well as a locomotive with open deck carriages for cargo,” he disclosed.

The trains are expected to travel at a maximum speed of 80kph which is 30kph faster than the previous engines.

“This means that the traveling time between Tanjung Aru and Beaufort now is about two hours and 15 minutes,” he said.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Sabah railway service to resume with free rides
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Kota Kinabalu-Beaufort rail service resumes Feb 21

Kota Kinabalu: The rail service between here and Beaufort which has been disrupted for quite sometime for improvement works on the tracks will fully resume on Feb. 21.

State Railways General Manager, Hj Mohd Zain Hj Mohd Said, said to commemorate the resumption of service, the rides would be free until Feb.

27. However, commuters will still have to take the free tickets from the counters being boarding the train. "From Feb 28, there will be promotional rates until the officiating ceremony end of March," he stated.

He added there will be six services between Tanjung Aru and Beaufort as follows:

l 6.10am - Papar-Secretariat (Sembulan) l 5.10 pm - Secretariat-Papar l 7.45 am - Tg Aru-Beaufort l 11.01am - Beaufort-Tg Aru l 1.40 pm - Tg Aru-Beaufort l 4.30 pm - Beaufort-Tg Aru

From Beaufort, commuters can continue their journey onto Tenom.

The entire Tg Aru-Tenom trip will take 2 hours and 15 minutes and the coaches will run at a speed of 80km per hour compared to 50km previously.

There will be a total of 14 stations between Sembulan and Tenom, namely: Secretariat-Tg Aru-Putatan-Kinarut-Kawang-Papar-Kimanis-Bongawan-Membakut-Beaufort-Saliwangan Baru-Halogilat-Rayoh-Pangi-Tenom.

Meanwhile, Hj Zain said the railway service was introduced in Sabah (then North Borneo) by the then British North Borneo Chartered Company Limited.

"The first railway track, a distance of 32 km, was laid in 1896 and completed in 1990 , linking Weston and Beaufort.

Continue reading at: Kota Kinabalu-Beaufort rail service resumes Feb 21
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RM9 mln Tg Aru Water Village almost ready

KOTA KINABALU: The RM9 million tourism project of the Phase IA of the Tanjung Aru Water Village near here is expected to be opened to the public soon once final touch up to the project is completed.

Mayor Datuk Iliyas bin Ibrahim said the actual date of the completion would be announced and the project, the first of its kind in the state, is expected to benefit the residents there.

Expressing his satisfaction with the work performance of the contractor of the project, he added that the water village is set to be another tourism attraction for the City.

Hence, the mayor appealed to the residents in the area and the public in general, to appreciate the facilities provided to them and cooperate by refraining from littering and help keep out vandalism.

He said the sustainability of the project depended very much on the residents’ cooperation in maintaining and sustaining its purpose.

Iliyas also expressed his gratitude to the federal and state governments for the tourism project which he said would not only benefit the residents in the water village and provide them with modern public facilities, but added another attraction to the city.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: RM9 mln Tg Aru Water Village almost ready
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