GEORGE TOWN (Oct 3): In a debate on the durability of a Light Rail Transit (LRT) (pictured) system, Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) project manager Szeto Wai Loong was reported saying that “such a system was likely to last forever, requiring only minimal maintenance such as software upgrades in the long run compared with trams and bus-tram hybrids”.

Member of the Penang Forum and Seberang Perai municipal councillor Cameron Kang, however, said no railway infrastructure can last “forever” as tracks need to be upgraded and maintained just like any type of public transportation, reported the Free Malaysia Today (FMT) news portal.

“Szeto claimed the railway infrastructure is forever and only minimal maintenance and software upgrades are required. I am of the opinion that he is wrong.

“Nothing is forever. Tracks are subject to regular and major maintenance such as grinding every week, and tracks must be replaced every 20 to 30 years.

“Sleepers (made of wood or concrete placed under the tracks) last around 30 years and the ballast (stones that form a bed for the tracks) need to be looked after whenever sleepers are changed,” Kang told FMT.

Szeto gave his opinion at a public dialogue on Sunday addressing concerns of some people over the RM46 billion PTMP, which will include highways, an LRT line and other transit systems.

In response, Szeto later told FMT that LRT systems were longer lasting as “the foundation for the rail infrastructure was more durable”.

“We only need to change the rails every 20 years, depending on the maintenance.

“Systems software can be upgraded when new versions come into the market, usually under the regular system maintenance contract by the operators.

“Rolling stocks (train sets) are the ones that change with new technology. But we don’t really need to change them as long as they can still carry the required capacity, like Kuala Lumpur where the rails are now 20 years old,” he explained to the news portal.

At the public dialogue, the Penang Forum had suggested the state consider an Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) system instead of an LRT system.

According to an FMT report, critics of the LRT said it is not suitable for Penang’s relatively small population. They also added that such a rail line might not be financially sustainable.

Proponents of the LRT meanwhile say Penang needs such as system as the population increases.

Meanwhile, a Universiti Sains Malaysia academic said that the planned Pan Island Link (PIL1) highway could make the LRT system redundant.

This is because both PIL1 and the proposed LRT will end up on the same route, said Associate Professor Ahmad Hilmy Abdul Hamid.

“They are building the highway first so people will already be using the highway and when they build the LRT, people will not use it,” he said, adding that this is because it is well known that Malaysians prefer using their own cars over public transportation.

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