GEORGE TOWN: Penang is now waiting for engineers to work out the third link between Penang island and the mainland, which is a railway bridge across the sea for the Mutiara LRT Line.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke confirmed that the alignment of this light rail transit’s railway has been finalised and it includes a railway bridge spanning across Penang Strait between the island and mainland.This will be the second rail connection in South-East Asia to cross a sea after the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System, which is under construction now and scheduled to be operational in 2026.

Mutiara LRT Line is expected to garner a substantially higher ridership than originally forecasted because it will connect mainland Penangites by rail to financial and industrial centres on the island, and even allow mainland folk to get from Butterworth to Penang International Airport in a single train ride.

How it will be constructed will be an engineering feat worth watching.

The mainland’s LRT station is Penang Sentral in Butterworth, which is already an integrated transport hub for buses, interstate trains and ferries.

The train will reach the island at the densely-populated Macallum Street Ghaut area, a straight-line distance of just a little over 3km across the sea.

But to the south of Penang Sentral is Penang Port’s deepwater wharf, bulk cargo terminal, vegetable oil tanker pier and additional wharves plus warehouses.

Maritime traffic entering the harbour needs to access those port facilities, so engineers of the railway bridge will face a challenge maintaining that access.

Replying to questions from reporters, Loke yesterday said the cross-strait railway bridge need not have a drawbridge, raised when tall ships pass.

“It will also not be a tunnel beneath the seabed.

“We will take into consideration all the engineering aspects including Penang Port’s maritime traffic and future expansion plans.

“It will go through a detailed study before the design is announced,” he said after launching the national celebration of Day of the Seafarers and World Aids to Navigation Day.

To enhance the human capital of Malaysia’s maritime transport sector, Loke announced that for the first time, the government will allocate RM10mil for applicants to apply for certificates of competency (COC) in various seafarers’ qualifications including COC in Masters, Officers, Radio Operators, ratings and more.

This fund will be channelled through the Skills Development Fund Corporation under Human Resources Ministry and seafarers can apply through the Association of Malaysia’s Maritime Professionals.

Although professional seafarers’ careers are not mainstream, Loke said “there are plenty of rewarding career opportunities at sea”.

“We are a maritime nation with a long coastline and on top of that, Malaysia is a steward of the Strait of Malacca, the world’s most important global sea passage and one of the busiest waterways in the world.

“The government has opened a door into this career pathway and we are asking more Malaysians to be a part of this globally-important profession,” he said.

Loke added that the government had allocated RM80mil for projects including navigational buoy maintenance, building of buoy maintenance ships and port reclamation, including a transfer of buoys from Malaysia to Madagascar.

Malaysia Marine Department director-general Capt Mohamad Halim Ahmed, in his speech, said there were about 50,000 active Malaysian seafarers manning over 1,000 Malaysian ships.

“Nearly 80,000 ships passed through Strait of Malacca last year, handling about 25% of the world’s traded goods.

“The government prioritises the maritime transport sector as we aspire to become a developed nation,” Capt Mohamad Halim added.

Also present were Maldives Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Capt Abdul Latheef Mohamed and Madagascar Maritime and River Port Agency director-general Randrianantenaina Jean Edmond.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/06/30/let-engineers-work-out-penang-island-mainland-rail-bridge