Western Sabah Railway Line
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The Western Sabah Railway Line ( ms, Laluan Keretapi Barat Sabah) in
Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
, Malaysia is the name given to rail services that operate from
Tanjung Aru Tanjung Aru is a sub-district of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, of Malaysia. Its main feature is its beach called Tanjung Aru Beach which stretches to over 2 kilometres long along with new skyscrapers. This beach has a lot of '' Casuarina equisetifolia ...
until
Tenom Tenom ( ms, Pekan Tenom, ) is the capital of the Tenom District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 5,148 in 2010. It is located about 176 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu and 128 kilometres n ...
in the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
and Interior divisions under the management of
Sabah State Railway Sabah State Railway (SSR) is a railway system and operator in the state of Sabah in Malaysia. It is the only rail transport system operating on the island of Borneo. The railway consists of a single 134-kilometre line from Tanjung Aru, Kota Kina ...
. The line previously known as North Borneo Railway Line.


History

Following the large demands of
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
prior to the industry success in 1880, there was a great demand for lands for the tobacco plantation. The process to transport the produce was hardened due to lack of transportation. In 1894, following the appointment of a director and managing director for the
North Borneo Chartered Company The North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC), also known as the British North Borneo Company (BNBC) was a British chartered company formed on 1 November 1881 to administer and exploit the resources of North Borneo (present-day Sabah in Malaysia). ...
; the involvement of William Clark Cowie become crucial for the establishment of railway systems in
North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo ...
. Already in the early months of his involvement, Cowie had commenced work on
telegraph line Electrical telegraphs were point-to-point text messaging systems, primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecommunications system and the most widely used of a number of early messaging systems ...
and the railway; with a vision to connect the east and west areas of North Borneo through the forests, mountain ranges, rivers and swampland. An English civil engineer,
Arthur Joseph West Arthur Joseph West (1863 in Bromsgrove; – 2 November 1937 in Bexhill-on-Sea) was a British civil engineer. Under his leadership, the Labuan Coal Line and the North Borneo Railway from Beaufort to Weston and Melalap were built. Personal life ...
was then appointed to establish the railway line from Bukau in the north of
Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions ...
and south to
Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...
. At the same time a ferry service have been established between Beaufort North to Beaufort South to carry passengers and cargo across the Padas River. A new port in
Brunei Bay Brunei Bay ( ms, Teluk Brunei) is on the northwestern coast of Borneo island, in Brunei and Malaysia. Brunei Bay is located 5°00'43.44", 115°17'26.66"; east of Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. It is the ocean gateway to the isolated Temburong Dis ...
was established under the name of West. It was only discovered soon in 1890 after the completion of railway lines there that the area in Weston are too shallow to be made for a deep-sea wharf; resulting to his ambition to link the whole areas of North Borneo only an ambition. The plan was also met with financial problems as the construction required a large sum of money to be wholly financed by the company and majority of the officials did not show a real enthusiasm over the plan. Cowie however persisted and raised a further £200,000 in 1901 through the issue of debenture stock. The next year, the company rejected further request from Cowie's to borrow £500,000 more as the plan would cause them bankruptcy. This result the line only managed to be finished until Melalap as Cowie's plan could proceed no further.


Modernisation

Following the end of British rule in North Borneo, the railway management then came under the
Sabah State Railway Sabah State Railway (SSR) is a railway system and operator in the state of Sabah in Malaysia. It is the only rail transport system operating on the island of Borneo. The railway consists of a single 134-kilometre line from Tanjung Aru, Kota Kina ...
after the territory become part of Malaysia. To rejuvenate the line, the
state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
hired Suria Capital Holdings Bhd and Hikmat Asia to revamp the whole line at a cost of RM300 million ($594 million); with the largest concession goes to S P Setia with the firm began work on the vast
Aeropod The Aeropod is a mixed development projects comprising hotel, a retail mall, retail offices, residential suites, corporate offices and green parks in Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asi ...
project to modernise the main railway station in Tanjung Aru that will be equipped with apartments, office towers, mall and a hotel. On 23 February 2019, Sabah Industrial Development Minister Peter Anthony said the Tenom-Melalap rail service in western Sabah will be revived with Chief Minister
Shafie Apdal Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Shafie bin Apdal ( Jawi: محمد شافعي بن أفضل; born 20 October 1956) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Semporna since April 1995, State Leader of the Opposition o ...
will officiate the starting of the construction on 31 March. The ground breaking ceremony was moved to 1 April instead which also involving the establishment of Melalap town. Around RM10 million has been allocated by the state government for the 15 kilometres railway line connecting Melalap with Tenom town. Through the meeting of the
Sabah State Legislative Assembly The Sabah State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Undangan Negeri Sabah, Kadazandusun language, Kadazandusun: ''Langga' Tinukuan Pogun Sabah'') is a part of the legislature of Sabah, Malaysia, the other being the List of Yang di-Pertua Negeri of ...
on 16 April, Minister Anthony further told that another line with a length of 175 kilometres that will connecting Kudat with Kota Kinabalu are under preliminary study stage which expected to be ready in the end of the year. Nevertheless with the change of the state government administration, new Sabah Deputy Chief Minister
Bung Mokhtar Radin Datuk Seri Panglima Bung Moktar bin Radin (born 14 September 1958) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Deputy Chief Minister I and State Minister of Works of Sabah from 2020 to 2023. He has also served as the Member of Parliamen ...
explained in late 2021 that the proposed railway track connecting Tenom and Melalap that was alleged to cost for RM50 million to implement had been cancelled and replaced with the procurement of one locomotive, six units of diesel multiple unit (DMU), semi automated tamping machine, composite sleepers and shuttle bus, which are claimed will boost efficiency, safety and consistency of the state railway department to benefit more train commuters in the state while the new proposed railway track to Kudat are still studied with the study to be implement in 2022. On 19 November 2021, Malaysia's Deputy Transport Minister
Henry Sum Agong Dato Henry Sum Agong (born 18 February 1946) is a Malaysian politician who served as the Deputy Minister of Transport in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and former Minister Wee Ka Sion ...
announced that another project to upgrade the Halogilat-Tenom railway track in Sabah is expected to be ready by early 2022.


Further connection with Sarawak

On 15 October 2021, Sarawak Senator Robert Lau Hui Yew made a proposal during a parliament session in
Dewan Negara The Dewan Negara (English language, English: Senate; Literal translation, lit. "State Council") is the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia, consisting of 70 senators of whom 26 are elected by the State legislative assemblies of Malaysia, ...
for a railway track to be constructed in
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
to link the cities of
Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...
,
Sibu Sibu (; Foochow Romanized, Hokchew Romanized: ''Sĭ-bŭ'') is a landlocked city in the central region of Sarawak. It is the capital of Sibu District in Sibu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The city is located on the island of Borneo and covers ...
,
Bintulu Bintulu is a coastal town on the island of Borneo in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. Bintulu is located 610 kilometres (380 mi) northeast of Kuching, 216 kilometres (134 mi) northeast of Sibu, and 200 kilometres (120 mi) ...
and
Miri ) , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = , subdivision_type2 = Division , subdivision_name2 ...
with Sabah's capital of
Kota Kinabalu , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...
.


See also

*
North Eastern Sabah Railway Line The North Eastern Sabah Railway Line ( ms, Laluan Keretapi Utara Timur Sabah) is a proposed railway line from the city of Kota Kinabalu that would connect Kudat, Sandakan and Tawau as part of the Sabah State Railway line extension plan. The plan wa ...
*
Rail transport in Malaysia Rail transport in Malaysia consists of heavy rail (including commuter rail), light rapid transit (LRT), mass rapid transit (MRT), monorails, airport rail links and a funicular railway line. Heavy rail is mostly used for intercity passenger and ...


References

{{Malaysia-rail-transport-stub Railway lines in Malaysia Public transport in Malaysia Rail transport in Malaysia