North Borneo Railway locomotive goes full steam in July

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KUCHING: Soon, visitors to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah will be able to experience the good old era of the steam locomotive when the North Borneo Railway commences operation once again in July 2011.

The North Borneo Railway features a British ‘Vulcan’ Steam Engine number 6-016 manufactured by the Vulcan Foundry Ltd in Newton-le-Willows in Lancashire, United Kingdom and is the last of a fleet of locomotives that piled the tracks through Borneo.

Not only do these steam engines represent the last of a fleet that have plied the tracks through Borneo since the late 1880s, they are also part of the only few functional wood burners left in the world.

The train has a capacity for 180 passengers accommodated in six colonial-period carriages that have been refurbished and restored to reflect the luxury of the era.

A kitchen car serves ‘Tiffin’ styled meals, highlighting an exotic blend of colonial and continental cuisine. The railway is operated to the highest of international standards and is fully compliant with modern safety standards.

Passengers on board the train will be able to take in the sights and sounds of the countryside, paddy fields, mangrove jungles and pristine coastal beaches as the train chucks along the tracks from Tanjung Aru station into Putatan, heading for Kinarut, Kawang and Papar, the ‘Rice Bowl of Sabah’.

Be the first to take a nostalgic trip into the bygone days of the British North Borneo Charter Company. The train will be opened for group, incentive and private parties seven days a week including a series of tailor-made theme events.