The Komtar station is a future elevated

light rail transit Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

station on the

Mutiara line The Mutiara LRT Line (English language, English: ''Pearl'') is a Light rail, light rail transit (LRT) system under development in Penang. The line will connect Central George Town, Penang, George Town's city centre with its southern suburbs of Je ...

in George Town,

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

. It will be situated at the intersection of Magazine Road, Carnavon and Tek Soon streets, adjacent to the Sia Boey Park. The station is projected to become a major terminal and interchange station of the Mutiara,

Tanjong Tokong Tanjong Tokong is a suburb of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located at the northeastern coast of Penang Island, northwest of the city centre. The suburb is bordered by Tanjong Bungah to the west and Tanjong Pinang to the ...

and the

Ayer Itam Ayer Itam is a suburb of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Nested within the central valleys of Penang Island, it is located approximately southwest of the city centre. Etymology Ayer Itam got its name from the murky waters of th ...

lines. It has connections towards the terminal of a proposed tram system in George Town, and the Komtar bus terminal, which serves as the primary public bus terminal serving the city. The station complex is also planned as part of the fifth phase of development at Komtar. Once completed, it is expected to become the main rail station in George Town. Besides this, the station is part of the western end of an elevated link across the

Penang Strait The Penang Strait is an 11 kilometre-wide strait that separates Penang Island from mainland Malay Peninsula. Penang Island is to the west of the channel, while Seberang Perai, the mainland half of the State of Penang, is to the east. The northe ...

towards the Penang Sentral station in

Seberang Perai Seberang Perai is a city in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located on the Malay Peninsula and separated from Penang Island by the Penang Strait, it shares borders with Kedah to the north and east and Perak to the south. The city spans an are ...

. Construction is expected to be completed by 2031, in line with the completion of the Mutiara line.

History

The site of the Komtar station was previously part of the historic Sia Boey Market, which emerged in 1806 as one of the busiest street markets in central George Town. During the initial planning of the Penang Urban Centre between 1969 and 1970, the site around Sia Boey Market was designated for demolition and replacement under the project's fifth phase of development. After the project evolved into Komtar, the land which the market stood upon was sold in July 1991 for RM31 million, although no progress was done, despite plans for a mixed retail, office, and residential development set for construction in 1995 or 1996.

Planning

In 2002, the Penang state government repurposed Sia Boey Market into a centralised transportation hub, with a terminal of a proposed light rail transit line in

Penang Island Penang Island is the main constituent island of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located off the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Malacca Strait, with the Penang Strait separating the island from Seberang Perai on the mainla ...

, a precursor to the present

. In 2004, anticipating the construction of the transit line, Sia Boey Market closed permanently. However, the project stalled and was never revived to its previous state. In 2012, the site was planned for the construction of an

arts district An arts district or cultural district is a demarcated urban area, usually on the periphery of a city centre, intended to create a 'critical mass' of places of cultural consumption - such as art galleries, theatres, art cinemas, music venues, and p ...

known as the ''Penang Heritage Square'', but progress halted when the arts district was relocated to Macallum Street Ghaut nearby to make way for another integrated transport hub. This revival did not succeed, and by the mid-2010s the project stalled again due to funding concerns and political opposition from the federal government. The introduction of the

Penang Transport Master Plan The Penang Transport Master Plan ( ) is a strategic initiative developed by the Penang state government between 2012 and 2015, aimed at creating an integrated transportation system across the state. The multimodal plan, with an original estimated ...

(PTMP) in 2015 designated the Komtar station as a major

interchange station An interchange station or a transfer station is a train station for more than one railway route in a public transport system that allows passengers to change from one route to another, often without having to leave a station or pay an additional ...

and

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devices for a computer * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together ** Battery terminal, electrical contact used to ...

of several proposed light rail transit and monorail routes. It functions as the terminus station of the Mutiara line, the Tanjong Tokong line, Ayer Itam line, and the George Town tram line. Further redesigns of the Mutiara line made the Komtar station the western end of an elevated rail bridge across the

towards a station at

Penang Sentral Penang Sentral is an intermodal transit-oriented development in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia. Proposed as the main transportation hub within the George Town Conurbation, the first phase of the Penang Sentral project opened on 22 November 2 ...

. Construction of the station is expected to be complete by 2031.

Layout

Rail services

The Komtar station is proposed to be served by the following rail lines:

Connections

The Komtar station is proposed to be connected to the following stations: * {{rint, tram, size=15, alt= George Town tram line (western terminus): Eastbound towards Carnavon Street * Rapid_Penang_Logo

Rapid Penang Rapid Penang (stylised as ''rapidPenang'') is a public bus brand operating within the George Town Conurbation in Malaysia. Established in 2007 as a subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia, it serves as the main public transport system within the sta ...

public bus terminal ( Komtar Bus Terminal):

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304 Year 304 ( CCCIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. It was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, year 1057 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 304 ...

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References

Mutiara line Tanjong Tokong line Ayer Itam line Monorail stations in George Town Light rail stations in George Town Transit-oriented developments