Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) general manager Lawrence Khoo Teng Cheok explained that the annual maintenance works needed to be carried out for safety reasons.

“Public safety is our utmost priority and all our engineers will be busy replacing the boogie to ensure that there would be no breakdown of services once it resumes,” he told newsmen here yesterday.

A boogie is a wheel-like component that ensures the coaches run smoothly.

Khoo said locals and tourists who wanted to visit the iconic Penang Hill during the temporary shutdown of services would have to hire four-wheel drives from Botanical Garden.

However approval from the Public Works Department (PWD), that manages the private hill road, must first be sought for those planning to drive up the hill.