Victoria Bridge, Malaysia
| Sungai Perak Railway Bridge Jambatan Victoria | |
|---|---|
| Carries |
Locomotive Pedestrian |
| Crosses | Perak River |
| Locale | Kuala Kangsar-Ipoh railway line |
| Official name | Victoria Bridge |
| Maintained by | Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Double-intersection Warren truss bridge |
| History | |
| Opened | March 1900 |
Victoria Bridge is a single track railway truss bridge located in Karai, in the state of Perak, Malaysia. It is one of the oldest railway bridges in the country, having been constructed between December 1897 and March 1900 by the Perak Government Railway as a crossing over the Perak River to serve the local tin mining industry. The bridge was officially opened by the late Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah I of Perak and the British's Federated Malay States Residents-General Sir Frank Swettenham.
The Victoria Bridge remained in use until 2002, when a wider concrete girder bridge built parallel to the old bridge was completed to take over the role of handling rail traffic. The new bridge is significantly wider, with room to support a second track, but in its early life it was only required to handle a single track until double tracking and electrification was conducted between the Ipoh-Padang Besar line during the late-2000s and early-2010s.
While the old bridge is closed to rail traffic, its adjoining footbridge is still publicly open to motorcycles and pedestrians. Attempts have been made to retain the structure, with occasional maintenance having been conducted on it.
External links
- FORGOTTEN BRIDGE, an illustrated explanation of the Victoria Bridge.