Every time I go to Sabah, I inevitably end up either savouring the rich cultures and cuisine of the local people in remote villages or hanging out on one of the beautiful islands in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, just a few kilometres off the state capital Kota Kinabalu.

On my next visit to the “Land Below the Wind” I will add one more item to my travel itinerary  – take a nostalgic trip on the North Borneo Railway, one of the few functional locomotives left in the world that is fuelled by wood and runs on the “Vulcan” steam engine. 

This steam locomotive has an interesting history. it is the last of a fleet of locomotives, which once plied the tracks through Borneo since the late 1880s and was manufactured by the Vulcan Foundry Ltd in Newton-le-Willows in Lancashire, U.K.

The North Borneo Railway was officially launched in January 2000 to commemorate Kota Kinabalu achieving city status. However, it could not start operations due to the reconstruction of the track by the Sabah State Railway Department.

Come July 4 the train will start its first run, providing a new attraction to the city that sorely needs additional products to entice tourists to stay longer instead of using it as a jumping point to the islands, hills, Kinabatangan or Mount Kinabalu

And this is precisely what Sabah Railway, which owns the locomotive and the carriages, has done in a joint venture with the 1,000-room Sutera Harbour Resort. (pictured below)

“It’s an initiative by both parties to revive an old derelict train for the purpose of boosting unique tourism products for the state, as well as to enhance the existing infrastructure and promote Sabah as a tourist destination,” said Ravindran Kathiravelu (pictured right), general manager of the Magellan Sutera Resort.

He added that Sutera Harbour embarked on this project as a “far sighted venture, not to boost occupancy but to create sufficient attraction and activities that would draw tourism to Sabah”.

Sutera Harbour operates the train’s F&B operations, maintains its coaches, markets it worldwide, takes care of reservations and ticketing, staffs all attendants and service personal, and runs the train’s services when in operation.

Sabah Railways operates the locomotive during the run, provides five engineers on board every time the train moves out, and takes care on its repairs and upkeep.  

Ravindran is confident the train would help boost tourism as “this is the type of unique products will draw people to the state due to the interest it creates.”

The train’s ambiance is the same as in the old days before air-conditioning invaded our lives. Its five restored, colonial-period carriages are non-air conditioned, and are fitted only with fans. A kitchen car serves “tiffin” styled meals, which are an exotic blend of colonial and continental cuisine.

Each of the train’s five 16-seater carriage is named after a town along the three-hour journey – Papar, Kinarut, Tanjung Aru, Putatan and Kawang. It is scheduled to run every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, departing from the Tanjung Aru Station.

The train is also open for special charters for groups of up to 160 passengers.

So the next time you are in Kota Kinabalu be sure to take a trip down memory lane on one of the last steam locomotives in the world. I definitely will.

• Photos courtesy of Sutera Harbour Resort