Victoria Bridge, Malaysia

Victoria Bridge is a single track railway truss bridge located in Karai, Kuala Kangsar District, Perak, Malaysia. It is one of the oldest railway bridges in the country, although it is no longer in use and has been converted into a tourist attraction.

Etymology

Victoria Bridge was named after Queen Victoria, who ruled the United Kingdom from 1837-1901.

History

Victoria Bridge was 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. It cost $300,000 and was considered the largest railway project even carried out in Malaya at the time. The bridge was officially opened by the late Almarhum DYMM Sultan Idris Murshidul Adzam Shah I, the Sultan of Perak at that time, in a ceremony also attended by Sir Frank Swettenham, the first resident general of the Federated Malay States.
Spanning the Perak River, the bridge was linked to a railway line to Sungai Siput and Kuala Kangsar and served to transport natural resources from Perai in the north to Singapore in the south for export.
During the Japanese occupation of Malaya in 1941, the British army attempted to impede the Japanese invasion southward by partly destroying the bridge. It was repaired after the end of the war. Barracks and additional security features were added during the period of Malayan Emergency.
Starting in 1992, Victoria Bridge was managed by Railway Assets Corporation. The Railway Assets Corporation is a federal statutory body under the Ministry of Transport. It was established under the Railways Act 1991 through Government Gazette No.16 Volume 36 on July 30, 1992.
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.

Current state

While the old Victoria 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. To improve safety, especially for motorcyclists, the bridge and the surrounding areas were illuminated with lights, while fences or safety nets have been installed on the bridge itself. The Victoria Bridge has become a minor tourist attraction, with signage set up to inform visitors about its history. It is a popular spot for photoshoots. In 2016, the bridge was gazetted as a national heritage site.