Going up in the world
Spanning 2.8km upwards above the 130-million-year-old rainforest mountain, the Awana Skyway begins at the new Awana Transportation Hub and ends at the SkyAvenue Station
CATCHING a glimpse of the magnificent mountain view and fog on the way up to Resorts World Genting via Genting Skyway is surely a memorable experience.
Now, thanks to the newly opened state-of-the-art cable car system Awana Skyway, everyone can experience more than just a ride up.
Spanning 2.8km upwards above the 130-million-year-old rainforest mountain, the Awana Skyway begins at the new Awana Transportation Hub and ends at the SkyAvenue Station that is connected to the SkyAvenue shopping mall at the peak, stopping at Chin Swee Station on the way.
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The glass-floor gondola offers a more spectacular experience for visitors.
As you enjoy the crisp mountain air on the ride up in the new and improved 2.1m-high gondola, the 10-minute journey will captivate you with its bird’s eye view of the breathtaking flora and fauna surrounding the trail.
Starting from the ascent of 620m, passengers will also see the magnificent Chin Swee Temple and the upcoming Twentieth Century Fox World Malaysia theme park as the gondola glides over the key attractions.
For a more spectacular experience, try the glass-floor gondola as it will surely astound you with more to see below your feet.
In case your electronic devices need a quick charge from taking too many photos of the stunning scenery, each gondola comes equipped with two USB charging ports so that you can continue to snap away.
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The new and improved 2.1m-high gondola will captivate visitors with its clearer and wider bird’s eye view of the flora and fauna surrounding the trail during their 10-minute journey. — Photos: ONG SOON HIN/The Star
To ensure you and your family get to the city of entertainment swiftly, Awana Skyway functions at a maximum speed of 6m per second and can carry up to 10 people per gondola, compared with the speed of 5m per second and only eight passengers per unit with the Genting Skyway.
This means the new French-made skyway is able to transport 3,000 passengers one way every hour with its 89 standard and 10 glass-floor gondolas fitted with special windows and louvres for better ventilation.
Passenger Wafa Ahmed Abdulla from Bahrain said she had a pleasant experience with Awana Skyway.
“This is my third visit to Malaysia and the second to Resorts World Genting.
“Compared with my first trip here via Genting Skyway, this new system is very comfortable and spacious.
“With the fantastic view, and the smooth and quiet ride up, my journey was made even more enjoyable,” she said.
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Awana Skyway gondolas passing through the Chin Swee Station.
Genting Malaysia Berhad Theme Park and Tenancy senior vice-president Thomas Ng Seng Siew (pic) said Awana Skyway, the fourth cable car system at Resorts World Genting, was part of the resort’s commitment to stay current and relevant.
“Resorts World Genting has a long history of operating cable car systems to provide visitors with a unique vantage point as they make their way up the mountain to the resort.
“The new cable car system is part of the 10-year Genting Integrated Tourism Plan (GITP) to transform Resorts World Genting to provide world-class, unique entertainment options for visitors.
“We have received great response from the public since the opening on Dec 22, with an average of 30% increase in passengers compared to Genting Skyway.
“On average, we are transporting about 10,000 to 20,000 passengers per day. During this year’s Chinese New Year period, we broke our previous record of slightly over 30,000 passengers with 42,000 passengers on one of the days.
Ng (front) and Theme Park assitant vice president Francis Lee Kong Keng (left) exiting the new Awana Skyway gondola.
“This shows that the number of passengers per day is seasonal,” said Ng, adding that the new skyway cost close to RM200mil to build.
“For the convenience of our visitors, there are about 4,500 parking bays at the Awana Transportation Hub,” he added.
Ng also said they were exploring alternative transportation modes other than by road, to connect visitors from Kuala Lumpur to the nearest point on the mountain,
“This is part of the infrastructure work under the GITP with the total capital investment of RM10.38bil, aimed at pushing our number of visitors to Resorts World Genting to 30 million by 2020.
“When everything is complete, we are confident that the number of passengers will increase,” he said.
Genting Skyway is now temporarily closed while Awana Skyway is operating daily from 7am to midnight.
Passengers can buy tickets at the self-service ticketing kiosks or ticketing counters at RM8 per pax for the standard gondola, RM40 per pax for the express boarding lane on the standard gondola and RM50 per pax for the glass-floor gondola.
As for Genting Rewards Card holders, members can buy a standard gondola ticket with point deduction system of 5GP (Genting Points) and the glass-floor gondola ticket for 40GP while only gold and platinum card members get the privilege to board via the express lane for 5GP.
Visitors are also allowed to take cabin-sized luggage on board the gondola while larger luggage can be stored at the new Awana Bus Terminal for RM5 for 24 hours.
To ensure safety on the skyway system, several measures have been implemented such as a security checkpoint, revised operation and technical emergency evacuation plans and daily maintenance.
For details, call 03-6101 1118 or visit www.rwgenting.com
Read more at http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2017/02/25/going-up-in-the-world-genting-highlands-new-stateoftheart-cable-car-features-new-and-improved-21mhig/#EkqODgP3kWV6RYoX.99
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