MUAR: Construction workers at a drainage project in Bukit Mor recently stumbled upon railway sleepers believed to be part of Johor's first railway, built 137 years ago.
The workers uncovered pieces of wood, believed to be part of the Muar State Railway line, buried along the construction site.
"The wooden sleepers are still in good condition despite having been buried for more than a century," said Muar Municipal Council president Jamaludin Abdul Hamid.
He said the local authority is deliberating on what to do with the discovered items.
One worker, Ng Soon Yong, 38, said his drilling equipment stopped operating when it hit something hard in the ground.
"When I inspected (the ground), I found pieces of wood in (it)," said Ng, who informed his superiors of his discovery.
Muar became the first district in Johor to have its own train service when a 16km railway line between Jalan Sulaiman in the town centre to the coastal settlement of Parit Jawa was completed in 1880.
The railway's headquarters was at what is today the Maharani bus and taxi terminal, and it transported primarily agricultural produce from Padang Muar to Sungai Muar.
In a Nov 7, 1997 article, the New Straits Times reported that the railway was also used by students of the Bandar Maharani English School.
Jamaludin said that a replica of a locomotive of the Muar State Railway was built in Tanjung Emas in 1997, in line with efforts to promote the rich history of Muar – Johor’s royal town.
The Muar State Railway was extended to Sungai Pulai in 1914, but the train service was terminated 38 years after it was inaugurated, in 1918, and replaced by a highway – Jalan Temenggong Ahmad.