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Guillemard Railway Bridge Jambatan Guillemard جمبتن ڬويلليمارد | |
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| Coordinates | 5°45′43″N102°08′59″E / 5.761857°N 102.149608°E /5.761857; 102.149608 |
| Carries | Railway Pedestrian |
| Crosses | Kelantan River |
| Locale | Tumpat-Gemas Line (East Coast Line) |
| Official name | Guillemard Railway Bridge |
| Maintained by | Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Double-intersectionWarrentruss bridge |
| Total length | 660.2 m (2166 feet)[1] |
| History | |
| Constructed by | Federated Malay States Railways (FMSR) Construction Division |
| Opened | 19 July 1924; 100 years ago (19 July 1924) |
| Location | |
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TheGuillemard Bridge (Malay:Jambatan Guillemard Jawi:جمبتن ڬويلليمارد) is a single trackrailwaytrussbridge located in Kusial,Tanah Merah District,Kelantan,Malaysia. It is the second-oldest railway bridge in the country afterVictoria Bridge inPerak, although unlike Victoria Bridge, this bridge is still in use today.
The bridge was named after theBritish Governor for the Straits Settlements,Sir Laurence Guillemard.
The construction of the Guillemard Bridge as the first crossing over theKelantan River was initially planned to begin as early as 1915 upon the completion of the 54 km line between Tumpat and Tanah Merah in May 1914. However, due to the breakout of World War I, work was not commenced until 1920. Construction eventually began and was carried out between April 1920 and July 1924 by theFederated Malay States Railways (FMSR) Construction Division, using steel truss structures manufactured byThe Metro Carriage Wagon & Finance Co ofWednesbury,England. Much of the material from the West was brought in via the Penang Port and brought all the way to Kelantan by rail transport through Thailand (Butterworth - Hat Yai - Sungai Golok) before ending at the site by way of the already existing Sungai Golok - Pasir Mas and Tumpat - Tanah Merah lines. It was reported that Chinese laborers were hired for the structural works while Indian workers were tasked with the earthworks, under British engineers' supervision. The construction started from the south side, Paloh Rawa (Machang) before completing at the Kusial (Tanah Merah) end.[2]
The bridge was officially opened on Saturday, 19 July 1924 by the British High Commissioner for The Federated Malay States and Governor of the Straits Settlements, SirLaurence Guillemard at the behest of Almarhum Sultan Ismail ibni Almarhum Sultan Muhammad IV of Kelantan. The Sultan was also present at the opening ceremony held on the north abutment at Kusial Bharu (Tanah Merah), alongside the Raja Kelantan (Crown Prince) Tengku Ibrahim ibni Almarhum Sultan Muhammad IV, who would later becomeSultan Ibrahim ibni Almarhum Sultan Muhammad IV (1944~1960) of Kelantan. The Guillemard Bridge was opened less than a month after the opening ofJohor Causeway (Tambak Johor) on 28 June 1924, which had also been officiated by Sir Laurence Guillemard.
In December 1941, at the start of theWorld War II in Malaya, theBritish forces retreating south toKuala Krai, destroyed the north span of the bridge to prevent theImperial Japanese Army advancing.[3] It remained impassable to traffic until it was reconstructed and reopened to traffic on 7 September 1948.
The 660.2 m (2166 feet) bridge was the first bridge over the Kelantan River and was the sole such bridge from 1924 to 1965. In 1965 theSultan Yahya Petra Bridge was completed and became the second link, connecting Kota Bharu and Tumpat. It was also the only railway bridge in Malaysia that served all land vehicles apart from train service from 1924 up until 1988 when the Tanah Merah (Kusial) Bridge was completed alongFederal Route 4, just a few kilometers downstream. Guillemard Bridge was later closed to other traffic, and is limited only to train use as of 2024.
Kelantan Crown PrinceTengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra graced the 100th Anniversary of the Guillemard Railway Bridge in conjunction with Sultan Muhammad V's 55th birthday celebrations on Saturday, 21 September 2024.[4]
As of 2024, Guillemard Bridge is the largest, longest and oldest steel truss railway bridge still in active rail operation in the country. It is the second longest railway bridge in Malaysia after theBukit Merah Lake Railway Bridge in Perak, Malaysia.