Tanjong MP Ng Wei Aik said the earliest ETS trains left Butterworth at 4.45am and 6.10am, but the first ferry trip from Penang island to Butterworth was at 5.40am.

A typical ferry trip across the North Channel takes 20 minutes. The ferry terminal in Butterworth is located next to the train station.

“Many taking the early morning trains cannot make it on time. On top of that, it is a long distance for commuters to walk from the ferry terminus to the train station.

“How are KTM train users to make it on time when the ferry services are not punctual?

“So, I have written in to demand a sync in timetables so that those on the island can be on time for their trains on the mainland,” he told reporters today.

Currently, four ferries ply George Town and Butterworth from 5.20am to 10pm, with intervals of 20 to 30 minutes. After 10pm, one ferry operates at 40-minute intervals until 1am.

Ng said he had raised the issue with Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai in Parliament, but that Liow had written back to him saying “it was too early” to discuss times as Prasarana was taking over the ferry service.

Prasarana is slated to take over the ferry service from federal-linked Penang Port Sdn Bhd. Penang Port’s owners, MMC Corp Bhd, reportedly sold the ferry service to Prasarana at a token sum of RM1.

Prasarana, the country’s largest federal government-linked company providing public transport services, runs rail and bus services at several towns and cities in Malaysia.

Previously, the Penang government had offered to take over the ferry services from Penang Port.

The state government, however, had asked that it be given total independence from the regulators, Penang Port Commission, as Penang felt there would be undue political interference.