~ butterworth station and ferry ~
The end of the line. The man in the photo has to ignore the taxi drivers and walk about 200 meters and then pay RM 1.20 to get over the channel to Georgetown, Pulau Pinang (US$1=RM3 at this time)...the ferry back to Butterworth is 'free'. I don't know if that's what he did, but that's what I did. Of course if you want to go over the 'new' bridge, you can.
And the ferry that takes me across...very cheap and convenient too. Just a couple of hundred metres walk from the platform.Not so good if you're dying for a smoke though, just off the train. The bridge is very nice too, off course. I came back over it on a bus from Komtar, Georgetown to Melaka a couple of weeks later...still much prefer the ferry. In fact the bus takes you to the train station after coming over to the mainland. If you catch the bus from Komtar in Georgetown to KL, for example, it goes over the bridge and up to Butterworth Station...much easier to just catch the ferry over and catch the bus from there...unless you're a bit kinky about riding bridges I suppose. And as I say...the return ferry from Georgetown is 'free'.
I was last in Penang in '75 and stayed at that time in Teluk Bahang on the north coast out past the high-rise hotels and apartments...but none of that then...out along Gurney Drive or millionaire's drive and past Batu Ferringhi.
Will have to go take a look.