Batu Arang

Batu Arang is a town in Gombak District, Selangor, Malaysia, about 50 km from the capital Kuala Lumpur. It grew up around coal. Coal deposits were first found in the region in 1908, and the British authorities began mining and established the town to serve the mine. A railway linking Batu Arang and Kuang was built in 1915 to carry the coal, and demand rose sharply during the First World War when coal imports fell. In 1942, as Japanese forces approached, the British halted mining and destroyed the power station; mining resumed after the war but the mine closed permanently on 30 January 1960. Many miners left, yet shops and amenities stayed open, and on 16 October 2011 the town marked 100 years since its establishment and was granted heritage town status. Its climate is classified as tropical.