RAIL TRANSIT Thread - General News on anything LRT, Monorail, KTM & other rail works [Archive] - Page 6

nazrey

June 8th, 2008, 07:37 AM

Time to walk the talk and get public transportation moving
Sunday June 8, 2008
By LEONG SHEN-LI
TheStar

THE math is quite simple. With as little as RM7, you can travel almost anywhere on Klang Valley’s RapidKL’s buses and light rail transit for the whole day. With a monthly pass for RM135 – just a little more than a full tank of petrol for a Proton Wira – your month’s transport needs should be taken care of. The cost should be lower in other parts of the country.

But of course, the current state of our public transport obviously cannot take care of anyone’s needs satisfactorily.

Unreliable buses and trains, sardine-packed LRTs, delayed buses because of traffic jams, safety concerns and a host of other negative issues make public transport hardly desirable as an alternative to private cars.

Here are some crucial improvements needed before public transport can become a true option for people.

1. More trains and buses

It is as basic as this! Not only will service become more reliable, more trains and buses will make public transport less packed and more attractive.

No one, especially women, will trade the comfort of a car for a situation where one is pressed all over by other humans in a train, even if it costs more.

Promises were made for more LRT vehicles and buses under the RapidKL and Rapid Penang regimes. How much longer do we have to wait?

2. Get the new lines going

The new Damansara-Cheras LRT line, as well as the Subang Jaya and Puchong extensions, were announced by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in 2006. Till today, we have not heard about when work will start.

We do not even know where they will run. It is crucial to also think beyond these new lines.

Singapore already knows where its new Mass Rapid Transit lines will run in 2020.

3. Cash for maintenance

The KTM Komuter, after running for 13 years, is now suffering from years of “postponing” maintenance due to funding issues. The LRT system is about 10 years old now, which is about the right time for an overhaul.

RapidKL is also facing issues with keeping its buses on the road because of breakdowns. Other private companies can hardly afford regular maintenance, what more, overhauling. The Government must come to their aid.

Get the allocations disbursed quickly, get the tenders out without delay and pick the correct people to do the work. Remember, keeping enough buses on the road is not just about buying new buses. It is about keeping the existing ones in working condition.

4. Low fares through subsidies

Low fares are crucial, especially when we are putting the case for public transport in the context of rising living costs. Most people who rely on public transport cannot afford any other means of travel.

If there is a group of people who should benefit from subsidies, this should be the one. Subsidies can come from taxing private car users – either through road tax or road pricing. The World Bank says that private car users are generally “undercharged” for using urban roads and for their impact on the environment.

5. One or two companies enough

Competition in public transport is not about having many companies running the same route, it is about competing for the right to run on a particular route.

An operator is selected on the basis of being most able to satisfy the requirements of commuters and other parties (reliable service, safe buses, lowest subsidy) and once selected, it should enjoy a monopoly of the route.

The Government will have to regulate to ensure service is up to the mark. The benchmark should be the best-run route in the system.

6. One regulatory authority

It is a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth, as each cook has his own ideas and conflicting interests. Now, 13 government departments and agencies have a say in public transport.

There should just be one to plan the system, dish out the permits (to control the number of operators), organise the routes (to curb duplication) and ensure that the trains and buses run according to time.

It should also be the one dishing out subsidies. The single authority should have only one objective and no other – to ensure that the public gets good public transport.

7. Bus lanes and other facilities

Buses should have their own “track” so that they can be faster than private cars. That is the only way public transport can be more attractive than cars.

Modern bus lanes such as those in Curitiba, Brazil, and Jakarta – where they are virtually separate special roads just for buses – have made bus transport a success. And don’t worry if road users complain. The one lane taken away from them is making the movement of thousands of people more efficient. Bus lanes are also cheaper than train systems and can be just as efficient.

8. Ensure safety of passengers

It should be a basic right of commuters to be able to travel safely. An unsafe system will only turn people away.

9. Good customer information

There is no point in having hundreds of beautiful buses on the road without commuters knowing where they are going. Many rather drive than take buses because they are in control of their journey. The more people know how the system works, the more they will use the system.

10. Please walk the talk

All the above initiatives and problems have been recognised, considered and studied. Announcements are regularly made of moves to improve the system. Yet this comment still has to be written in such a tone. There may ultimately just be one paramount suggestion – don’t just talk, please get things moving!

allurban

June 10th, 2008, 06:08 AM

We must take the right steps to improve public transportation (http://www.penangwatch.net/node/2570)

With the recent decrease in the fuel subsidy, many people have complained that they would be willing to use public transportation if it were improved. They are calling loudly and clearly to the government to improve public transportation. I support these calls to improve public transportation. I support the idea that we must look at other places and see what they have done to improve their public transport system.

However, it must be clearly understood that there is a right way and a wrong way to improve public transportation in Malaysia. So I would like to present my suggestions, in what I believe to be the correct order of importance.

1) A Parliamentary Committee for Public Transportation must be created to oversee public transportation in Malaysia.

The existing Cabinet Committee does not have the confidence of the people of Malaysia (or, I imagine, Parliament itself). The presence of a Parliamentary Committee will improve confidence in public transportation. Planning and decision making will be improved through open planning and discussion. The Committee will help the MPs and the public to understand the proposals from the bus operators and the government, so the best plans are made.

2) A single National Authority for Public Transporation to create national standards, while Local and Regional Public Transportation Authorities will plan and implement strategies on the local level.

Public transport planning is invariably a local and/or regional service. It would not be possible for the proposed Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Negara (SPAN) to plan and oversee public transportation properly. Thus, each economic region of the country should have its own Local or Regional Public Transport Authority to own the bus routes and transport corridors and plan the future of public transportation.

3) Regulated Competition would be enhanced under the system provided.

The Public Transport Authority would own the buses and provide capital funding, while the operators would be required to compete for routes. This combination of regulation and competition would improve service levels and provide better, customer-focused services. Operators that could not meet the expectations of the Local Authority or the passengers would lose the routes to their competitors.

4) Proper funding for maintenance and expansion.

Since it started operating in 1995, the KTM Komuter service has been horribly neglected. The fleet size has decreased by 50% while passenger demand has actually tripled. Poor planning and oversight has left KTMB unprepared for the expanded passenger demands. An open Parliamentary Committee would be able to review the plans of the operators and proposals and make the necessary investments to improve public transportation.

5) Only a few operators, please

Competition is hurting public transportation in Malaysia. The only way that we can see real improvements is to reduce competition within the industry and focus on consolidation. The largest bus company, Konsortium Transnasional Berhad, is a good example of this consolidation. It offers express and intercity and urban bus services through its different branches and brands. Konsortium Bas Ekspres on the other hand, shows you what happens when there is consolidation without proper regulation. Konsortium Bas Ekspres has become notorious for bus crashes, underpaid and reckless drivers, and poor maintenance.

The government should encourage existing operators to form properly regulated conglomerates like KTB. Under the proposed system of regulated competition, the Local Authority can even (with proper justification) invite foreign transport companies like First and Veolia and ComfortDelGro to compete for bus routes tendered in their areas.

6) Proper information

Malaysians are, ironically, being restricted by companies that are supposed to provide them mobility. Bus operators and even government operators like RapidKL, KL Monorail, and KTMB are doing everything in their power to keep passengers using their services-even at the expense of passenger convenience. Bus operators only provide basic route information and only on the bus itself. RapidKL has discouraged the sale of integrated public transport maps like BastrenKL at LRT stations and bus hubs. In addition, for RapidKL to provide route information at a bus stop or give updates on the radio, they are forced to pay advertising rates.

With little or no comprehensive information available to public transport users, their ability to use the services and maximize their ringgit is severly limited. When the local Public Transport Authorities are created they should be expected to provide information through signs on bus stops, the internet, news-spots on broadcasting and narrowcasting, free paper guides, downloadable route maps, and sms services. This will help information reach the customers.

7) More buses and train carriages

Most people would think that this should be further up in the list but I disagree. We cannot build public transportation without realistic demands and proper data. Without these vital pieces of information, our planning is reduced to "If we build it, they will come". There are enough buses in the Klang Valley (shared among the major and minor bus operators) to meet all of the needs to the DBKL. These buses need to be better organized so they do not only focus on the profitable routes and do not spend most of their time waiting for passengers.

Only a local public transport authority which owns the routes and controls the buses would be able to implement a successful system. If we rely on the operators themselves to organize and improve services, nothing will happen.

8) Build better public transport from the bottom up

Bus lanes are not a popular solution among drivers. But we have to realize that bus lanes and bus rapid transit system are a solution that will work for the Klang Valley and throughout Malaysia. Rather than spending all our funds in the Klang Valley alone, we should be thinking about improving public transportation throughout the country.

To give you an understanding of this, consider the 120km of rail lines proposed in the KLCity2020 Draft Plan. Most of these lines will cost RM200-300 million per km. It will cost a total of RM 40 billion to build all of these lines, but the capacity will be the same as the existing KL Monorail and Kelana Jaya LRT. However, if the 120km of lines were built as a mix of Bus Rapid Transit and Rapid Tram lines, they could be built for RM40-75 million per km or approximately 7-10 billion, which would spare another RM30 billion for the rest of the country!

9) A complete mass-transit network

Mass-transit networks are vital for urban and suburban areas. Each economic region of Malaysia should have a complete public transport network and the backbone of this network comes from rail services. Instead of focusing on building "more lines" and "more extensions" the goal should be completing the network as quickly and effectively as possible. Once effective, rapid networks are in place, we can plan and upgrade capacity on the various lines.

One day we will need more LRT and KTM Komuter in the Klang Valley, Rapid Trams in Georgetown, and Johor, and KTM Komuter Udara, Selatan and Timur, and high speed rail networks in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak. But until then, we have to focus on building realistic demand for public transportation services.

10) Affordable and reasonable fares

I disagree with any proposal that says that bus fares and public transport fares must be subsidized. Most people would assume that the "lower-income group" comprise the majority of public transport users, and therefore subsidies would be necessary. However, this only perpetuates the image that public transport is for the lower-income group and the poor.

The fact is that low fares have brought us into this situation of low-quality service. Effectively, we get what we pay for. So if we wish to see public transportation improve, we will have to invest more money into our services and that includes higher fares.

At the same time, higher fares do not have to be a burden. Under the system of regulated competition, the local authority would be able to run the fare system and they would be the best choice to implement the subsidy for operators. The local authority can also provide support to the needy in the form of free bus passes or discounted bus passes. They can also encourage fare-saving promotions, fare discounts for using Touch N Go, and even income tax credits for those who purchase monthly and weekly passes.

This is the time when we may see real improvements to public transportation. Unfortunately, is quite easy to fall under the spell of the "megaproject" and dream the "LRT dream" and lose sight of the fact that public transport planning has to be realistic. I fear that the government and MPs, if they do not prepare themselves, will not be able to resist the temptation to support the megaprojects and dream the dreams.

But if we take the right steps to improve public transportation, our lives will change for the better. We will have greater freedom to spend our money on ourselves and our families and our own interests, rather than paying outrageous petrol prices and tolls and spending our life stuck in traffic jams. We will have better quality of life and more time to enjoy our lives.

Cheers, m

TWK90

June 10th, 2008, 07:20 AM

The history of KTM Komuter implementation...

http://www.jbic.go.jp/english/oec/post/2001/project_01.php

pedang

June 12th, 2008, 02:29 AM

June 11, 2008 22:04 PM

Scomi Engineering Keen To Expand KL Monorail System

KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 (Bernama) - Scomi Engineering Bhd is in talks with the authorities on the expansion of the current monorail system in Kuala Lumpur, said its president, Hilmy Zaini.

"KL Monorail is heavily used. There are times where they are actually jammed.

"So as when the decision will be made, it is up to SPNB (Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd) and the government," he told reporters at a media briefing here Wednesday.

Scomi Engineerings subsidiary, Scomi Rail, is the top three monorail manufacturers in the world while SPNB is the operator of the KL Monorail.

Hilmy said the company was capable of completing a project that included supplying the coaches, cars and the infrastructure construction within 24 months to 36 months.

-- BERNAMA

rizalhakim

June 12th, 2008, 04:44 AM

^^ baguslah tu

rizalhakim

June 12th, 2008, 04:44 AM

On track for more deals
By Ooi Tee Ching Published: 2008/06/12

http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/Thursday/Frontpage/fajar2.xml/Article/Current_News/BTIMES/Images/btgraph8/fajarbaru.jpg

Fajarbaru, which won the RM316 million Tampin-Batang Melaka package, is bidding for jobs in the northern portion of the double rail tracking project

FAJARBARU Builder Group Bhd is poised to clinch more double tracking rail packages and add to its current order book of RM500 million.

Last month, India's Ircon International Ltd, the main contractor for the double railway tracking project from Seremban to Gemas, awarded Fajarbaru a RM316 million package that runs 30km from Tampin to Batang Melaka.

"We're tendering for jobs in the northern portion too," Fajarbaru managing director Datuk Low Keng Kok told Business Times in an interview recently.

Work has started and is due to be finished by March 2009.

Having held the post of joint managing director for the Road Builder Group for 18 years, Low is now leading Fajarbaru.

Last year, the Road Builder Group was taken over by IJM Corp Bhd after founder Tan Sri Chua Hock Chin cashed out from the company.

In his first interview since helming Fajarbaru from August 2007, Low said, "the change in Road Builder's shareholding prompted a change for myself".

"I didn't have a contract to stay on with IJM Group. I was accorded gratuity by Road Builder Group when I decided a change for myself. If there had been no change in Road Builder's shareholding, I would have most likely retired there," Low said.

"Not long after the merger with IJM, Fajar's shareholders approached me with an offer," he said.

It was not a fat salary package that attracted him to Fajarbaru.

"Although I was offered a seven per cent (stake) in Fajar, the determining factor was the opportunity to build up this company to a higher level to take on higher margin jobs," he said.

Last month, Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat, in a Parliament session said the RM123.9 million job to upgrade Sepang's low-cost carrier terminal was awarded to Fajarbaru through direct negotiations because the government did not have time to launch an open tender system.

The minister said the LCCT upgrade is to accommodate the increasing number of passengers, which is expected to rise from the current 10 million to 15 million annually until 2015.

mrtfreak

June 12th, 2008, 06:08 AM

TWK90

June 12th, 2008, 07:33 AM

Maybe i think it is a good time for Scomi to introduce Sutra model to the KL Monorail to demonstrate their new product there...

forrestcat

June 12th, 2008, 07:34 AM

^^ baguslah tu

Finally, they cared. :bash:

dengilo

June 13th, 2008, 05:02 AM

The original route for the monorel was all the way to Old Klang Road!and beyond!

rizalhakim

June 13th, 2008, 07:45 AM

New four-car LRT trains in Klang Valley by next year

PETALING JAYA: The new four-car light rail transit trains for the Kelana Jaya LRT line in the Klang Valley are expected to start operations by the end of next year.

The trains are capable of carrying more than twice the load of the current two-car trains.

In 2006, Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd signed the RM1.2bil deal with the Bombardier-Hartasuma consortium for 22 trains, with an option for a further purchase of 13 trains.

The trains are being manufactured by Canadian company Bombardier and will be assembled by Hartasuma Sdn Bhd in Malaysia.

According to details made available at the Rail Solutions Asia exhibition, each train will have 32 seats and can comfortably carry 740 passengers, compared with the present load of 370 people per train.

Under “crush load” situations, the trains can carry 944 passengers. The current trains can only handle 472 passengers.

The new trains, which will be operated by RapidKL, will enable the capacity of the Kelana Jaya line to be increased by another 191,000 passengers daily.

rizalhakim

June 13th, 2008, 09:24 AM

Scomi to spend RM30m on rail making facility
By Sharon Tan
Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

RAWANG: Scomi Engineering Bhd will spend RM30 million to set up its monoroil systems facility as its rail business is expected to expand with many projects at various stages of discussions.

Its president Hilmy Zaini said construction would start immediately to build the 150,000 sq ft facility for completion in four months. Scomi’s assembly plant sits on a 10-acre (4.05ha) piece of land in Rawang.

“There are projects at the preliminary stage, projects where we have to do detailed studies and there are projects where we are submitting final bids,” said Hilmy. Scomi launched its new monorail model, Sutra, in November last year.

He said the rail division was expected to start active work within the next 12 months and had been invited by three cities for final submissions.

Scomi’s senior vice-president Kanesan Velupillai said cities such as Petaling Jaya, Klang and Shah Alam should start considering building monorail systems as an alternative transportation.

Earlier, Hilmy took the media on a tour of its bus assembly and refurbishment plant.

In his blog, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had posted pictures of old buses that were purportedly left idle at Scomi’s yard.

Hilmy explained that Scomi was in the midst of refurbishing 150 buses belonging to Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd.

He also said Scomi had supplied 285 buses to RapidKL on a tender basis. “If I am not mistaken, RapidKL had purchased about 1,000 buses in the last few years. We supplied only 285. There are five to seven other suppliers,” he said.

Scomi’s plant has the capacity to assemble 400 buses annually and 25% of them are exported to countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangladesh. The company is also targeting new markets such as India.

The bus segment contributed over RM20 million to Scomi’s revenue last year and is expected to do the same this year.

allurban

June 13th, 2008, 10:58 AM

New four-car LRT trains in Klang Valley by next year (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/13/nation/21540935&sec=nation)

PETALING JAYA: The new four-car light rail transit trains for the Kelana Jaya LRT line in the Klang Valley are expected to start operations by the end of next year.

The trains are capable of carrying more than twice the load of the current two-car trains.

In 2006, Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd signed the RM1.2bil deal with the Bombardier-Hartasuma consortium for 22 trains, with an option for a further purchase of 13 trains.

The trains are being manufactured by Canadian company Bombardier and will be assembled by Hartasuma Sdn Bhd in Malaysia.

According to details made available at the Rail Solutions Asia exhibition, each train will have 32 seats and can comfortably carry 740 passengers, compared with the present load of 370 people per train.

Under “crush load” situations, the trains can carry 944 passengers. The current trains can only handle 472 passengers.

The new trains, which will be operated by RapidKL, will enable the capacity of the Kelana Jaya line to be increased by another 191,000 passengers daily.Why dont the newspapers check their facts? :bash: Everything I know says that these numbers are wwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy out of whack! :nuts:

Current capacity for the 2-car carriages on the Kelana Jaya line is 260 passengers. The new 4-carriage trains will have a capacity of 530 passengers. I have this info from RapidKL and I have cross-checked with various other sources and even compared it with Vancouver!

Even with Malaysian "crush load" standards there is no way that a 4-carriage train could carry 944 passengers.

Unless we are moving to the standards for "crush load" used in India, Indonesia, or Bangladesh?

Cheers, m

cooltemper1

June 14th, 2008, 04:41 AM

You know why your love of rail cannot be developed? Because Malaysian garment will never put heart into developing the public transport and this is all Fuck Up by the National Car policy.

A small country like us has three car manufacturers. Do you think is logic?

TWK90

June 14th, 2008, 06:06 AM

Source : http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/arkib.asp?y=2008&dt=0612&pub=utusan_malaysia&sec=dalam%5Fnegeri&pg=dn_05.htm&arc=hive

Tambang tren komuter kekal
Oleh NAZRUL AZIM SHARUDDIN

KUALA LUMPUR 11 Jun - Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) memberi jaminan tidak akan menaikkan harga tambang untuk perkhidmatan tren komuter dan juga tren antara bandar.

Pengarah Urusannya, Datuk Mohd. Salleh Abdullah berkata, keputusan itu dibuat kerana memikirkan implikasi yang bakal ditanggung oleh penumpangnya jika tambang perkhidmatan itu dinaikkan.

''Sekarang kita membeli diesel pada harga subsidi RM1.43 sen seliter dan oleh itu kita mampu mengekalkan harga tersebut.

''Namun kita mungkin akan mengkaji semula harga bagi perkhidmatan tren komuter berikutan kenaikan tarif elektrik sebanyak 26 peratus bermula 1 Julai seperti yang diumumkan oleh Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) minggu lepas,'' katanya selepas menghadiri majlis perasmian Persidangan Penyelesaian Rel Asia di sini hari ini.

Mohd. Salleh berkata, ketika ini KTMB membelanjakan sebanyak RM15 juta setahun untuk menampung kos penggunaan elektrik dan kos itu akan meningkat lagi sebanyak RM4.1 juta setahun jika tarif baru itu dikuatkuasakan.

Menurutnya, sebagai sebuah syarikat perkhidmatan pengangkutan awam yang disokong oleh kerajaan, pihaknya akan cuba sedaya-upaya untuk mengekalkan kadar tambang perkhidmatannya.

Sementara itu, Mohd. Salleh memberitahu, KTMB dalam proses menukar lokomotif lama yang menggunakan enjin diesel kepada lokomotif berasaskan elektrik secara berperingkat-peringkat bermula dengan tren mengangkut kargo.

''Untuk tren penumpang, kita akan bermula dengan Projek Landasan Elektrik Berkembar (EDIP) untuk laluan Ipoh-Padang Besar, Rawang-Ipoh, Seremban-Gemas dan juga laluan Sentul-Batu Caves yang dijangka memulakan operasinya akhir tahun depan.

''Pelaksanaan ini akan diteruskan jika kita mendapat kebenaran untuk melanjutkan laluan dari Gemas ke Johor Bahru,'' jelasnya.

Katanya, ia dilaksanakan untuk memastikan perkhidmatan yang diberikan lebih efisien dan menjimatkan.

Mohd. Salleh memberitahu, pihaknya menjangkakan pelaksanaan tersebut akan siap pada penghujung tahun 2015 di bawah Rancangan Malaysia Kesepuluh (RMK-10).

''Selain peningkatan kelajuan kepada 130 hingga 140 kilometer sejam, penggunaan lokomotif ini juga dapat mengurangkan pergantungan kepada bahan api yang bekalannya mungkin semakin kurang pada tahun 2015,'' ujarnya.

The lower part of the article quite interesting....if they replace the diesel locomotives with the electric ones, it will begin in freight trains and the speed will increase to 130 to 140 km/h...

The service on the Sentul-Batu Caves will commence, end of next year...

Sheik

June 14th, 2008, 02:07 PM

nazrey

June 14th, 2008, 06:40 PM

mrtfreak

June 14th, 2008, 07:04 PM

When they signed the contract in 2006, delivery was between september 2008 to June 2010. They should not delay till end of next year when this is the critical time to increase capacity if SPNB really cares! As ridership grows, the tvms and fare gates are all rosak and not in working condition. Just Ridiculous!
May not be on the side of "SPNB" per-say. Bombardier is still in the midst of upgrading the system to allow for operation of the 4-car trains. In a way, you can say that SPNB should have tendered that much earlier and gotten Bombardier and partners to start earlier. But they will also need sufficient rolling stock with which they can test and operate the new trains on the system.

tomkat

June 15th, 2008, 02:01 AM

Kota Damansara-Cheras rail line right on track
By LEONG SHEN-LI

PETALING JAYA: More than one million Klang Valley residents will benefit from the much awaited new Kota Damansara-Cheras rail transit line.

The Government had earlier said the new line and extensions should be ready by 2012. Sources said with the average construction period taking three to four years, work would have to start by the end of this year.

The 40km route covers some of the most densely populated areas in the Klang Valley such as Damansara and Cheras as well as the fast growing area of Kota Damansara.

It will also serve the heart of the Golden Triangle, the business and financial hub of Kuala Lumpur.

Currently, the area is only served by KL Monorail, which is already suffering from overcrowding.

The new line, which sources said would cost between RM4bil and RM5bil and will be mostly elevated, will provide the much needed expansion to the current 56km, 48-station light rail transit network, especially in view of the rising fuel prices and the new emphasis on public transport.

The line was announced in October 2006 by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak but little has been heard about it since then.

The alignment, made available to The Star, showed the new line running from Kota Damansara along Persiaran Surian to the Damansara-Puchong Expressway and then heading towards the city centre along the Sprint Expressway, through Bangsar Baru and Jalan Bangsar.

It will then run parallel to the existing Kelana Jaya LRT line (formerly Putra-LRT) to KL Sentral, Pasar Seni and Masjid Jamek before heading to the Golden Triangle along Jalan Raja Chulan.

The route will then pass Pasar Rakyat in Bukit Bintang and then Jalan Tun Razak where it will join Jalan Cheras.

It will continue along the road and the Cheras-Kajang Expressway to the Balakong interchange near Cheras Batu 11.

Passengers will be able to switch with the existing Kelana Jaya LRT line at Bangsar, KL Sentral, Pasar Seni and Masjid Jamek; and the Ampang LRT line (formerly Star-LRT) at Masjid Jamek and Maluri.

There will be around 30 stations along the line, including the interchange stations.

Sources said the route was a “desktop alignment” which would form the basis for the eventual line. The number of stations has also not been finalised.

The final alignment and number of stations is unlikely to vary in any major way from the “desktop” plan.

As with the other lines, the new line will be owned by Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd and operated by RapidKL.

While the Government has yet to announce when work will begin on the new line, sources pointed to the “positive statements” by Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop after a briefing session with Backbenchers last Thursday.

Nor had announced that public transport would be getting more incentives, allocations and assistance in Budget 2009 and future budgets.

Sources said the Government was also currently conducting the mid-term review of the 9th Malaysia Plan and there were concerted efforts to get the new line in.

Besides the new line, the Government is also trying to get extensions to the Kelana Jaya and Ampang Lines started.

The extensions will cover Subang Jaya, USJ, Kinrara and Puchong and meet at Putra Heights.

tomkat

June 15th, 2008, 02:03 AM

Kota Damansara-Cheras rail line right on track
By LEONG SHEN-LI

The alignment, made available to The Star, showed the new line running from Kota Damansara along Persiaran Surian to the Damansara-Puchong Expressway and then heading towards the city centre along the Sprint Expressway, through Bangsar Baru and Jalan Bangsar.

It will then run parallel to the existing Kelana Jaya LRT line (formerly Putra-LRT) to KL Sentral, Pasar Seni and Masjid Jamek before heading to the Golden Triangle along Jalan Raja Chulan.

The route will then pass Pasar Rakyat in Bukit Bintang and then Jalan Tun Razak where it will join Jalan Cheras.

It will continue along the road and the Cheras-Kajang Expressway to the Balakong interchange near Cheras Batu 11.

Passengers will be able to switch with the existing Kelana Jaya LRT line at Bangsar, KL Sentral, Pasar Seni and Masjid Jamek; and the Ampang LRT line (formerly Star-LRT) at Masjid Jamek and Maluri.

There will be around 30 stations along the line, including the interchange stations.

Sources said the route was a “desktop alignment” which would form the basis for the eventual line. The number of stations has also not been finalised.

This so-called "desktop" alignment sounds different that the alignment shown in the KL Plan 2020. How is that possible?

patchay

June 15th, 2008, 05:09 AM

TWK90

June 15th, 2008, 05:19 AM

I hope the new line will use the same system as the Kelana Jaya line, to increase part commonality and also, Bombardier ART have more comfortable ride than the Ampang line stock...

Maybe with these extensions, Kelana Jaya line can regain position as the longest driverless metro in the world, haha...

mrtfreak

June 15th, 2008, 08:18 AM

mrtfreak

June 15th, 2008, 08:19 AM

This so-called "desktop" alignment sounds different that the alignment shown in the KL Plan 2020. How is that possible?
The "desktop" plan is more recent than the KL Plan 2020, and hence comes with a revised alignment?

rizalhakim

June 16th, 2008, 09:06 AM

rizalhakim

June 16th, 2008, 09:07 AM

Streets Mail: Bad public transport forces KL folk to still
S. GEOFFREY, Kuala Lumpur

WHILST I agree that the government cannot carry on subsidising petrol prices forever, I agree with Dr. S.P. Choong ("Improve public transport" NST June 9) that the government needs to look very closely at improving the public transport system.

Early this year I started working in the KL city centre area after many years of working in the suburbs of KL. I started out with a keen resolve to use the LRT system to work each day only to find that I had to wait for more than half an hour to get on a train carriage at KL Sentral at 8 am.

Every time a train came it was completely full and of the 200 or so people on the platform at any one time at rush hour, only 10-15 people could get into a LRT carriage each time.

Once in the train, I was completely squashed in the narrow carriages simply because of the high volume of users.

I have travelled on the subway systems in London, Washington, Hong Kong and Singapore and never at any time have I had to wait for such long periods to get on a train.

The supporting connections between rail and roads in KL is also poor. When I get to KL Sentral in the evenings, there is usually a long wait for a taxi. It only takes a downpour for a sign to go up to inform us that the wait for a taxi can be up to one hour.

So I have now resorted to driving into town thus adding to the pollution, petrol consumption and road congestion in the city.

I notice too that walkways for pedestrians in KL are atrocious The walkway from KLCC towards Ampang Park is narrow, uneven and cannot cater to the large crowds in the area at lunchtime. In Hong Kong, many of the buildings are connected with walkways high above the roads, providing pedestrians safety and ease of movement.

rizalhakim

June 16th, 2008, 09:29 AM

RapidKL seeks swift decision, welcomes new rail transit line
By LEE YUK PENG

PETALING JAYA: RapidKL hopes the Government can decide fast on the new 40km Kota Damansara-Cheras rail transit line, which covers some of the most densely populated areas in the Klang Valley.

RapidKL communications general manager Ebi Azly Abdullah said the rail transit line would be a good way of getting people to use the public transportation service.

“Rail should be the backbone of the public transportation system. It can ferry a lot of people in a short period of time.

“Taking the light rail transit to the city will be cheaper,'' said Ebi Azly.

He said this in response to the new rail line and extensions planned to be ready by 2012.

The new line will be owned by Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd and operated by RapidKL.

While the Government has yet to announce when work will begin on the new line, sources pointed to the “positive statements” by Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop after a briefing session with Backbenchers last Thursday.

Nor Mohamed had announced that public transportation would be getting more incentives, allocations and assistance under the Budget 2009 and future Budgets.

Sources also said the Government was conducting the mid-term review of the 9th Malaysia Plan and there were concerted efforts to get the new line in.

Besides the new line, the Government is also trying to get extensions to the Kelana Jaya and Ampang Lines.

The extensions will cover Subang Jaya, USJ, Kinrara and Puchong and meet at Putra Heights.

Yesterday, Nor Mohamed also announced that the upcoming 2009 Budget would spell some relief for Malaysians now saddled with higher living costs with its emphasis on a more efficient public transportation system and a knowledge-based economy, among others.

“Various measures are being worked out to ensure as many Malaysians will enjoy some measure of prosperity,” he said after meeting federal Finance Ministry officials in Kota Kinabalu.

TWK90

June 16th, 2008, 03:21 PM

Source : http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/Monday/Latest/DHB.xml/Article/

Tenders may be called
By Sharen Kaur Published: 2008/06/16

DRB-HICOM and IJM Corp may bid for the RM8 billion contract to lay rail tracks connecting Gemas to Johor Baru, says an industry source

THE government may call for tenders for the Gemas-Johor Baru railway project by the year-end, says a government source.

A source from the Ministry of Transport said it was in the government's interest to complete the southern portion of the country's electrified double tracks.

"The government will call for tenders, but this is subject to the mid-term review.

"The single tracks are now running from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and from Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth. So the whole stretch of the double tracks must be completed to improve efficiency," he told Business Times.

An industry source said that DRB-HICOM Bhd and IJM Corp Bhd may bid for the RM8 billion contract to lay new rail tracks connecting Gemas in Negri Sembilan to Johor Baru.

DRB-HICOM, a car and banking group that also has expertise in engineering, is expected to submit a detailed proposal comprising design, layout and cost structure to the government in the second half of the year.

"DRB-HICOM is keen to work on the double tracks. They may either work with a local or foreign party in securing the contract or bid for it on their own," the source said.

The source said DRB-HICOM had previously made a presentation to the government for the project late last year.

Key executive officials of DRB-HICOM were not available for comment at press time.

The project involves building over 200km of parallel railway tracks, including stations, depots, halts, yards and bridges.

Work will also cover systems such as electrification, signalling and communications.

Both DRB-HICOM and IJM are experienced in railway work.

IJM is one of three sub-contractors for the RM3.45 billion Seremban-Gemas double-tracking railway project.

IJM managing director Datuk Krishnan Tan Boon Seng, however, told Business Times through e-mail that IJM was not involved in any submission for the Gemas-Johor Baru stretch.

DRB-HICOM, meanwhile, was a main contractor for the RM4.6 billion Rawang-Ipoh double-tracking project awarded in 2000.

However, the project faced delays and the government eventually asked UEM Builders Bhd to complete it.

The Rawang-Ipoh project was finally completed last year.

Malaysia's other double-tracking project is the RM12.5 billion rail link between Ipoh and Padang Besar. This is being done by Gamuda Bhd and MMC Corp Bhd, and slated for completion in 2013.

TWK90

June 17th, 2008, 11:19 AM

Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/17/focus/21561889&sec=focus

Simple way to ease congestion

OF late, there has been so much talk about improving the public transport system in the country such as the introduction of RapidPenang, extension of the LRT lines, monorail and building more elevated highways.

All this is good news to the ears, but whether the public is going to benefit is a big question, and whether it is going to improve the public transport system and solve the traffic congestion in the entire Klang Valley is an even bigger question.

Of course the building of elevated highways, extension of the LRT and monorail will bring a lot of business to the construction industry and boost the economy, but isn’t the cost going to be colossal?

I have a suggestion which I hope those involved in solving the traffic congestion and the poor public transport system will give some really serious thought to.

Having seen the way the public transport system has been given importance to in Holland and other European countries which has resulted in reducing traffic to almost no traffic snarls within their cities, I propose that for a start, tramcars be introduced in the Klang Valley and KTM Komuter upgrade some of its coaches, if not all, to double-deckers.

Firstly, by introducing tramcar services, we can save a lot of money, in that we do not have to construct elevated highways, which will only bring more traffic into Kuala Lumpur city thus increasing the congestion. We have to just concentrate on the existing highways.

At present, almost all the major roads and highways in the Klang Valley are dual carriageways with at least two lanes on each side and an island divider measuring six to eight feet.

All that needs to be done is to convert two middle lanes and the divider into tram tracks. Then laying tracks (rails) and installing electric power lines above these tracks is the extra that has to be done, not to mention the tramcars needed.

All the major areas like Petaling Jaya, Ampang, Batu Caves, Cheras, Damansara, Gombak, Jinjang, Kepong, Puchong, Selayang, Sentul and Setapak can be serviced by the trams.

In time to come, if proper planning is carried out now, the tramcar services can be extended to Shah Alam, Klang, Kajang and Rawang. Buses can also ply the routes and complement areas that are not covered by the trams.

With regular and frequent tram services, run efficiently, the public will definitely reduce their dependency on cars to move about into and out of KL city.

Travelling about in the city will also be easy.

And there are sure to be fewer complaints about rogue taxi drivers.

Secondly, now that the KTM double-tracking system is servicing KTM Komuter for its services to Klang, Seremban, Sentul, Rawang and Batang Kali, and is expected to be extended further, with double-decker coaches more people can be transported to and from KL city at one time.

Here again the cost of implementation of such a system will be minimal as all that needs to be done is to upgrade by acquiring the double-decker coaches, which can be done in stages, and raise the height of the electricity cable lines.

The tracks are already there. As it is, KTM Komuter is already unable to cope with its passenger traffic volume.

The LRTs are also facing the same problem. By extending the LRT lines to cover more areas, the problem is going to get worse unless more frequent services are provided, the LRTs cannot cope with the passenger volume.

As the KTM Komuter is powered by electricity just like the tramcar service, there will be less fuel usage resulting in less air pollution.

With more people turning to an efficiently run, new and improved public transport system as an alternative mode of transport, there will be fewer vehicles on the roads.

This will in turn contribute to reduced road maintenance and cost savings for the local authorities.

It will definitely be a win-win situation for everyone, except the car manufacturers and those involved in highway construction, of course.

At a time when fuel prices are sky rocketing, why spend billions on elevated highways when there is a simple remedy to the country’s traffic congestion and public transport problems.

We could have thought of this about a quarter of a century ago when we decided to widen the Federal Highway, upgrade the main roads in Klang Valley to highways and construct elevated highways.

P. PARANTHAMAN,
Shah Alam, Selangor.

Er, I don't want to see the double decked train on KTM Komuter, i afraid it will prolong the time taken to wait in station for commuters embarking/ disembarking.....

Longer trainset and more EMU sets, with higher frequency at least 10 minutes should do the trick...

tomkat

June 17th, 2008, 03:22 PM

I don't understand why Malaysian in general are really obsessed with "tramcar"??? Bus service with its dedicated lane would do a better job than tramcar..

tomkat

June 17th, 2008, 03:29 PM

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/6/15/nation/n_01railtrack.jpg
Kota Damansara - Bandar Utama - Taman Tun - Damansara Utama - SS2 - Section 17 - Section 13/14 - UM - Bangsar - KL Sentral - Pasar Seni - Masjid Jamek - Jalan Raja Chulan - Pasar Rakyat Bukit Bintang - Jalan Tun Razak - Jalan Cheras - Taman Maluri - Bandar Tun Razak - Taman Connaught/Plaza Phoenix - Bandar Tun Hussein Onn - Cheras Batu 11/Balakong/Seri Kembangan

Things to ponder:

1) How would the interchange with KJ line at KL Sentral be? Is it going to have platform-to-platform transfer? Will the new line run inside KL Sentral? How is it going to be achieved without distrupting KL Sentral daily operation?

2) How would the alignment at Masjid Jamek be? Underground or aboveground? Would Masjid Jamek be the major interchange station for the all Rapid KL lines?

erwinkarim

June 17th, 2008, 04:43 PM

I don't understand why Malaysian in general are really obsessed with "tramcar"??? Bus service with its dedicated lane would do a better job than tramcar..

maybe because government proposed monorail/lrt/regional rail/bus/taxi and it's kinda sucks/corrupted. so tramcar is "new" and no local company is making them yet, so it's an opportunity for a fresh start.

personally? trams in penang and kl? please don't. i prefer buses and lrt/ktm komuter.

mrtfreak

June 17th, 2008, 08:02 PM

Trams won't work in KL I feel... Unless they are introduced in an entirely new township right from the start. Like say Kota Kemuning introduces it and motorists are able to get used to it.

Also, will there really be enough space for a tram line AND a tram stop along Jalan Gasing or any other roads around? I wouldn't feel safe the way motorists speed along roads if I had to wait at Melbourne-style tram stops in the middle of the road. Trams in Melbourne are a completely different issue.

Another point, does the writer understand that not only does the Komuter portion of the Over Head Line need to be replaced should double decker carriages be introduced, but the entire-peninsula wide lines as well? This also includes the already completed Rawang-Ipoh double tracking project as unless the height of the pantographs can be adjusted that much, they would not be able to reach the OHLs on the Komuter section.

I agree with him though, that extending the LRT lines will add more usage to them. In such cases, the Government or relevant authorities should know which extensions are possible instead of blindly extending lines for the sake of increasing the reach of public transport. The Kelana Jaya line extension, in particular, should be relooked at. Longer trains would be the solution, but I doubt that longer trains will be possible for the KLJ than the 4-car trains due to arrive.

For the Komuter trains, longer formations with more doors would be good. Also, perhaps more standing space would help as well.

As for the KL Sentral interchange for the Kota Damansara - Cheras line, I doubt it will be possible to have platform-to-platform interchange with the current lines or to build it inside the building without disrupting normal operations. The line may very well be built outside the current rail terminal.

Another option would be interlining (using the same tracks) with the current KLJ line. This saves on construction of new tracks altogether but requires some reconstruction to the existing tracks. It probably also saves on the cost of duplicating the tracks from Bangsar to Masjid Jamek.

Masjid Jamek looks like it will have to be an underground station. The area is quite developed and pushing for a second elevated line in there will make the area look heavily congested and perhaps is asking for trouble. In fact, putting the new line through there itself is asking for trouble. Perhaps they could have routed the line through Plaza Rakyat instead?

allurban

June 18th, 2008, 06:56 AM

Trams won't work in KL I feel... Unless they are introduced in an entirely new township right from the start. Like say Kota Kemuning introduces it and motorists are able to get used to it.

Also, will there really be enough space for a tram line AND a tram stop along Jalan Gasing or any other roads around? I wouldn't feel safe the way motorists speed along roads if I had to wait at Melbourne-style tram stops in the middle of the road. Trams in Melbourne are a completely different issue.Trams would be great to offer in the outer suburban areas rather than KL City itself...better to get rapid trams into areas that need better public transport but do not justify the costs of an LRT at RM250-300 million per km. Subang Jaya, USJ,. Kota Kemuning, Puchong are all places that would benefit from rapid trams.

Another point, does the writer understand that not only does the Komuter portion of the Over Head Line need to be replaced should double decker carriages be introduced, but the entire-peninsula wide lines as well? This also includes the already completed Rawang-Ipoh double tracking project as unless the height of the pantographs can be adjusted that much, they would not be able to reach the OHLs on the Komuter section.Im more worried about the idea of double decker cars on a 1m guage line :nuts:
Masjid Jamek looks like it will have to be an underground station. The area is quite developed and pushing for a second elevated line in there will make the area look heavily congested and perhaps is asking for trouble. In fact, putting the new line through there itself is asking for trouble. Perhaps they could have routed the line through Plaza Rakyat instead?Indeed, the proposed line is going to create a very interesting set of problems...tunneling in KL is not the easiest thing, especially with the existing buildings and sewer systems getting in the way...not to mention the other lines.The "desktop" plan is more recent than the KL Plan 2020, and hence comes with a revised alignment?"Desktop plan"...oh boy, that really hurts....I'm never confident with desktop plans. I'd love to hear the justification for the new line and especially the 2 extensions.

By the way, the DBKL plan talks about extending the LRT from Seri Petaling to Sunway, not Puchong...
how bout an xtension from sentul timur to gombak,selayang,kepong and ikea damansaraThat would be nice, wouldnt it. In my opinion creating the loop via PJ would be justifiable as a project...the integration with KTM and LRT as well as the highways would be very beneficial and move many passengers.

Out of the 12 lines mentioned in the KL City Plan, only 1 is medium to high capacity (given as 12000-54000 ppd/h) and 3 are low-medium capacity (5,000-12,000) while the rest are "low" capacity (up to 5000)

I dont want them to pay RM250-300 million for low-medium capacity lines...or at least dont make them LRT or you are wasting a ton of money.

Cheers, m

allurban

June 18th, 2008, 06:58 AM

That Subang Jaya extension looks really long. :eek: Are they going to have enough capacity on the line with the demand that could potentially bring? I suppose they could always turn every second train around at Kelana Jaya to increase frequency along the original line. Also, will the 35 new 4-car trains be sufficient to ply that long route?I definitely am not supporting the extension to Subang Jaya now...and the DBKL City Plan is talking about extending the LRT from Seri Petaling to Sunway...dunno what is happening here.

Cheers, m

allurban

June 18th, 2008, 07:06 AM

What kind of expansion are they looking at? Capacity expansion? Route expansion? Both?
I'm just shocked that he realized that at times, the monorail is completely jammed...:bash:

Cheers, m

TWK90

June 18th, 2008, 07:08 AM

Im more worried about the idea of double decker cars on a 1m guage line :nuts:

Vietnam Railway do have double decker cars, and they are on metre gauge.......but I doubt the speed can reach at least 140 km/h or ultimately, 160 km/h.....Japan do have some EMU double deckers (not full length though)....

But for the reasons shown on previous replies above such as the OHL height, i doubt the double decker will appear here...it wont achieve optimum speed too...

smoothcake

June 18th, 2008, 07:09 AM

The city rail network plan
Stories by YIP YOKE TENG

The 11 new and extension rail lines sound like the best thing in the draft Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020 and are crucial to meet the high population growth projected. Let’s put scepticism aside and assume that the lines can be completed on schedule, the city may still face trouble simply because other modes of public transport have been neglected.

According to town planning and transport management expert Goh Bok Yen, the city’s connectivity threatens to be crippled as the draft plan has over-emphasised the rail system while neglecting other modes of transport.

That is, unless the government could complete the proposed rail network comprising 11 new and extension lines in time.

If it fails, the scenario will be nightmarish as the draft plan projects and expects a surge of 600,000 in the city population, with development being intensified accordingly.

“We need a multi-model transport system. The draft plan does not spell out the necessary coordination among the major modes of public transport, namely taxi, stage bus, LRT, Monorail and KTM.

“Each of them plays a role to run as a system, none of them can be replaced by another,” Goh said.

While an extension of 131.21km to achieve a total of 233.61km within 12 years is achievable technically, the progress pattern of the existing LRT lines, in operation since 1996, makes one sceptical.
Tighter rules: The draft plan does mention that there will be stricter implementation of bus lanes in the city.

“Our pattern is that there’s always a delay in infrastructure of at least 10 years compared with targets set in previous plans, including the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020,” Goh said.

“The ambitious rail system is highly uncertain and, worse still, it serves as the backbone of the entire public transport system,” he said.

“Furthermore, in terms of transport, we have been slow as we have been following other people’s technology and management methods,” Goh said.

“We are talking about an urban railway that requires land acquisition and construction in a congested area,” he said.

The draft plan target is that by 2020, Kuala Lumpur would have increased its public transport share to 60%, which is the situation in London and Hong Kong now while Singapore has surpassed that.

Currently, hardly 20% of the KL population use public transport.

“One of the main problems in our existing public transport is the lack of coordination and lack of macro- level management. All the various modes are going individually. Yet, these problems are not addressed in the draft plan,” Goh said.

Little is mentioned about the role of the stage bus in the draft plan, except for the stricter implementation of bus lanes.

“We’re very optimistic about the potential of buses. It is one of the most flexible modes and we have 1,300 buses plying the city today,” Goh said.

“It is passive to just increase the number of buses in proportion to the population. Some world-class cities have what is known as the GPS (global positioning system) control, where taking the bus is just like taking the elevator, with one knowing exactly where and when it stops. We should also look into having different vehicles plying different routes to suit the areas,” he said.

Taxis are not mentioned at all in the draft plan, yet it has and can play a valuable role in easing public transport woes.

Goh cited the Maxi Taxi concept used in KL during the 1980s and in Scotland for community transportation as an environmentally-friendly option to send commuters from their homes to the rail stations.

The “Park and Ride” scheme is highlighted but based on observations and calculations, Goh thinks that the number of parking bays proposed is negligible.
Goh: Each of them plays a role to run as a system, none can be replaced by another.

On top of all that, the traffic plan seems to have also ignored the needs of the disabled and senior citizens.

While the future of the city public transport looks uncertain, congestion charges look set to be implemented.

Vehicles entering the city centre will be charged a fee at 14 locations. But, do not expect to go far with the amount you pay as the area allowed is even within MRR1.

“Public transport should be an effective substitute or it is not matured enough to implement congestion charges. The scheme’s impact on business, property and residents is substantial,” Goh said.

He also said he could not agree with the boundaries identified.

Freight vehicle management is another important aspect missed out by the draft plan.

The number of hypermarkets and retail outlets are expected to increase significantly, so will the demand for freight service.

“No world-class city can ignore this aspect of the public transport system. Introducing specific lorry routes is just a temporary measure. A set of clear guidelines must be formulated to manage that on a long-term basis,” Goh said.

Meanwhile, land use will need to be readjusted according to the rail lines. The transit planning zones (TPZ), which are areas located within 400m of existing or future rail stations, are designated for intense commercial and residential developments.

Goh sees a need to relocate many existing stations to bring in the idea of the TPZ.

“As of now, many of the stations are located at inaccessible areas with obvious physical barriers, or they have poor catchments and poor traffic dispersal, just look at the stations in Pandan and Rampai,” he said.

“Re-planning the stations may cost a lot but if the authorities insist on building around the existing ones, which are unsuitable because the earlier planning had overlooked certain fundamentals, the consequences will be worse,” he said.

Goh also said the traffic reports and proposals in the draft plan were too brief, with too many technical terms.

He said the preparation of the plan was apparently careless as there were many errors in the maps and graphs.

Goh said the validity of information was also questionable, with the reports quoting only two sources – the Klang Valley Public Transport Studies and the SMURT-KL Studies by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) that was conducted way back in the 1980s.

The draft Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020 is supposed to elaborate what have been spelt out in the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 but, amusingly, the structure plan contains more details, with careful considerations done on the various modes of public transport.

Public transport at two major Asian cities

Hong Kong

Over 90% of the daily journeys in Hong Kong are on public transport, said to be the highest in the world.

The territory’s public transport system encompasses rail, road and maritime.

For rail transport, the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) comprises 10 lines with 82 railway stations and 68 light rail stops. The MTR is complemented by the Tramways and Funicular railways.

Road transport includes taxis, buses and the special public light buses to ply areas that the standard buses cannot reach as quickly and directly.

Maritime transport using ferries provides easy accessibility between Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and Macao.

Travelling on public transport is facilitated through use of a stored value smart card that can be used at petrol stations, supermarkets and others.

Singapore

The Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) consists of three main lines with a total rail network length of 109.4 km and 64 stations. A new Circle Line is slated for completion by 2010.

The Light Rail Transit (LRT) runs within several neighbourhoods while the Sentosa Express monorail connects Singapore with Sentosa Island.

The Land Transport Authority has set stringent requirements for the rail service provider, including having at least 94% of trains arrive within 2 minutes of schedule and downtime of not more than 500 hours per 10,000 hours of operation for general ticketing machines.

New measures are tried out to accommodate commuters, such as allowing foldable bicycles on board trains and public buses during off-peak hours.

The rail network is supported by bus and taxi services. Information such as routes, maps and frequencies of the buses are easily available on the operator’s website.

There are also feeder bus services, pick-up services from residential areas, chartered services, NightRider services that runs from 11.30pm to 4.30am and free shuttle services within certain busy areas.

Taxis cater to different needs, the service can be secured through SMS, the Internet or through Interactive Voice Response system.
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mrtfreak

June 18th, 2008, 09:39 AM

Trams would be great to offer in the outer suburban areas rather than KL City itself...better to get rapid trams into areas that need better public transport but do not justify the costs of an LRT at RM250-300 million per km. Subang Jaya, USJ,. Kota Kemuning, Puchong are all places that would benefit from rapid trams.

Im more worried about the idea of double decker cars on a 1m guage line :nuts:
Indeed, the proposed line is going to create a very interesting set of problems...tunneling in KL is not the easiest thing, especially with the existing buildings and sewer systems getting in the way...not to mention the other lines.

"Desktop plan"...oh boy, that really hurts....I'm never confident with desktop plans. I'd love to hear the justification for the new line and especially the 2 extensions.

By the way, the DBKL plan talks about extending the LRT from Seri Petaling to Sunway, not Puchong...
That would be nice, wouldnt it. In my opinion creating the loop via PJ would be justifiable as a project...the integration with KTM and LRT as well as the highways would be very beneficial and move many passengers.

Out of the 12 lines mentioned in the KL City Plan, only 1 is medium to high capacity (given as 12000-54000 ppd/h) and 3 are low-medium capacity (5,000-12,000) while the rest are "low" capacity (up to 5000)

I dont want them to pay RM250-300 million for low-medium capacity lines...or at least dont make them LRT or you are wasting a ton of money.

Cheers, m
I agree that estates with lower densities could benefit from trams. However, wouldn't it be better to start with BRT systems instead? I feel that BRTs would be more flexible than trams even. Why get a train system when you can spend less on a bus hybrid system?

If the new line were to go underground at Masjid Jamek, it'll take quite some time before they can finish that up. They'll have to find out how to integrate the new station properly into the existing lay out as well as construct without causing disturbances to the current KLJ and AMP lines. Also, they will have to work within the constraints of the rivers in the area. I feel that it can be done, but a lot of effort and time will be needed, not to mention top-notch construction monitoring as well. In Singapore, we've had several cases of tunneling botches recently with our Circle Line where the ground has sunk between 20cm to 3 metres. One interchange station also sank about 1cm and trains had to depart at a reduced rate to be safe.

These areas aren't as highly developed as the area around Masjid Jamek so you can imagine the risk that could be potentially involved.

I do feel that the Damansara-Cheras line is justified seeing that a lot of people could possibly use that line. However, I would like to see that line go through Pusat Bandar Damansara instead of to Bangsar. The line could then follow Jalan Duta perhaps and link up with KL Sentral and Pasar Seni stations (so that transfers to the KLJ at KL Sentral would not be overloaded). PBD is a catchment area that could possibly boost ridership numbers.

I think DBKL was probably thinking that the Ampang line could be extended from Sri Petaling through OUG, Kinrara & Puchong to Sunway. However, wouldn't that be making a very long, de-tour-ess journey to KL? They might as well link the line to the KTM and KLJ somewhere along their existing routes so that commuters have several options. A ring line around PJ could work as well.

Integration among different modes of transport is also important. To date, I don't think I've really seen bus interchanges being built next to rapid transit rail stations apart from the bus hubs available along the RapidKL lines. A good trial location would be Subang Jaya where a bus interchange can be built next to the KTM station on the existing car park and a new car park constructed for Park & Ride. From here, RapidKL (and potentially other authorised operators) could operate local shuttles to service different parts of Subang Jaya and USJ. I wouldn't mind if this became the terminal for the KLJ and Komuter short working trips (train journeys that turn around at half-way or earlier than the line's terminal). That way there would be more options for passengers. It would also improve connectivity in the sense that a passenger need not take a train to KL Sentral and transfer to get to Taman Paramount. And it also makes sense for the KLJ line to service Lembah Subang area as the tracks do go there but are not commercially operational.

I too would not want to see a line being built for the sake of being built. It should be able to gain passenger numbers within several years of opening. And rail lines should be built along proven travel corridors (Jalan Damansara is one, LDP is another). This would help take the load off such corridors if need be. For other areas, buses should be able to provide adequate coverage. Trams or small BRT systems in newer townships should be able to provide feeder service to rail hubs and bus interchanges should serve areas where rail lines do not run.

rizalhakim

June 20th, 2008, 11:02 AM

http://a815.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/47/l_878e1255d3b265c87a0f64ab9994c186.png

rizalhakim

June 20th, 2008, 11:03 AM

the new & extension lrt/komuter/monorail

http://a16.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/59/l_4561d5a996893e46bd0d105e0fa566df.png

forrestcat

June 20th, 2008, 12:17 PM

^^so many monorails.Scomi must be smiling.

tomkat

June 21st, 2008, 03:19 AM

Where is the Damansara-Cheras Line? Don't see it in the list.

mrtfreak

June 21st, 2008, 04:16 AM

I think the list is not inclusive of the Damansara-Cheras line as well as the proposed Subang Jaya extension for the KLJ line.

TWK90

June 21st, 2008, 07:37 AM

Possibly the Kota Damansara-Cheras line and the KLJ extension was not included because this report covers the KL City Plan 2020, and both of these lines runs mostly in Selangor...

TWK90

June 22nd, 2008, 06:41 AM

Source : http://www.bharian.com.my/Current_News/BH/Thursday/Rencana/20080618223000/Article/

Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (SPNB) yang diberi tanggungjawab melaksanakan penstrukturan semula sistem pengangkutan awam diharap dapat melakukannya dengan sebaik mungkin. Antara perancangan dijangka dilakukan adalah memperluaskan perkhidmatan LRT di Kota Damansara-Cheras yang turut membabitkan penyambungan rangkaian sistem membabitkan kawasan di Kelana Jaya, Ampang, Subang Jaya, USJ, Kinrara, Puchong dan Putra Heights. Adalah dijangka lebih sejuta penduduk di Lembah Klang akan mendapat manfaat.

KTMB juga merancang memperluaskan laluan dengan menambah beberapa laluan baru bagi memenuhi keperluan penduduk dan pelancong. Pada masa terdekat, KTMB akan menumpukan masa untuk membina laluan khas dari stesen Kuala Lumpur ke Batu Caves sejauh tujuh kilometer.

Jalan ini akan melalui kawasan sesak di utara Kuala Lumpur dan kawasan perumahan berhampiran Batu Caves.

Selain itu, KTMB merancang mengadakan kereta api ekspres dari Kuala Lumpur ke Seremban, khas untuk mereka yang memerlukan perkhidmatan cepat ke kedua-dua hala melalui kawasan Nilai yang pesat membangun.

rizalhakim

June 25th, 2008, 06:11 AM

No to proposed railway flyover
By raslan baharom

Residents at Jalan Kolam Air in Kuala Kangsar are worried that they may be evicted from their homes - all because of a proposed railway flyover,which they say they don't need.

“We already have two railway flyovers, one leading to Taman Bunga Raya and another to the Kuala Kangsar industrial estate, which are less than four or five kilometres apart.

“We think another one in between the existing two doesn't serve any purpose,” said retired teacher Jagir Singh.

He said the alignment of the proposed railway flyover stretched from the vicinity of their homes to the cemetery on the other side of the railway track.

Jagir Singh, 67 said other than the two flyovers which enabled road users to get across the railway track in the vicinity safely, there was also a railway underpass in nearby Padang Rengas.

“These two flyovers and the underpass are enough to prevent anyone from being hit by passing trains and we don’t see any use for another new flyover,” said Jagir Singh was appointed chairman of a newly-formed action committee to protest against the plan.

The committee had sent a protest note, signed by 102 residents, to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin in April but apart from a reply from the latter’s political secretary, no other positive development had since transpired, said Jagir Singh.

“We are not against the development or the electrified double-track project but the proposed flyover would involve land acquisition and although we would be compensated, where can we go,” said S. Muthiah, a 65-year-old retired school gardener.

Scrap metal dealer P. Maniam, 48, said he moved here in 2000 after his scrapyard in nearby Manong had to make way for the Sultan Abdul Jalil bridge project.

Divine Life Society secretary R. Sivalingam said the association owned a plot of land located on the alignment of the proposed flyover.

“Based on the proposal, part of our land would be acquired which would hamper the building of a three-storey building to accommodate orphans and old folk,” he said.

At nearby Kampung Simpang Tiga Talang, the villagers were also having sleepless nights following notification by some private land surveyors in April that part of their village would have to make way for a new railway station to replace the existing one in Jalan Sultan Idris.

Village chief Norahim Omar said he had written appeal letters to the Mentri Besar, Bukit Chandan state assemblyman and the Penghulu’s Office since April but had not received any response.

Norahim said the plan to build a new railway station there would involve the acquisition of at least 11 ancestral homes.

“KTMB owns a large plot of land adjacent to the existing railway station on Jalan Sul- tan Idris and we can’t understand why our land and homes are being targeted?” Norahim said.

A spokesman from the Public Works Department, when contacted, said a meeting with the affected residents was being orga-nised.

allurban

June 25th, 2008, 12:25 PM

I agree that estates with lower densities could benefit from trams. However, wouldn't it be better to start with BRT systems instead? I feel that BRTs would be more flexible than trams even. Why get a train system when you can spend less on a bus hybrid system?From what Ive read, the flexibility of buses is not really an issue unless you would be going for an open busway system (like Ottawa) rather than a closed busway (like LA's Orange line or Jakarta's Transjakarta).

The open system has a disadvantage however...buses will end up clogging the terminal areas in the city centre....much like the problem that we already have today in KL with the Metrobuses.

I dont want the government to spend millions to build bus lanes or a busway only to repeat the same system that exists today.

As for the costs, the cost picture for RapidTram vs. BRT is quite interesting. Initially BRT has the lower capital costs, but over time the operations and maintainance costs are higher than LRT. BRT vehicles have shorter lifetimes (12-15 years vs. 30+ for tramcars), and they require more drivers to move the same number of passengers. A BRT line also has a shorter operational life before serious upgrades are needed.I do feel that the Damansara-Cheras line is justified seeing that a lot of people could possibly use that line. However, I would like to see that line go through Pusat Bandar Damansara instead of to Bangsar. The line could then follow Jalan Duta perhaps and link up with KL Sentral and Pasar Seni stations (so that transfers to the KLJ at KL Sentral would not be overloaded). PBD is a catchment area that could possibly boost ridership numbers.I have always thought that the KD-C line would be successful...my concern is that it might be too successful.

The similarity between KD-C and Kelana Jaya line worries me. KD-C is also linking two major suburban areas (nearly every one of the "Damansaras" and the "Cheras"es) to the city centre. I worry that the KD-C line will be overwhelmed by passenger demand much like the KJ line has been. The last time I was at KLCC during peak hours I counted 700 people waiting for their trains.I think DBKL was probably thinking that the Ampang line could be extended from Sri Petaling through OUG, Kinrara & Puchong to Sunway. However, wouldn't that be making a very long, de-tour-ess journey to KL? They might as well link the line to the KTM and KLJ somewhere along their existing routes so that commuters have several options. A ring line around PJ could work as well.I dont know what the role of DBKL is in the plan...actually, their responsibility ends at the border...which is part of the reason why the terminus of the extension seems to keep on switching.

As far as SPNB and RapidKL are concerned, the Seri Petaling section is 30% undercapacity and an extension will fill up the line...so better to extend it to the place that will make the most money for them in the fastest time.

As far as the Federal Government is concerned, better to extend the line to the place that would get them the most votes...before the election that would have been Puchong...but now....?

From a planning perspective the extension of the Sri Petaling line westwards and northwards to Petaling Jaya would be the best option, provided that they extend it further to build a continuous loop line serving KL and PJ.

Structural plan for Selangor already has a north-south line for PJ...and the DBKL City Plan has a line from 1 Utama to Ampang...so the creation of the loop line is quite possible.

Cheers, m

rizalhakim

June 26th, 2008, 04:40 AM

LRT bypassing KL Sentral from 10am to 1pm today

RANGKAIAN Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL) wishes to inform the public that all Aliran Kelana Jaya train services will not stop at KL Sentral LRT station from 10am to 1pm today due to the crisis and disaster management simulation exercise or “Ex Sentral” that will be taking place there.

RapidKL communication general manager Ebi Azly Abdullah advised passengers travelling to KL Sentral to disembark at the Bangsar LRT station and continue their journey by bus to KL Sentral.

The public can use the following bus services: U64 (Sri Muda-Pasar Seni), U65 (Alam Megah-Pasar Seni), U80 (UiTM, Section 2-Pasar Seni), U81 (Mahsing-Pasar Seni), U87 (Bangsar Park-Mid Valley) and U88 (Kota Damansara-Pasar Seni).

“We regret the inconvenience caused to passengers,” he added.

For more details, call RapidKL’s helpline at 03-7625 6999.

mrtfreak

June 26th, 2008, 05:25 AM

From what Ive read, the flexibility of buses is not really an issue unless you would be going for an open busway system (like Ottawa) rather than a closed busway (like LA's Orange line or Jakarta's Transjakarta).

The open system has a disadvantage however...buses will end up clogging the terminal areas in the city centre....much like the problem that we already have today in KL with the Metrobuses.

I dont want the government to spend millions to build bus lanes or a busway only to repeat the same system that exists today.

As for the costs, the cost picture for RapidTram vs. BRT is quite interesting. Initially BRT has the lower capital costs, but over time the operations and maintainance costs are higher than LRT. BRT vehicles have shorter lifetimes (12-15 years vs. 30+ for tramcars), and they require more drivers to move the same number of passengers. A BRT line also has a shorter operational life before serious upgrades are needed.I have always thought that the KD-C line would be successful...my concern is that it might be too successful.

The similarity between KD-C and Kelana Jaya line worries me. KD-C is also linking two major suburban areas (nearly every one of the "Damansaras" and the "Cheras"es) to the city centre. I worry that the KD-C line will be overwhelmed by passenger demand much like the KJ line has been. The last time I was at KLCC during peak hours I counted 700 people waiting for their trains.I dont know what the role of DBKL is in the plan...actually, their responsibility ends at the border...which is part of the reason why the terminus of the extension seems to keep on switching.

As far as SPNB and RapidKL are concerned, the Seri Petaling section is 30% undercapacity and an extension will fill up the line...so better to extend it to the place that will make the most money for them in the fastest time.

As far as the Federal Government is concerned, better to extend the line to the place that would get them the most votes...before the election that would have been Puchong...but now....?

From a planning perspective the extension of the Sri Petaling line westwards and northwards to Petaling Jaya would be the best option, provided that they extend it further to build a continuous loop line serving KL and PJ.

Structural plan for Selangor already has a north-south line for PJ...and the DBKL City Plan has a line from 1 Utama to Ampang...so the creation of the loop line is quite possible.

Cheers, m
I was thinking that these BRT systems could be the local transport systems within townships actually. And from the central bus interchange of the township, express buses could connect to various locations (eg, Kota Kemuning to Shah Alam, Klang, Subang and KL and PJ). Open BRT systems would be the best for smaller townships. Perhaps once these systems have been ironed out in a smaller area/township, then the system can be replicated slowly, towards the major cities. A simple hump could be all that's needed to separate the BRT lane from the normal traffic lane I suppose, much like how Melbourne separates its tramways from traffic some times.

The KD-C line has an advantage though - it has the overly-successful KLJ line to learn from. Perhaps the government will then see that rail transit lines can be successful depending on the areas they serve and will build longer stations for longer trains on the line. For the KD-C one, I think it should have a minimum of 4-cars from the get-go.

Another thing that probably detracted from the Government would have been the "empty" promises. The Sri Petaling extension to Puchong was announced in 2006, yet no route alignments or anything other than the target completion date of 2012 has been revealed. Even the number of stations on the extensions keeps changing. 10 floated about and now 3 is also heard of. But like you said, the Sri Petaling branch does have the capacity which is not fully utilised, much in part due to the densities of the areas it serves. Also, wouldn't it be quite a long journey as opposed to, say, using Jalan Klang Lama/NPE to get to KL?

The PJ ring line need not be a fully closed ring either, as long as it serves most of the high density areas and allows for transfers to avoid long, detouring journeys that require back-tracking, it should be quite successful.

TWK90

June 26th, 2008, 07:31 AM

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/Frontpage/20080626121027/Article/index_html

Interesting list of rail projects in midterm review of 9MP, most of the existing ones, "survived"...

- Extend Komuter service to Tanjung Malim
- Kelana Jaya LRT extension to Putra Heights from Kelana Jaya (16 km)
- Ampang Line LRT extension to Putra Heights from Sri Petaling (16 km)
- Completion of Sentul-Batu Caves EDT
- Bandar Tasik Selatan integrated transport terminal
- Ipoh-Padang Besar EDT, to be completed in 2013
- Seremban-Gemas EDT, to be completed in 2012
- Rolling stock procurement and refurbishment
- Rehabilitate Sabah's railway infrastructure
- Commence KL-Ipoh rapid intercity service

rizalhakim

June 26th, 2008, 08:32 AM

RapidKL beli 35 tren baru RM1.2b
Oleh Nurhasyima Hasim

Pembelian untuk menambahbaik khidmat LRT

KUALA LUMPUR: Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL) akan membeli tambahan 35 tren bernilai kira-kira RM1.2 bilion untuk menambah baik mutu perkhidmatan sistem transit aliran ringan (LRT) di ibu negara.

Pengurus Besar Komunikasi RapidKL, Ebi Azly Abdullah, berkata tren baru itu yang dijangka mula beroperasi menjelang akhir tahun depan akan menggandakan jumlah perkhidmatan LRT syarikat yang menggunakan 35 unit ketika ini kepada 70.

Katanya, tren yang baru dibeli itu akan digunakan untuk mengendalikan perkhidmatan LRT Aliran Kelana Jaya bagi membantu mengatasi kesesakan berikutan peningkatan jumlah penumpang yang dicatatkan setiap hari.

“Syarikat menjangkakan jumlah penumpang LRT di laluan itu yang kini dianggarkan kira-kira 160,000 setiap hari meningkat kepada kepada 191,000 menjelang mulanya operasi tambahan tren baru terbabit.

“Sejajar dengan rancangan jangka panjang RapidKL memberi perkhidmatan terbaik, semua tren baru berkenaan yang lebih panjang, akan selesa serta dilengkapi kemudahan untuk kegunaan golongan kurang upaya,” katanya ketika dihubungi di sini, semalam.

Beliau berkata, perjanjian bagi pembelian 35 unit tren tambahan itu sudah dimeterai antara syarikat induk RapidKL iaitu Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (SPNB) dengan Bombadier-Hartasuma Consortium di ibu negara tahun lalu.

Ketua Eksekutif SPNB, Shaipudin Shah Harun, berkata pembelian tren baru itu bertujuan meningkatkan lagi kecekapan operasi LRT bagi laluan berkenaan selain memenuhi permintaan yang semakin meningkat.

Ebi Azly berkata, RapidKL juga sentiasa melakukan pemantauan dan kini sedang menjalankan kajian terperinci bagi mengenal pasti kemudahan LRT yang perlu dibaik pulih dan masih tidak lengkap untuk memastikan keselesaan penumpang.

“Syarikat juga bercadang menambah pelbagai kemudahan lagi di stesen LRT yang dikendalikan seperti menyediakan lebih banyak kedai, tandas serta menyediakan lebih banyak kawasan tempat letak kenderaan,” katanya.

RapidKL mengendalikan perkhidmatan LRT yang beroperasi di trek sepanjang 56 kilometer merangkumi 49 stesen dengan dua laluan iaitu aliran Kelana Jaya sebanyak 24 stesen dan Ampang 25 stesen. Bagi laluan Ampang, sebanyak 30 tren digunakan untuk membawa penumpang.

RapidKL yang juga syarikat milik penuh kerajaan bertanggungjawab terhadap operasi bas dan sistem transit aliran ringan yang pada masa ini dikendalikan oleh perkhidmatan bas Intrakota dan CityLiner serta STAR dan Putra LRT

Ia adalah hasil projek Integrasi and Penyusunan Semula Sistem Pengangkutan Awam Lembah Klang (Inspak) yang dijalankan kerajaan pada Julai 2003 dalam rangka melegakan kesesakan lalu lintas di kota.

Satu daripada intipati Inspak adalah mewujudkan satu sistem pengangkutan awam teruji dan efisien di bawah sebuah entiti yang kukuh sumber kewangannya.

rizalhakim

June 27th, 2008, 04:25 AM

Projects to pave way for smoother commuting
Published: 2008/06/27

CITY dwellers in Kuala Lumpur and surrounding areas can expect better urban public transport network coverage and facilities, with several expansion projects lined up to take off during the remaining three years of the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP).

These include extending the KTM Komuter service from Kuala Lumpur to Tanjung Malim in Perak; the light rail transit (LRT) Ampang Line by 16km from Sri Petaling to Putra Heights; and the LRT Kelana Jaya Line, also by 16km, from Kelana Jaya to Putra Heights.

The Sentul-Batu Caves electrified double-tracking rail project should also be completed during the period, benefiting about 8,800 commuters a day.

In addition, an integrated transport terminal will be built in Bandar Tasik Selatan.

Construction of the Ipoh-Padang Besar electrified double tracking railway is expected to be completed in 2013, while the Seremban-Gemas portion should be completed in 2012.

The rural road network, meanwhile, will continue to be expanded, especially in Sabah and Sarawak. A study is being undertaken to identify additional requirements to improve the road network and accessibility in these two states.

Other road developments include the East Coast Highway Phase II from Kuantan to Kuala Terengganu and the Senai-Desaru Highway.

The provision of adequate, affordable and quality housing as well as water and electricity to the poor, including in the urban areas and Sabah and Sarawak, will be a priority.

A total of 32,000 low-cost houses were built in the first half of the 9MP.

Another 70,000 units will be built in the next three years.

Accessibility to and quality of healthcare and other social amenities will be enhanced, and environmental management improved.

Healthcare delivery will be strengthened at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels, and the issues of changing disease patterns and urban-rural disparity in healthcare services addressed.

Public safety will be improved by increasing the capacity and capability of the police force, use of modern technology and encouraging greater involvement of the local community and non-governmental organisations in crime prevention and reduction.

rizalhakim

June 27th, 2008, 09:48 AM

RM4.9b to boost urban,rail transport systems
by Surin Murugiah
Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will invest RM4.91 billion to improve urban and rail transport systems as part of the fourth thrust of the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), which is improving the standard and sustainability of quality of life.

The amount includes RM350 million and RM35 million for RapidKL and Rapid Penang respectively, RM528 million for the acquisition of 22 cars of train and an estimated RM4 billion on the extension of the existing light rail transit (LRT) lines. The extension is from the Kelana Jaya line to Putra Heights and Sri Petaling to Putra Heights, each measuring 16km each. The rail line is expected to be completed by early 2012.

Under the plan, the 22 new car trains will be delivered beginning early next year and completed by 2010 to ease the congestion on the Kelana Jaya light rail transit line.

As for the RapidKL bus services, there are currently 167 routes with 650 buses covering 980 residential areas with a total bus ridership of 400,000 per day.

According to the mid-term review report, while traffic congestion continued to be a challenge in major cities and urban centres, the insufficient road space to cope with the rapidly increasing number of private vehicles and inadequate public transport services would be addressed systematically.

It said a public transport commission would be established to plan and coordinate all public transport programmes and initiatives, and that the commission will also regulate the sector and develop an efficient and integrated transport system.

Meanwhile, on the overall outlook of the fourth thrust of the 9MP, the report stated that efforts to strengthen the family institution and protect vulnerable members of society would contribute to a more caring society.

It said sports and recreational activities would be promoted to enhance the well being of the community while public safety will be improved.

“Mainstreaming environmental considerations in development will be emphasised for environmental protection and sustainable use of natural resources.

“The promotion and preservation of culture, arts and heritage will contribute to building national identity and unity,” it said.

rizalhakim

June 27th, 2008, 09:49 AM

TWK90

June 29th, 2008, 04:13 PM

Today when I use KTM Komuter, i saw new station list...

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/Stationlist.jpg

nazrey

June 29th, 2008, 04:58 PM

Well.. Soon Malaysia will has 2 state's capital city, Ipoh (Perak) & Seremban (Negeri Sembilan) which connect with KL by electric commuter....Tahniah!!!

TWK90

June 29th, 2008, 05:21 PM

^^

Er, currently, the state capital that is connected to electric trains are Shah Alam (Selangor) and Seremban (Negeri Sembilan)...

Travelling to Ipoh by electric train will only happen in 2010, that one will be different than Komuter trains and should be more comfortable and faster (at 160 km/h), but when I look at the lists, i think there is no explanation on which type of service that will be offered, for example as we know Komuter is Tanjung Malim-Seremban and the Rapid Intercity service (KL-Ipoh), if the new list does include the other Perak stations, does it mean there will be seperate Komuter service for Perak state?

TWK90

June 29th, 2008, 05:21 PM

Deleted, because double post...

mrtfreak

June 29th, 2008, 05:49 PM

Why are Kepong Sentral, Bank Negara and MidValley missing from the list? There are station symbols but no station names.

TWK90

June 29th, 2008, 07:46 PM

^^

I felt it is strange too, because the small blue note, stated that passenger can change train to Sentul-Port Klang line in these three stations, namely, Putra, Kuala Lumpur and KL Sentral, but did not mention Bank Negara...

mrtfreak

June 30th, 2008, 07:25 AM

Bank Negara was always the one that was left out as an interchange though it really is. Technically. But when they used to show, on the older maps, station with transfers between the Klang-Sentul and Rawang-Seremban line, Putra, Kuala Lumpur and KL Sentral were always interchanges and Bank Negara was a normal station/halt.

TWK90

June 30th, 2008, 07:38 AM

Looking from this new station list, I wonder if there will be seperate Komuter service for Perak state? This is because from my observation:

The intermediate stops between Kuala Lumpur-Ipoh rapid intercity service are all in Perak state, which are Tanjung Malim, Slim River, Kampar, Tapah Road and Kampar...

That left stations like Behrang and Sungkai, for sure I don't think they built these stations purely for Intercity services, so I wonder if there's Komuter service for Perak at all...

TWK90

July 1st, 2008, 09:07 AM

Source : http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news.php?id=342997

Inter-City Train Service Passengers To Increase By 12.5 Percent

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (Bernama) -- The number of passengers for the inter-city train service is expected to increase by 12.5 percent a year, and cargo load for the goods train service by 5.6 percent a year, within 30 years upon completion of the double-track railway project.

Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat said this was based on a study by AGN Research Associates, which found that the project was a strategic action to increase capacity and meet the country's transportation needs in view of the anticipated increase in traffic volume from 2008 until 2037.

"The study by AGN encompasses economic, engineering and environmental aspects, and other matters related to train service," he said in response to a question from Roslan Shaharum (PAS-Bukit Gantang) in the Dewan Rakyat Monday.

He said the study on the effectiveness of the proposed dual track railway project was conducted by two consultant companies -- KL Consult Associates Sdn Bhd for the Seremban-Tanjung Pagar sector and Gabungan Jurubina Sdn Bhd for the Ipoh-Padang Besar sector.

He said based on the study, the increase in Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB)'s passengers and goods was due to the increase in income elasticity of demand for travel, from 1.076 to 1.15 percent, as well as as a five-fold increase in the per capita income of residents in Peninsular Malaysia in 2037.

The study also found that the increase in population and economic activities between 2008 and 2037 would increase the volume of goods and number of passengers, he added.

To meet the increase, Ong said, the government had allocated RM792 million, which included RM100 million for the purchase of five sets of electric multiple units (EMU) with each containing four coaches, RM68 million for the purchase of 24 passenger coaches and RM624 million for 13 electric train sets (ETS), with each set having six coaches.

-- BERNAMA

Erm....the last part of this article...

Five sets of 4 car EMU (RM 100 million), should be to Komuter...

24 sets of passenger coaches (RM 68 million), to Intercity...

Now this is interesting, 13 sets of 6 car EMU, this should be destined for Rapid Intercity service (RM 624 million), i thought they only buy 6 sets, em...is it they buy more EMU sets to prepare for future KL-Butterworth service?

TWK90

July 5th, 2008, 04:22 PM

http://www.mmc.com.my/pdf/Investor-Presentation/20080423_IR_Final.pdf

List of stations covered under Ipoh-Padang Besar EDT...

TWK90

July 6th, 2008, 03:49 PM

Today's photo

KTM Subang Jaya, well...there are some works undergoing here, from what I see, the addition of yellow tiles, new pavings on platform floor and also, the construction of elevator...

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/KTMSJ2.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/KTMSJ1.jpg

Meanwhile in KL Sentral, i saw something interesting, regarding to future KL-Ipoh rapid intercity service...

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/KTMAnnouncementHS.jpg

Erm, don't bother with the year 2007, the most interesting part of is the operation time and service interval...

The later part of the first paragraph states that it will run every 2 hours and the express service will be less than 2 hours (KL-Ipoh rapid intercity service with 5 stops in between, take 2 hours 15 minutes as indicated in news report....)

The second paragraph is like this...

" This service promises commuters to get from one city centre to another city centre without the hassle of traffic jams. All you have to do is sit back and relax. Travelling at a top speed of 160 km/h, the service starts at 6am and the last train leaves at 10pm everyday. This is definitely one of the prioritised projects undertaken by KTM Berhad to regain its competitive edge with the right price and comfort, why bother to fly or drive? "

allurban

July 7th, 2008, 11:28 AM

" This service promises commuters to get from one city centre to another city centre without the hassle of traffic jams. All you have to do is sit back and relax. Travelling at a top speed of 160 km/h, the service starts at 6am and the last train leaves at 10pm everyday. This is definitely one of the prioritised projects undertaken by KTM Berhad to regain its competitive edge with the right price and comfort, why bother to fly or drive? ""because of all the broken promises, KTM sir" :lol:

But seriously, good luck to KTM, let's make it work and then work on KL-Butterworth, KL-Port Dickson and KL-Melaka next.

Cheers, m

TWK90

July 7th, 2008, 11:48 AM

"because of all the broken promises, KTM sir" :lol:

But seriously, good luck to KTM, let's make it work and then work on KL-Butterworth, KL-Port Dickson and KL-Melaka next.

Cheers, m

Well, if MoT flip-flopping on EMU purchase issue, we can't blame it entirely on KTM....

Anyway, tender for KTM Komuter sets....

http://www.ktmb.com.my/article.aspx?id=2559

TWK90

July 8th, 2008, 08:07 AM

Source : http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/8/nation/20080708134037&sec=nation

Sarawak to build railway network
By STEPHEN THEN

BINTULU: Sarawak is to embark on a pioneer project to build a railway network, the first ever railway project in this vast state.

The railway project will have a dual purpose - to provide a relatively cheaper yet reliable form of mass transportation for the people, and to facilitate the movement of raw materials and goods for the construction of the projects that will be carried out in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE).

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud on Tuesday said a railway system is the most viable and cheapest form of fast transportation for massive bulk of both goods and people.

''This will be the first railway in Sarawak. The main area involved will span the (320km) stretch between Similajau in Bintulu Division and Tanjung Manis in Mukah division. That area comprises 57% of Sarawak.

''The rail project will be a viable alternative of transportation in view of the constantly rising costs of fuel and other costs.

''The SCORE project will bring tremendous benefits and opportunities, not only in terms of industries, but also other spin-offs for the people of the state,'' he said at the state-level Conference of District officers and Residents held in this gas capital of Sarawak.

Taib, who is also the state's 1st Finance Minister and state's 1st Minister for Planning and Resources Management, however, did not disclose the cost of the railway project nor the date for the project to commence.

He said the Government will be spending some RM67bil to develop the basic infrastructure needed for SCORE to proceed.

''We have now obtained up to RM300bil in investment pledges. The majority will be from private sectors,'' he said.

Taib said the SCORE project will also see the development of the coal industry, which Sarawak has more than one billion tonnes in reserve.

He noted that up to 20,000 MWs of power will be developed within the next 30 years and during that period, Sarawak will be able to provide cheap and efficient electricity to the people in the state and country.

A RM1.5bil plant to produce halal food will also be constructed in the region, he added.

''The Federal Government had already allocated RM3bil to the state to kickstart SCORE,'' he said.

I am excited, hopefully this link will become part of Trans-Borneo railway link in the future!

TWK90

July 8th, 2008, 08:48 AM

Source : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/8/business/21762727&sec=business

Ingress associate firm in RM1bil joint venture

KUALA LUMPUR: Ingress Corp Bhd's 49% associate company, Balfour Beatty Rail Sdn Bhd (BBRail), in a joint venture with Ansaldo STS Malaysia Sdn Bhd, has been awarded a RM1bil contract by MMC-Gamuda Joint Venture Sdn Bhd.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Ingress said the contract was for the implementation of the rail systems package for the Ipoh-to-Padang Besar double-tracking project.

BBRail would be involved in the design, supply and installations of electrification and power supply, it said.

Ingress said the project was for 54 months and was scheduled for completion in January 2013.

It added that the project was expected to contribute significantly to the earnings of the group.

allurban

July 8th, 2008, 09:25 AM

Well, if MoT flip-flopping on EMU purchase issue, we can't blame it entirely on KTM....

Anyway, tender for KTM Komuter sets....

http://www.ktmb.com.my/article.aspx?id=2559hahahah agreed, agreed...must consider Cabinet Committee, EPU, Prime Minister's Department, UMNO Supreme Council, MCA, and a few other factors.

But overall, there are many small, positive, forwards-moving steps that are going to add up to something great in the future...if the government can figure out how to organize itself.

Cheers, m

forrestcat

July 9th, 2008, 02:10 AM

It's suggested that Sarawak's decision to build its own railway shows distrusts by the state(and possibly other states including BN held states) over the federal government's incompetence to plan projects like the Penang monorail and EDT.

TWK90

July 9th, 2008, 02:42 AM

^^

Well, if the Sarawak railway ever come into fruition, in my opinion, possibly metre gauge will be used, then maybe mostly single line? Judging from the population density...

It is sad to see the Ipoh-Padang Besar EDT only kick started its construction in January 2008, if it was started few years ago, around the same time when the Rawang-Ipoh EDT was constructed, we can have a long stretch of electrified double track railway line from Padang Besar to Johor Bahru, much earlier and also, cheaper too! Anyway, I am happy to see a slew of contracts being awarded, that shows the Ipoh-Padang Besar going at least at decent speed....

Press release from Balfour Beatty Rail, which is responsible for the electrification...
http://www.balfourbeatty.com/bby/media/press/2008/2008-07-08/

Press release from Ansaldo STS, which is responsible for the signalling...
http://www.ansaldo-sts.co.uk/index.php?page=newsroom&list1=72

rizalhakim

July 9th, 2008, 10:09 AM

Penumpang RapidKL naik mendadak

PETALING JAYA 8 Julai - Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn. Bhd. (RapidKL) telah menyaksikan pertambahan dalam purata jumlah penumpang bas dan Transit Aliran Ringan (LRT) sejak pengumuman kenaikan harga minyak oleh kerajaan pada 5 Jun lalu.

Bagi operasi bas, purata jumlah penumpangnya meningkat sebanyak 7.5 peratus daripada 365,111 kepada 392,654 penumpang sehari manakala bagi LRT, puratanya meningkat sebanyak 3.9 peratus daripada 313,753 kepada 326,095 sehari.

Pengurus Besar Komunikasi RapidKL, Ebi Azly Abdullah berkata, berdasarkan analisis awal mendapati terdapat perubahan trend dari segi jumlah penumpang bagi perkhidmatan LRT dan bas.

"Kami akan terus memantau keadaan ini dan melaksanakan pendekatan bersesuaian untuk menampung pertambahan penumpang ini," katanya dalam kenyataan di sini hari ini.

Katanya, bagi menampung pertambahan penumpang aliran LRT Kelana Jaya, syarikat itu mungkin memperkenalkan tren tambahan berkapasiti lebih besar pada penghujung 2009.

RapidKL juga, katanya, telah menambah liputan perkhidmatan bas sehingga sebanyak 53 peratus dan menambah jumlah bas sebanyak 30 peratus sejak penubuhannya empat tahun lalu.

"Syarikat kami kini memberi perkhidmatan di sebanyak 980 kawasan perumahan berbanding 638 semasa ia mula beroperasi pada 2005," kata Ebi Azly.

RapidKL, katanya, kini mengangkut kira-kira 4.9 juta penumpang setiap minggu 2.1 juta menggunakan sistem LRT Aliran Ampang dan Kelana Jaya dan 2.8 juta menggunakan bas. Perkhidmatan itu meliputi 49 stesen tren dan 167 laluan bas, ujarnya lagi.

"Untuk perkhidmatan LRT, RapidKL telah berjaya mengekalkan keberkesanan operasinya pada tahap tinggi. RapidKL juga mempunyai tahap perkhidmatan yang tinggi untuk kedua-dua aliran LRT kami iaitu 99.7 peratus bagi LRT Kelana Jaya dan 99.8 peratus untuk Aliran Ampang," jelasnya.

Tambah beliau, RapidKL komited untuk menyediakan sistem pengangkutan awam yang bersepadu kepada penduduk Lembah Klang dan ini termasuk menggalakkan pengguna menggunakan kedua-dua perkhidmatan iaitu bas dan LRT sebagai jaringan pengangkutan bersepadu.

"Jika mereka (pengguna) boleh mendapatkan bas ke stesen LRT berdekatan, mereka seharusnya menggunakan pilihan ini kerana ia akan membawa mereka ke destinasi dengan lebih pantas kerana perkhidmatan LRT tidak terdedah kepada keadaan aliran jalan raya," ujarnya.

mrtfreak

July 10th, 2008, 09:10 AM

Here's what the new Bombardier ART Mark II trains will look like:

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/4465/rapidkllrtjm4.jpg

dengilo

July 10th, 2008, 04:27 PM

Emm what so new about it ha ha ha

Leeigh

July 10th, 2008, 07:59 PM

I think the old one look better!

mrtfreak

July 10th, 2008, 08:16 PM

^^ I too prefer the older livery.

Mark II Gen 1 versus Mark II Gen 2

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Yosri042005PuteraLRT.JPG/300px-Yosri042005PuteraLRT.JPGhttp://img95.imageshack.us/img95/4465/rapidkllrtjm4.jpg

The difference is in the livery. Gen 1 had the black fronting, whereas the Gen 2 only has the white fronting with the black strips. Still remains to be seen whether they will apply the black fronting as well as the red stripes which are missing if you noticed.

I think the Gen 2 image is merely a rendering.

TWK90

July 10th, 2008, 09:30 PM

I wish the future KJ line rolling stock looked more like Beijing Airport Express set, the headlight look sharper and more modern...

Well, here's the latest news on Rapid KL LRT and bus ridership...

Source : http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news.php?id=345375

RapidKL Records Sharp Increase In Passengers

KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 (Bernama) -- Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL) recorded a sharp increase in passengers for its Light Rail Transit (LRT) and bus services since the increase in oil prices.

Its general manager (Communication Division) Ebi Azly Abdullah, in a statement issued Thursday, said that for its bus service, the increase was 7.5 percent, from 365,111 to 392,654 people daily.

He said the increase in LRT passengers was 3.9 percent, from 131,753 to 326,095 people daily.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and will take necessary steps to help the public cushion the increase in oil prices," he added.

Ebi Azly said RapidKL would introduce additional trains with larger capacity next year to cope with the increase in passengers using its LRT service.

"The reliability of RapidKLs's LRT (STAR and PUTRA LRT) service is high, at 99.7 percent for its Kelana Jaya Line LRT and 99.8 for the Ampang line," he added.

-- BERNAMA

dengilo

July 11th, 2008, 04:32 AM

He said the increase in LRT passengers was 3.9 percent, from 131,753 to 326,095 people daily.:bash::ohno::bash:Can u guys imagine what it is like during peak hours??Just what is the problem with PUTRA???10 years later they still cant get their act together???The only reason STAR got all 4 coaches was because of the commonwealth games!!!We not even talking about the preposed additional line here just additional coaches!Aiyo yo malaysia memang BOLEHLAH:ohno:

TWK90

July 11th, 2008, 04:37 AM

^^

That report is mathematically wrong....

131,753 ----> 326,095

That isn't 3.9%....

rizalhakim

July 11th, 2008, 04:47 AM

^^

That report is mathematically wrong....

131,753 ----> 326,095

That isn't 3.9%....

More people using public transport

MORE people in the Klang Valley are leaving their vehicles and using public transport as a result of the fuel price increase last month.

According to Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL), the number of commuters using its bus and LRT services had increased.

For its bus operations, the average number of commuters increased by 7.5% from 365,111 to 392,654 a day; while for LRT, the passengers increased by 3.9% from 313,753 to 326,095 a day.

RapidKL said in a press statement that based on an interim study, more passengers were recorded for the LRT lines and bus services.

The company said it would continue to monitor the situation and implement appropriate measures to cope with the increase.

To cope with the increasing number of passengers on its Kelana Jaya LRT Line, RapidKL would introduce additional trains with larger capacity from the end of 2009.

RapidKL has increased bus service coverage by as much as 53% and increased the number of buses by 30% since its inception four years ago.

The company now covers 980 housing estates compared with 638 housing estates when it started operations in 2005.

The RapidKL service is based on a network that integrates both the bus and LRT operations.

Commuters can give their feedback through the corporate website at www.rapidkl.com.my or to call the Helpline at 03-7625 6999 (8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday).

nazrey

July 11th, 2008, 05:49 AM

bootluy

July 11th, 2008, 09:26 AM

More people using public transport

MORE people in the Klang Valley are leaving their vehicles and using public transport as a result of the fuel price increase last month.

According to Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL), the number of commuters using its bus and LRT services had increased.

For its bus operations, the average number of commuters increased by 7.5% from 365,111 to 392,654 a day; while for LRT, the passengers increased by 3.9% from 313,753 to 326,095 a day.

RapidKL said in a press statement that based on an interim study, more passengers were recorded for the LRT lines and bus services.

The company said it would continue to monitor the situation and implement appropriate measures to cope with the increase.

To cope with the increasing number of passengers on its Kelana Jaya LRT Line, RapidKL would introduce additional trains with larger capacity from the end of 2009.

RapidKL has increased bus service coverage by as much as 53% and increased the number of buses by 30% since its inception four years ago.

The company now covers 980 housing estates compared with 638 housing estates when it started operations in 2005.

The RapidKL service is based on a network that integrates both the bus and LRT operations.

Commuters can give their feedback through the corporate website at www.rapidkl.com.my or to call the Helpline at 03-7625 6999 (8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday).

the gov should build MRT instead LRT. Most of the capitals in the World were using Mass Rapid and with populations of over 3 millions, surely KL needs one.

mrtfreak

July 11th, 2008, 09:33 AM

the gov should build MRT instead LRT. Most of the capitals in the World were using Mass Rapid and with populations of over 3 millions, surely KL needs one.
The rail systems are essentially MRT just that KL chooses to call it LRT when it is not really LRT. The STAR system is practically the same as the Singapore MRT older lines.

bootluy

July 11th, 2008, 10:19 AM

The rail systems are essentially MRT just that KL chooses to call it LRT when it is not really LRT. The STAR system is practically the same as the Singapore MRT older lines.

Light rail or light rail transit (LRT) is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems(mass rapid)

forrestcat

July 11th, 2008, 11:51 AM

Light rail or light rail transit (LRT) is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems(mass rapid)

Kelana Jaya line have many tight curves since the line was built in densely populated areas,hence it could only support 4 carriage trains max. Meanwhile in Singapore, the routes are relatively straight since they usually plan the MRT lines first and then the residential units later, hence longer trains could accommodated.

allurban

July 11th, 2008, 12:42 PM

Kelana Jaya line have many tight curves since the line was built in densely populated areas,hence it could only support 4 carriage trains max. Meanwhile in Singapore, the routes are relatively straight since they usually plan the MRT lines first and then the residential units later, hence longer trains could accommodated.I think the line could have been built to handle trains as long as 8 carriages without too much trouble....of course using the MarkII carriages.

The Star line is probably about as large as I would ever want to see an elevated mass transit line located in the middle of the city.

the 3-carriage (to start) MRT Circle Line in Singapore would probably be equivalent in length to how many Kelana Jaya line carriages? 4, 5 or 6? How many Star line carriages? 4?

Cheers, m

TWK90

July 11th, 2008, 12:51 PM

tomkat

July 11th, 2008, 04:06 PM

mrtfreak

July 11th, 2008, 06:52 PM

Light rail or light rail transit (LRT) is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems(mass rapid)
The average speeds of the KL system are similar to that of the Singapore system. The main difference would be the train length and width. The KL ones seem marginally smaller width-wise.

@allurban: The circle line is probably equivilent to 4 Mark II cars when you factor in width and length.

bootluy

July 12th, 2008, 04:15 AM

The average speeds of the KL system are similar to that of the Singapore system. The main difference would be the train length and width. The KL ones seem marginally smaller width-wise.

@allurban: The circle line is probably equivilent to 4 Mark II cars when you factor in width and length.

that is y i suggest that the gov should built MRT instead of LRT. to encourge the use of rail networks as public transportation, you need a wider and more carriage. LRT are more suitable for sub-urban area like USJ, kelana jaya and then link them to the mass rapid or metro system.

TWK90

July 12th, 2008, 05:20 AM

Comparison of different ART applications around the world (from Bombardier website)....

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/BombardierART.jpg

bobdikl

July 12th, 2008, 01:37 PM

I thought KL's Starline is MRT? Yeah..I think it's definely a MRT line by London underground standard. I know some light rails are consider to be modern trams in Europe, I like their flexibility to share space with motorway. I am not sure about Kelana Jaya Line, the Dockland light rail in London is definitely slower than Kelana Jaya Line. Kelana Jaya Line will be considered as Metro in Europe.

mrtfreak

July 12th, 2008, 04:38 PM

^^ Which was what I'm trying to say. Just because KL calls its rail system LRT doesn't mean that it is Light Rail. Granted, your rolling stock might be smaller than other "heavy rail" systems, but dimensions don't really factor in when compared to system length and speed and capacity.

FYI, the Circle MRT Line here will only have 3 carriages. And it still is called heavy rail, just that its medium capacity.

TWK90

July 13th, 2008, 01:15 PM

Today's photo

Latest refurbished KTM Komuter Class 83 EMU, the obvious differences compared to earlier refurbished Class 83 EMU is that it has the blue strips in the end, for me...it gives an impression of "speed"...

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/13072008046.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/13072008047-1.jpg

nazrey

July 13th, 2008, 03:57 PM

Interesting Interesting!! :cheers:

allurban

July 14th, 2008, 11:07 AM

the obvious differences compared to earlier refurbished Class 83 EMU is that it has the blue strips in the end, for me...it gives an impression of "speed"...

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/13072008047-1.jpgfor me, it gives the impression of "hey, let's use the stripes from the Kelana Jaya line trains, but colour them blue"

It really has that appearance from the side view.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Yosri042005PuteraLRT.JPG/300px-Yosri042005PuteraLRT.JPGhttp://img95.imageshack.us/img95/4465/rapidkllrtjm4.jpg

Cheers, m

forrestcat

July 14th, 2008, 01:24 PM

Public transport becoming the preferred choice of city folk
By : Evangeline Majawat, Joseph Sipalan and Regina Lee
Email to friend Email to Friend Print article Print Article

http://www.nst.com.my/Monday/Frontpage/2293078/insidepix1

KUALA LUMPUR: Facing up to the higher price of fuel is improving the quality of life of city folk and bringing smiles to public transport operators.
http://www.nst.com.my/Monday/Frontpage/2293078/insidepix2?display=xsmall
As more people leave their cars at home and take buses or trains to work, there is less pollution even as the working class saves on transport costs.

Train and bus transport operators said their passenger figures had risen since the fuel subsidy was reduced and prices of petrol and diesel shot up.

Even taxi drivers, who have been clamouring for a revision of rates, have reported a double bonus -- more passengers and less traffic.

Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd corporate communications manager Shahriza Embi said an average of 101,000 commuters used its services daily between June 5 and June 20.
"In comparison, an average of 94,000 commuters (used KTMB services) between May 8 and May 23," she said.

KTM Komuter services three routes, Sentul-Port Klang, Seremban-Rawang and Rawang-Kuala Kubu Baru.

Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL) also reported an increase in average ridership for its bus and light rail transit operations.

The average ridership for buses increased by 7.5 per cent from 365,111 to 392,654 passengers per day, while for the LRT, ridership increased by 3.9 per cent from 313,753 to 326,095 passengers per day.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and implement appropriate measures to cope with the increase," RapidKL communications division general manager Ebi Azly Abdullah said.

The company is expected to introduce additional trains with larger capacity for the Kelana Jaya LRT line by the end of next year.

Bus operator Metrobus has been enjoying a marked increase in demand for its services.

An officer with the company's operations department said total ticket sales has gone up between 30 and 40 per cent.

"At the moment, each of our buses sells an average of 250 tickets a day," he said.

Metrobus has a fleet of more than 300 buses.

Taxi operators are seeing an increase in passenger traffic, particularly in the city's outskirts.

Taxi Operators Association chairman Datuk Aslah Abdullah said his members were enjoying more business amid thinning traffic jams.

"It's not a very big increase, but at the same time there are no complaints from my members of having no passengers.

"There are also fewer jams nowadays."

Aslah said the association did not have figures on passenger volume, but noted there was a steady increase in demand from predominantly middle-class areas.

"There is better business in areas like Damansara, Kelana Jaya, Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya."

Perhaps, the only transport-related business people who cannot find positives from the fuel price hike are petrol station owners.

This is because there has been a drop in petrol sales throughout the country.

Esso Malaysia Dealers Association noted that petrol stations had recorded a 10 to 15 per cent drop in average volume since the fuel price hike early last month.

"In cash turnover, it is still the same as people pay the same amount they used to, only to get less fuel now," said association president Alang Zari Ishak.

"This means, they are using less fuel."

Despite the lower sales turnover, the association, with 275 members, is grateful that the government has stepped in to increase the profit margin for petrol station owners from 9.5 sen to 12.9 sen per litre.

NST

tomkat

July 15th, 2008, 06:54 AM

for me, it gives the impression of "hey, let's use the stripes from the Kelana Jaya line trains, but colour them blue"

It really has that appearance from the side view.

Cheers, m

Why not go one step further. Color them white, red and black. And physically integrate them at KL Sentral and BTS.

Then the whole system would not look segregated. Isn't that nice? :cheers:

allurban

July 15th, 2008, 12:54 PM

Comparison of different ART applications around the world (from Bombardier website)....

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/BombardierART.jpgNice find, TWK90
Why not go one step further. Color them white, red and black. And physically integrate them at KL Sentral and BTS.

Then the whole system would not look segregated. Isn't that nice? :cheers:Sweeeeeet :cheers:

Cheers, m

Wisarut

July 15th, 2008, 02:28 PM

While Rapid KL LRT (Putra and Star) are okay for me ... but KL Kommuter has quite upsetted me ... I though I have escape the woe of the third class in BKK ... but have to see another third class woe from KL Kommuter ... I have no wait for an hour and still cannto ride the train from KL Sentral to Midvalley Mall ... the commuter is too crowded so I cannot go board into the train ... need to wait for another train during the rush hour.

WHen I did manage to take a ride of commuter (KLO to KL Sentral), I found that it has shown the sing of aging without any doubt ...

TWK90

July 15th, 2008, 09:40 PM

Alignment and stations in Ipoh-Padang Besar EDT...

Source : http://www.mmc.com.my/pdf/Investor-Presentation/20080423_IR_Final.pdf

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/EDT5.jpg

allurban

July 16th, 2008, 08:03 AM

that is y i suggest that the gov should built MRT instead of LRT. to encourge the use of rail networks as public transportation, you need a wider and more carriage. LRT are more suitable for sub-urban area like USJ, kelana jaya and then link them to the mass rapid or metro system.that is why I am much more in support of expanding the Starline/Seri Petaling LRT from Seri Petaling to Petaling Jaya South, and from Sentul East to Kepong, with the completion of the loop for some time in the future.

The Starline/Seri Petaling LRT has room to grow with its elevated stations and ground level stations. I do not think that the Kelana Jaya line has room to grow beyond its capacity of 18-20000 passengers per direction per hour.

Oh and the line is currently capable of carrying about 9000 passengers per direction per hour...during peak hours...but demand along the line is actually closer to 11,000 during peak hours.

Cheers, m

bobdikl

July 16th, 2008, 01:02 PM

M'sian shouldn't dependent on bombardier that much, particularly with every alteration of the line, they have to deal with the technology they have no copyright to and paying up more software than hardware, just after 10 years. 40, 50 years from now, there would be very very very expensive to maintain the technology that is not in the mainstrem, just imagine how they could custom-made every spart part of the line. I think malaysia goverment has more option to 'shop' around alternative mass-produce trains with the starline.

TWK90

July 16th, 2008, 03:12 PM

^^

Star LRT (Ampang Line) = Adtranz
Putra LRT (Kelana Jaya line) = Bombardier
KLIA Aerotrain = Adtranz

In 2001, Bombardier bought Adtranz....so, in that same time, Adtranz product became Bombardier's....

Maybe you meant that we should not use the not common linear motor technology (apart from Bombardier, Kawasaki is the other one that use linear motor technology) employed on ART in the first place?

bobdikl

July 17th, 2008, 01:22 AM

ah, I didn't know that. But what i mean is.. can we buy trains from other countries or manufacturers for Starline apart from Bombardier? I know Komuter is quite flexible with their train set.

forrestcat

July 17th, 2008, 03:13 AM

ah, I didn't know that. But what i mean is.. can we buy trains from other countries or manufacturers for Starline apart from Bombardier? I know Komuter is quite flexible with their train set.

Singapore MRT use different trainsets from different manufacturers like Siemens and Kawasaki.I am sure we can use trainsets from other manufacturers on Ampang line.

mrtfreak

July 17th, 2008, 06:38 AM

allurban

July 17th, 2008, 11:48 AM

For sure. Just because it is a single system doesn't mean that it is exclusive to one company. Not even the LIM technology is exclusive as TWK90 has pointed out. There's a metro line in China which uses LIM technology and the trains were not manufactured by Bombardier. Perhaps, one day, Hartasuma will be able to manufacture their own trains for the Kelana Jaya line instead.

As for other train builds running on the Ampang line, Siemens manufactured the BTS Skytrain in Bangkok which also runs on the same system. Another batch of trains will be coming in from a Chinese company as well. Also, I'm pretty sure that Alstom will be able to manufacture trains with the configurations needed.Good points...but these would have to be very large purchases to give them the requisite profits...especially for a company building LIM trains.

It makes more sense overall for the government to go with a traditional rail system for future lines...however, I could see them going with the LIM system for the Damansara-Cheras line as I expect it will be going underground through KL.

Let's hope they build that line with space for 8 carriage trains and run 4-carriage trains from the start...if not...then it will be more of the same.

Cheers, m

mrtfreak

July 17th, 2008, 03:36 PM

allurban

July 18th, 2008, 10:56 AM

Well, if it were a turn-key project, I'm sure that perhaps it would be large enough order that they would be able to take up the contract since it would be quite a big contract.

However, going underground doesn't neccessarily mean that you need to use LIM technology. Many systems across the world use different technologies for underground metros and a wide variety is available. :)It scares me to think about this but I actually hope that they take the risk and build Damansara-Cheras to a nice size and scale instead of leaving it small. I hope that it is a big and successful project...because if they underestimate the demand, they will not be able to do much afterwards.

Anyways, my fingers are crossed and I hope that EPU and SPNB understand this before it is too late.

And you're right @mrtfreak, there is no special reason to connect underground trains with the LIM technology.

I was just thinking that it would not be easy to tunnel under KL because of the composition of the rock and the underground caverns. So the narrower trains and tighter turns of the ART Mark II (and presumably, other LIM systems) may bring about a cost advantage.

I really worry that these ideas are never going to be shared by the government and SPNB...so there would be no chance to give feedback and we just end up with more of the same.

Cheers, m

forrestcat

July 18th, 2008, 02:09 PM

Monorail propaganda blog by Scomi

http://www.scomi.com.my/rail/

TWK90

July 19th, 2008, 12:47 PM

While we are waiting for Kuala Lumpur- Ipoh rapid train service, let us compare the future KTM Rapid Intercity service with other limited express service in the world (all are narrow gauge and 6 car formation).....

Last year....

Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/4/3/central/17320792&sec=central

The Rapid Service is said to be able to accommodate 350 to 400 passengers per train and is fully air-conditioned. It will also come equipped with a buffet car where passengers would be able to dine on board.

Other limited express service in the world ( 6 car and narrow gauge)

Hakutaka Express, the fastest conventional rail service in Japan at 160 km/h

Source : http://www.hokuhoku.co.jp/3annai/01syaryo/hakuktaka/syaryo.pdf

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/HakutakaSharyo.jpg

Series 683 = 36 + 68 + 72 + 46 + 68 + 64

Series 681 = 36 + 68 + 68 + 46 + 68 + 64

JR Central Shinano (Series 383) service

Source : http://english.jr-central.co.jp/company/_pdf/jr_tokai_data_book_2007.pdf

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/383Shinano.jpg

QR tilt train

Source : http://www.downeredirail.com.au/Uploads/Documents/RP03_ElectricTilt%20Train%20for%20QR(Rckhtn)_20080221032206.pdf

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/QR.jpg

30 (first class) and 280 (economy class)

TWK90

July 21st, 2008, 09:13 AM

http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2008&dt=0721&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Utara&pg=wu_02.htm

The Kuala Kangsar railway station will be shifted to new site under Ipoh-Padang Besar electrified double tracking project...

TWK90

July 24th, 2008, 11:40 AM

Source : http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news.php?id=348200

No Plans To Extend Monorail And LRT To Other Towns

KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 (Bernama) -- The government has no plans at the moment to extend the services of the monorail or the Light Rail Transit (LRT) systems to other towns except Penang, the Dewan Negara sitting was told Thursday.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin said as for the proposal on the construction of the monorail system for Penang, the government was still making further study on the matter.

"But there are also other states which have requested for the monorail and LRT systems such as Sabah, Melaka and Johor. These are also being studied. If these studies meet the requirement, the project would then be privatised," he said when replying to Senator Mumtaz Md Nawi.

-- BERNAMA

rizalhakim

July 25th, 2008, 07:35 AM

No monorail plans in other towns

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has no plans at the moment to extend the services of the monorail or the Light Rail Transit (LRT) systems to other towns except Penang, the Dewan Negara was told.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin said as for the proposal on the construction of the monorail system for Penang, the Government was still making further study on the matter.

“But there are also other states which have requested for the monorail and LRT systems such as Sabah, Malacca, and Johor. These are also being studied.

If these studies meet the requirement, the project would then be privatised,” he said when replying to Senator Mumtaz Md Nawi.

TWK90

July 25th, 2008, 02:21 PM

Source : http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_business.php?id=348508

MMC-Gamuda Signs Contract With Government For RM12.485 Bln Double Track Rail Project

KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 (Bernama) -- MMC-Gamuda Joint Venture Sdn Bhd today signed the Condition Of Contract with the Government for the RM12.485 billion electrified double tracking railway project from Ipoh to Padang Besar.

MMC-Gamuda is a 50:50 joint venture company between MMC Corporation Bhd and Gamuda Bhd, said Gamuda in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.

The company did not disclose further details.

In a separate statement, MMC Corporation said the contract was expected to contribute positively to the earnings of the MMC Group for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2008.

-- BERNAMA

TWK90

July 27th, 2008, 03:33 PM

Source : http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSKLR25638120080726

Chinese firm tipped to get Malaysia rail job-report

KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 (Reuters) - The China Railway Engineering Corp (CREC) is likely to get contract for a railway track project in Malaysia, estimated at 9 billion ringgit ($2.8 billion), a Malaysian newspaper reported on Saturday.

The Edge newspaper, quoting an unnamed source, said the state-controlled Chinese firm is likely to be the main contractor for the Gemas-Johar Baru double-tracking railway project.

"A source says the CREC will likely be the main contractor for the project with the sub-contracts being dished out to the local companies to build the double track that cover(s) an estimated 197 km," the newspaper said.

The double-tracking project, which includes other segments as well, was originally planned some 8 years back, but was shelved a month after Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over on Oct. 31, 2003, the paper said.

However, all the segments, except this stretch, have been revived in recent months, it said. (Reporting by Faisal Aziz; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

rizalhakim

July 30th, 2008, 07:13 AM

Rail frustration at delay
By PRIYA MENON and YIP YOKE TENG

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/7/30/central/m_pg01delay.jpg

THOUSANDS of LRT users reached their destinations late yesterday when services on the Kelana Jaya LRT Line were disrupted from 6am to 3.30pm.

Fortunately, the inconvenience was reduced when Rapid KL deployed 22 buses to provide an alternative mode of transport to the commuters at the affected stations. The buses mainly went to KLCC.

According to LRT operator RapidKL, the line encountered track system problems between the Gombak and Setiawangsa stations. The technical glitches caused the fail-safe safety feature to be activated, which then disabled the automated driving feature.

During the disruption period, the trains were manually driven between the Gombak and Setiawangsa stations by RapidKL employees.

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/7/30/central/m_pg04lrt.jpg
Waiting in line: The passengers at Kl Sentral rushing into the LRT after waiting longer than usual at the station.

The trains were also driven at a slower speed to ensure public safety. As a result, the speed of LRT trains throughout the Kelana Jaya Line was reduced.

Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL) communications general manager Ebi Azly Abdullah said in a fully-automated system, the tolerance level of the fail-safe feature was tight and any disruption would cause the system to stop.

“The trains at the affected stretches would be driven manually with adherence to a stringent set of operating procedures.” he said.

At the same time, RapidKL took several measures to reduce the level of inconvenience faced by the commuters, including the deployment of 22 buses with extended routes at the affected stations.

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/7/30/central/m_pg04lrt3.jpg
All aboard: People rushing in and out of the LRT in hopes of getting to their destination in time.

However, commuters still expressed their frustrations.

“I didn’t know about the delay in the service or I would have used another form of transport to get to college,” said Belinda Lim, 19.

Lim, who is a student at Tunku Abdul Rahman College was late for class as a result of waiting for the next train that would take her to the Wangsa Maju station.

“I’m so nervous now because I’m late, I wish they told us at the counter about the delay,” she said.

French tourist Lesauvage Oliver was also unhappy that the personnel at the counter failed to inform them of the delay.

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/7/30/central/m_pg04lrt2.jpg
Checking up: RapidKl staff on board the trains to ensure the safety of the passengers.

“We only heard of the delay after we bought the tickets. If we had known earlier, we would have opted for another mode of transportation to Batu Caves,” Oliver said.

Oliver also mentioned that the information provided over the intercom was insufficient and passengers were clueless about the interruptions.

Another passenger, who declined to be named, said she had opted for a taxi after she heard the announcement at 6.45am.

“I was at the Wangsa Maju LRT station and I quickly ran down for a cab but the taxi drivers refused to take me because of the traffic jam,” she said.

There were frequent public announcements over the PA system at the stations and in the trains to update commuters on the delays.

The Ampang Line of the LRT network was not affected by the disruption and service was operating as normal.

rizalhakim

July 30th, 2008, 09:00 AM

Nine-hour disruption on LRT line

http://www.nst.com.my/Wednesday/National/2307262/insidepix1
Scores of commuters waiting to board packed coaches at Masjid Jamek station after a glitch on the RapidKL Kelana Jaya line caused a delay yesterday.

KUALA LUMPUR: A technical glitch disrupted services at the RapidKL Kelana Jaya light rail transit (LRT) line yesterday, affecting thousands of commuters.

The nine-hour disruption started at 6am due to track system problems between the Gombak and Setiawangsa stations.

RapidKL general manager of communications Ebi Azly Abdullah said in a statement that a glitch in the system caused the fail-safe feature to be activated, which disabled the automatic driving feature of the trains along the affected stretches.

"The trains were manually driven between Gombak and Setiawangsa stations by trained RapidKL personnel.

"In order to ensure the safety and security of LRT operations, the trains were manually driven at slower speeds than the normal automated driving mode.

"As a result, the speed of the LRT trains throughout the Kelana Jaya line was reduced.

"As the safety of passengers is of utmost importance, RapidKL maintains very stringent standards in ensuring that the automated driving system is deactivated immediately once there is any indication of inconsistency to the safety standards," he said.

He said RapidKL's priority was to reduce the level of inconvenience to commuters and to ensure that they were able to reach their destinations as soon as possible.

Frequent announcements were made at the stations to keep commuters updated.

Twenty-two buses with extended routes were deployed on the road at the affected stations to provide alternative transport.

nazrey

July 31st, 2008, 03:03 AM

Government all out to improve public transport system
Thursday July 31, 2008
TheStar

PUTRAJAYA: As the rising fuel price forces more people to use buses and trains, steps are being taken to improve the public transport system.

Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat said among the measures would be to amend many outdated laws and ordinances, upgrade the quality of services and improve transport operators’ profits.

Ong, however, did not name the laws that were going to be amended except to say that those affected, such as the Road Transport Ordinance, were now under study.

“We need to take stock of some administrative measures and listen to the people’s aspirations (and) translate that to action by amending some of the current administrative rules,” he told reporters after presenting excellence awards to ministry staff here yesterday.

Ong said part of the improvement plan was the drafting of the new National Transportation Policy that was waiting to be tabled in Parliament.

While the draft was ready, it needed some fine-tuning, he added.

rizalhakim

July 31st, 2008, 09:30 AM

Suria Capital wins RM8.5m KTM job

Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

PETALING JAYA: Suria Capital Holdings Bhd has won an RM8.5 million job from Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTM) to build additional signalised railway crossings.

Suria Capital said yesterday the project would be built on the rehabilitation of the Sabah railway project from Tanjung Aru to Tenom. It is scheduled for completion on Feb 12 next year.

Suria Capital expects this project to contribute positively to its earnings for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2009.

rizalhakim

August 1st, 2008, 04:24 AM

Glitches bring trains to a halt again
By YIP YOKE TENG

THE Kelana Jaya LRT Line encountered yet another disruption yesterday morning, causing hundreds of passengers to be stranded in the train for about 30 minutes.

Signalling and communication glitches occurring between Bangsar and Terminal Gombak stations activated the fail-safe system and brought the trains to a halt from 9.11am to 9.40am as a safety precautionary measure.

In a press statement, Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL) said initial investigations indicated that the malfunction was due to power failure at this stretch of the system.

Investigations were still on-going, the statement said.

Ebi: ‘RapidKL apologises to all commuters for the inconvenience caused’
The disruption occurred two days after a nine-hour disruption, from 6am to 3.30pm, that delayed thousands of passengers.

Some of the affected commuters said they were “used to it” when interviewed at the Asia Jaya station.

“It’s always like that, a major disruption will be followed by several minor disruptions over the next few days, I have got used to it,” said auditor Eve Tan, 23.

Tan, who takes the LRT to travel to work from her house in Wangsa Maju, said she was held up in the train for about 30 minutes at the Abdullah Hukum station.

Her colleague, Nick Ng, 23, said he was stuck at the Masjid Jamek station and that it was nothing new to him, as he had had similar experiences in the past.

Another commuter, who wanted to be known only as Rosy, 50, said she was trapped in the train that had stopped in between the Damai and Setiawangsa stations.

“I was worried as we were in the middle of nowhere for almost an hour, but it was not chaotic as there were not too many people in the coach,” she said.

RapidKL communications general manager Ebi Azly Abdullah explained that the Kelana Jaya LRT service ran on a fully automated system and that the stringent fail-safe system would be activated once any element of the system was synchronised.

He said as a result, all trains would be stopped to ensure passengers’ safety.

“RapidKL apologises to all commuters for the inconvenience caused, especially since there was a disruption in the service on Tuesday.

“The main priority of the recovery procedures by RapidKL is to ensure the safety of the passengers. They are kept updated on delays and buses are deployed to provide commuters an alternative mode of transport,” he said.

RapidKL also assured commuters that they would continue to work towards improving and providing an efficient public transport service.

TWK90

August 1st, 2008, 05:37 AM

Source : http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news.php?id=349847

July 31, 2008 22:54 PM

Seremban-Gemas Electrified Double Tracking Project To Start In October

MELAKA, July 31 (Bernama) -- Construction work on the RM3.45 billion Seremban-Gemas electrified double-tracking project is expected to begin in October.

Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said apart from Negeri Sembilan, the project which was expected to be ready by 2010, also involved routes in Melaka and Johor.

"The total length of the double-track is 94.14km, which comprises a 64.85km stretch in Negeri Sembilan, 27.84km in Melaka and 1.45km in Johor," he told reporters after the launch of the Melaka-level Warriors' Day remembrance campaign by Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob, in Seri Negeri, Ayer Keroh here Thursday.

Mohd Ali said he and the state executive councillors had been briefed on the project by representatives from the Transport Ministry, yesterday.

He said he was made to understand that the project would be developed by IRCON International Ltd from India.

The chief minister said under the project, Melaka would have two new train stations, namely in Pulau Sebang and Batang Melaka, which would be fully equipped with parking lots for buses and cars.

"Other components to be built in Melaka areas include a 1.8km tunnel and nine bridges," he said.

He reiterated the project would also affect 297 lots involving 168 hectares of land and 51 houses belonging to the people in the state.

"Officers from the Alor Gajah District Land and Mines Office will meet with all affected house owners for land acquisition and compensation assessment," he said.

Mohd Ali said the project, when completed, would boost the state's economy especially in terms of tourism and town development along the Melaka-Negeri Sembilan border.

"With the electrified double-tracking project in place, the train service will be faster and more frequent," he said.

He hoped that the federal government would consider to expand the double-tracking project from Pulau Sebang to Melaka Town in future.

-- BERNAMA

rizalhakim

August 1st, 2008, 07:16 AM

LRT laluan Kelana Jaya terhenti lagi

KUALA LUMPUR Beribu-ribu pengguna tren transit aliran ringan (LRT) laluan Kelana Jaya terkandas kira-kira setengah jam mulai pukul 9.11 pagi semalam apabila perkhidmatan pengangkutan awam itu dihentikan sementara berikutan masalah pada sistem komunikasi dan isyarat.Masalah itu berlaku di antara stesen Bangsar dan Terminal Gombak menyebabkan keseluruhan perkhidmatan dihentikan sementara sebagai langkah keselamatan.

Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn. Bhd. (RapidKL) dalam kenyataannya memberitahu, perkhidmatan LRT laluan Kelana Jaya itu pulih kembali dan beroperasi seperti biasa pada pukul 9.40 pagi selepas kerosakan itu dibaiki.

"Kami kini menyiasat punca kejadian itu. Bagaimanapun, siasatan awal mendapati masalah itu berpunca daripada gangguan bekalan elektrik," kata kenyataan itu.

RapidKL memohon maaf kepada semua pengguna yang terjejas dan berharap pengguna memahami bahawa LRT laluan tersebut menggunakan sistem automatik sepenuhnya yang akan menghentikan perkhidmatan secara automatik apabila mengesan sebarang masalah.

"Keutamaan kami di RapidKL ialah keselamatan pengguna dan kami akan sentiasa memaklumkan kepada mereka jika berlaku gangguan, selain menyediakan pengangkutan alternatif," kata kenyataan itu.

Selasa lalu, perkhidmatan LRT Kelana Jaya di Stesen Gombak, Taman Melati, Wangsa Maju dan Setiawangsa terjejas lebih 10 jam dari pukul 6 pagi hingga 3.30 petang berikutan masalah teknikal.

TWK90

August 1st, 2008, 05:07 PM

Source : http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_6d89b730-cb73c03a-17050f50-7b54bfdd

28 July 2008: Corporate Story: Chinese firm tipped for rail job
By M Shanmugam and Kathy Fong
Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

China Railway Engineering Corp (CREC) is tipped to get the Gemas-Johor Baru double-tracking railway project estimated at RM9 billion, say sources. This, apparently, is to compensate the company which was taken off the double-tracking railway job five years ago.
A source says the CREC will likely be the main contractor for the project with the sub-contracts being dished out to the local companies to build the double track that cover an estimated 197km.
Based on simple calculation, the cost of construction is about RM45.7 million per km. This is higher than the contract that had been awarded to Indian Railway Construction Corp (Ircon).
The contract value for Ircon to construct the 100km double-tracking railway that connects Seremban and Gemas is RM3.5 billion. That works out to about RM35 million for every kilometre of the double track it builds.
Ircon's RM3.5 billion job includes construction of 94km of electrified double-tracks, seven new stations, various railway river and road bridges, a tunnel, overhead electrification system, and signalling and communication system.
The cost is also lower for the local builders — Gamuda Bhd and MMC Corp Bhd. The total cost for the joint venture to build the 327km double track from Ipoh to Padang Besar is RM12.49 billion. This translates to about RM38 million per km.
Gamuda, however, is said to have locked in the building materials that it needs for the double-tracking project, helping it to contain the spiralling building costs. On top of that, Gamuda already has some of the machinery required to build the rail tracks.
The source says land acquisition for the stretch between Gemas and Johor Baru could push up costs for CREC.
Also, the contract will include additional construction works for a new mega transportation hub in Johor Baru for KTM Bhd.
Tentatively, the plan will include building a yard and deport as well as maintenance facilities for KTM trains. This is part of the transportation masterplan that the Johor state government is mapping out. The masterplan will complement South Johor's Iskandar Development project.
It is believed that the double track will link to the newly completed Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex in Gerbang Perdana, Johor Baru.
The plan will also involve the redevelopment of Tanjong Pagar in Singapore. But, the fate of the site has been an ongoing issue in bilateral talks between Malaysia and Singapore. Thus, the redevelopement of Tanjong Pagar is a matter for the future.
Some industry players have doubts that the construction for the portion of the double tracking project will kick off fast, given the soaring building material costs.
However, others opine that high fuel prices have raised the urgency for cheaper land transport for both cargo and people.
The double-tracking project was initially priced at RM43 billion some eight years back. Originally, Ircon was supposed to build the stretch of the tracks from Ipoh to Padang Besar, that has now been given to Gamuda-MMC. CREC was to handle the southern portion from Seremban to Johor Baru.
The double-tracking project was then part of the country's counter-trade agreements with India and China. It was in exchange for the supply of crude palm oil (CPO) to the two countries.
This was a move to promote the edible oil when the CPO price was sagging below RM1,000 per tonne. Given the current high CPO price, industry player say the terms in the counter trade agreement will have to be varied.
The project was shelved one month after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi took over on Oct 31, 2003. However, all the segments, except for the Gemas-Johor Baru stretch have been revived in recent months.

achkeen10

August 2nd, 2008, 08:14 AM

Kerajaan negeri kemuka cadangan pembinaan kepada KTMB

MELAKA: Kerajaan negeri bersetuju supaya landasan kereta api berkembar dibina menghubungkan Pulau Sebang, dekat Tampin, Negeri Sembilan dengan Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah bagi meningkatkan sistem pengangkutan di negeri itu selaras kedudukan Melaka sebagai destinasi pelancongan utama negara.

Ketua Menteri, Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam berkata, cadangan itu sudah dikemukakan kepada Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) dan setakat ini pihak berkenaan sudah pun memberi maklum balas positif untuk kajian lanjut mengenainya.

Katanya, pembinaan landasan kereta api itu bakal melengkapkan sistem pengangkutan di negeri ini selepas projek aerol yang menghubungkan Ayer Keroh dengan pusat bandar raya dan penyiapan projek pembesaran Lapangan Terbang Batu Berendam.

"Kita berharap projek landasan kereta api berkembar dapat dilaksanakan dalam Rancangan Malaysia Ke-10," katanya selepas Majlis Pelancaran Kempen Peringatan Hari Pahlawan peringkat negeri oleh Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob di Dataran Seri Negeri, Ayer Keroh, dekat sini semalam.

Hadir sama Speaker Dewan Undangan Negeri, Datuk Othman Mohamad; Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri, Datuk Omar Kaseh; Panglima Markas 3 Divisyen, Mejar Jeneral Datuk Ahmad Hasbullah Mohd Nawawi dan Ketua Polis Negeri, SAC I Mazlan Mansor.

Mohd Ali berkata, kerajaan negeri sedia menyediakan bantuan kepada KTMB bagi melaksanakan cadangan projek berkenaan termasuk tanah rizab selaras wawasan Melaka menjadi negeri maju pada 2010, sekali gus tumpuan utama pelancong.

Katanya, landasan kereta api lama yang dibina di Kampung Gangsa, Durian sejak beberapa tahun lalu boleh digunakan dan ini mungkin boleh mempercepatkan proses pembinaan landasan berkembar yang dicadangkan itu.

"Pembinaan landasan kereta api berkembar ini sangat penting bagi Melaka dalam usaha menarik lebih ramai pelancong terutama selepas Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah disenaraikan sebagai Tapak Warisan Dunia pada 7 Julai lalu," katanya.

Dalam pada itu, Mohd Ali berkata, mesyuarat mingguan Exco negeri dimaklumkan Kementerian Pengangkutan bersetuju projek landasan berkembar antara Seremban dengan Johor turut melalui negeri ini menerusi Pulau Sebang hingga Batang Melaka membabitkan jarak 27.84 kilometer.

Katanya, projek landasan berkembar itu diluluskan kerajaan Pusat dan dibangunkan oleh KTMB, membabitkan jarak sejauh 94.14 kilometer dengan kos dianggarkan RM3.45 bilion.

rizalhakim

August 5th, 2008, 07:44 AM

Kereta api JB-Singapura dikaji

Oleh ZAKARIA ABDUL WAHAB
- Bernama

SINGAPURA 4 Ogos - Malaysia dan Singapura hari ini bersetuju menjalankan kajian dengan lebih terperinci mengenai aspek komersial dan undang-undang rancangan mengadakan perkhidmatan kereta api yang akan melancarkan perjalanan antara Johor Baharu dan bandar raya negara itu.

Persetujuan itu diperoleh oleh kedua-dua pihak pada mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Bersama Peringkat Menteri Malaysia- Singapura (JMC) untuk Iskandar Malaysia (IM) di sini.

Mesyuarat sehari itu dipengerusikan bersama Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Malaysia, Tan Sri Amirsham A. Aziz dan Menteri Pembangunan Nasional Singapura, Mah Bow Tan.

Turut hadir pada mesyuarat itu ialah Menteri Besar Johor, Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman dan Menteri Pengangkutan Singapura, Raymond Lim yang juga anggota JMC.

Malaysia dan Singapura kini mempunyai tiga pilihan dalam rancangan itu, yang pertama ialah perkhidmatan kereta api pergi dan balik, kedua, perkhidmatan kereta api berakhir di Singapura dan ketiga, perkhidmatan kereta api berhenti di Johor Baharu.

Seorang pegawai Unit Perancangan Ekonomi Malaysia memberitahu Bernama bahawa kajian teknikal itu dijalankan oleh Kumpulan Kerja Bersama mengenai Pengangkutan di bawah JMC yang akan mengadakan kajian kemungkinan dan berdaya komersial terhadap pilihan hubungan kereta api tersebut.

Apabila siap, kajian itu akan dibentangkan pada Mesyuarat JMC ke-4 dalam suku pertama tahun depan, menurut pegawai itu.

JMC juga menyatakan bahawa usaha dan inisiatif yang dibuat untuk memudahkan pengurusan operasi trafik rentas sempadan, pengecualian sesetengah keperluan peraturan pengangkutan dan meningkatkan pengiktirafan peraturan kenderaan motor nasional.

Jawatankuasa itu akan mengkaji kemajuan yang dibuat setakat ini oleh tiga Kumpulan Kerja Bersama Mengenai Imigresen, Pelancongan dan Alam Sekitar.

Mengenai imigresen, pegawai EPU itu berkata, Malaysia melaporkan bahawa ia memerlukan antara enam dan lapan bulan untuk mengkaji aspek keselamatan dan undang-undang kad pintar sebelum ia boleh diperkenalkan untuk perjalanan antara kedua-dua bandar raya tersebut.

Projek kad pintar ialah inisiatif Malaysia di bawah JMC dan pegawai itu berkata, Malaysia berharap untuk melancarkan kad tersebut dalam tempoh suku pertama tahun depan.

Mengenai alam sekitar, pegawai itu berkata, Singapura bersetuju menawarkan kepakaran dan nasihat teknikal kepada Johor Baharu untuk membersihkan tiga sungainya yang paling kotor, Sungei Segget, Sungei Tebrau dan Sungei Skudai.

Pegawai itu berkata, Sungei Segget yang pertama dibersihkan pada tahun ini kerana bukan hanya pelan tindakan sudah siap tetapi ia adalah sungai terpendek antara ketiga-tiga sungai tersebut.

nazrey

August 5th, 2008, 03:53 PM

nazrey

August 5th, 2008, 04:00 PM

I tot KL is the only city in the region to need heavy rail although tak sempadan with city population...but lots of people to use it...if not heavy rail...add new line and more train by ASAP!

TWK90

August 6th, 2008, 04:55 AM

Source : http://www.ircon.org/signalling-telecom.asp

Design, Supply, Erection, Testing and Commissioning of Signalling and Communication system for Electrified Double Track Project between Seremban to Gemas for KTMB, Malasia. Total Cost: USD 116 Million.

Signalling system comprises of :

i. Electronic Interlocking based Automatic Signalling system.
ii. Automatic Train Protection
iii. CTC for Train Management System including Train Describer System, Train Timetable System, Automatic Route Setting and Automatic Train Reporting
facility at two locations.

Communication system comprises of:

i. Fibre Optic based communication system.
ii. Automatic Telephone Switching equipment.
iii. Pax type Signal Post Telephone system.
iv. Passenger Information system.
v. Automatic Fare Collection system.
vi. CCTV and SCADA
vii. STAR & SPOT systems

OshHisham

August 6th, 2008, 06:12 AM

haha..
that is what you get if the minister (Samy Velu) robbed the rakyat's money by giving many contracts to cronies building new roads...

...and Najib needs the money to buy more scorpene and sukhoi so that he can get more commisions...

...and Abdullah Badawi for his Terengganu's Monsoon Cup and Taman Tamadun Islam to his buddy, Patrick Lim..

...habis harta negara...

rizalhakim

August 6th, 2008, 06:29 AM

Skru, rel kereta api dicuri
Oleh Khairul Anuar Abdul Samad
krull@bharian.com.my

Bahan pengikat jambatan, landasan KTMB dijual sebagai besi buruk

KOTA BHARU: KTM Berhad (KTMB) mengesan ada pihak sanggup mencabut skru pengikat jambatan kereta api untuk dijual sebagai besi buruk. Pengurus Wilayah Timur KTMB, Ibrahim Sulaiman, berkata kejadian itu dikesan di Kuala Krai bulan lalu apabila peronda KTMB mendapati beberapa skru serta 63 besi pelapik (sliper) di jambatan bagi laluan Kuala Krai-Manik Urai hilang. Katanya, tindakan itu berbahaya yang bukan saja boleh menyebabkan nahas seperti kereta api tergelincir, malah menjejaskan keselamatan penumpang. "Kegiatan berkenaan dipercayai dilakukan pencari besi buruk yang lebih mementingkan duit tanpa memikirkan nyawa penumpang kereta api. Tindakan pantas pasukan peronda KTMB berjaya mengesan kegiatan itu dan bahan berkenaan diganti semula dengan segera. "Orang ramai diminta tidak merosakkan prasarana awam serta menjauhi landasan kereta api, terutama penduduk yang tinggal secara haram di kawasan milik syarikat bagi mengelak kejadian tidak diingini," katanya di sini, semalam. Ibrahim berkata, sepanjang bulan lalu, KTM mengesan dua lagi kejadian mencuri prasarana syarikat itu membabitkan kawasan Tanah Merah, iaitu di Bukit Panau dan Dabong, Gua Musang. Katanya, dalam kejadian di Dabong pada 17 Julai lalu, pencuri mencabut sembilan rel penghadang landasan kereta api, manakala di Bukit Panau pada 30 Julai pula, 50 batang rel penghadang dicuri. "Kawasan Bukit Panau dikenal pasti sebagai kawasan panas dengan kejadian mencuri prasarana KTMB," katanya. Beliau berkata, walaupun kejadian kecurian kerap berlaku, KTMB sentiasa membuat pemeriksaan terhadap semua prasarananya bagi memastikan selamat untuk operasi tren, selain tahap keselamatan penumpang sentiasa terjamin. Katanya, kegiatan mencuri waktu malam lebih menyukarkan pihaknya mengesan landasan yang mengalami kerosakan.

allurban

August 6th, 2008, 09:53 AM

KL lags regional rivals in rail infrastructure
04-08-2008: by Lee Wei Lian
THEEDGEDAILY

KUALA LUMPUR: The nation’s capital city and main commercial hub lags its regional rivals in rail-based infrastructure investment and this could have a significant impact on the city’s competitiveness as workforce mobility is one of the key factors in a city’s attractiveness as a place to live and do business.

KL’s newest LRT line, the Kelana Jaya line (formerly known as the Putra line), was completed almost 10 years ago in 1999. In intervening years, Bangkok and Singapore have continued to make massive investments in public transport infrastructure.

Singapore announced earlier this year that it has set aside another S$20 billion (RM46 billion) for new lines for its mass rapid transport (MRT) system. This fresh allocation comes on top of the S$20 billion that the city has already invested on new extensions to the MRT system in the last five years. These new investments will altogether double the length of its MRT network from 138km to 278km.

Bangkok is spending 446 billion baht (RM43 billion) to add 248km of rail to its metro system, which started in 2004 with completion expected in 2010.

KL’s LRT network in contrast, is only 56km long. Years of under-investment in rail and too much emphasis on construction of new roads have left KL city dwellers chronically dependent on cars, with most of them having no viable alternative to turn to during the recent hike in fuel prices.

It is not clear what the government’s plan is to remedy this situation. While there has been talk about expanding the current LRT system, there has been no concrete proposal yet. [B]

There was no response from the ministry of finance, which owns KL’s LRT system via Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, despite emails and repeated phone calls.

[B]When contacted, Tim Hunter, head of rails at Siemens, said KL risked being left behind cities such as Singapore and Bangkok which have sprinted ahead in their rail infrastructure initiatives.

He pointed out that even if major investments were made today, it would take another four years at least before the commissioning. Hunter said rail-based public transport infrastructure was an asset that would serve the city for many years and have a positive effect on a city’s development.

“To avoid gridlock on city roads and keep the economy moving, you have to give people a sensible public transport alternative,” he stressed.

Some quick solutions include creating short rail links between the existing LRT lines for better integration and adding strategic short spur lines. The LRT system has come under heavy criticism over the years for poor integration.

“Be creative in how you increase the attractiveness of the LRT system,” said one manager with a rail infrastructure component manufacturer, who requested anonymity.

“The authorities should look into ease of transferring between the various lines by making it as barrier free as possible and better integration is one way to achieve this.”

He also said Malaysian authorities should not be too reliant on vendors, but should create more in-house expertise. Another possibility is to outsource the planning and operation of the LRT system to successful metro operators, such as those in Hong Kong or Singapore.

The capacity and alignment of KL’s LRT system is another issue. The system is classified as light rail, which has a capacity of 10,000-20,000 people per hour per direction (pphd) while heavy rail is capable of moving between 30,000-50,000 pphd.

Most tier-1 cities in Asia have embarked on heavy rail metro systems. Both Singapore and Bangkok as well as Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong possess heavy rail metro systems which are largely underground when in the urban area.

“Heavy rail metro is often regarded as a mark of a world class city,” said one industry player.

Except for a short 4km stretch, most of KL’s LRT tracks are above ground, occupying valuable urban real estate and contributing to visual pollution.reply to this article:

transportkini@gmail.com

Dear Editor

RE: KL lags regional rivals in rail infrastructure

I would like to comment on the interesting article by Lee Wei Lian discussing the gap in investment in (urban) rail infrastructure in Malaysia. Mr. Lee is quite correct to point out that no real investments have been made in rail infrastructure since the construction of the PUTRA (now Kelana Jaya) line. In fact, the 10th anniversary for the KTM Komuter and Star (now Ampang) lines have passed by already with very little mention, and it appears that the 10th anniversary of the PUTRA line will pass by without mention as well.

It is unfortunate, but perhaps appropriate that they pass without mention, as there is really very little to celebrate when it comes to public transportation, especially the rail transit network.

Although Mr. Lee has pointed out that we are behind in expanding our rail network, the decline we are painfully experiencing today has been caused by a lack of investment in operations and maintenance of the existing infrastructure. So, in truth, we are actually much further behind than Mr. Lee has observed.

And for this reason, it must be understood that expanding the urban rail network cannot be accomplished properly or successfully if we cannot even maintain a "State-of-Good-Repair" of the network and infrastructure that we already have.

For this reason, I think that mentioning the need for "heavy rail" lines as a mark of a "world-class city" is a bit premature. We must first understand the realities of public transportation in Malaysia-and believe me when I say that there is a long way to go.

We must consider what the urban rail network is actually for. If we continue to maintain the idea that expanding the urban rail network will reduce traffic jams, then we are already lost. More urban rail lines will do little to reduce traffic jams - but they will prevent traffic jams from turning the Klang Valley into a permanent mass of gridlock.

The fact is that in the future, the Klang Valley will have to rely on urban rail to move people.After the Duta Ulu-Klang Expressway is completed, there is no more room for any more urban highways, unless we start building costly elevated highways (such as the proposed elevated Federal Highway).

Regarding the passenger capacity of our rail network, Mr. Lee is correct that our "LRT" lines are designed for "light" passenger capacity, with passenger movements of 10,000-20,000 peak hour passengers per direction (compared to 20,000-50,000 for 'heavy' rail). However, the engineering of our "light" lines is actually quite "heavy," with massive elevated and underground stations and the infrastructure of 'heavy' rail. Some of the KTM Komuter station platforms are already built to handle 9-carriage trainsets, which is quite "heavy" and it would be hard to dismiss the structure of Bangsar LRT station as "light."

So we do have "heavy" rail in the Klang Valley - in terms of engineering and costs - but we are only seeing the benefits of "light" rail - in terms of passenger capacity.

As the saying goes, "this is no way to run a railroad."

First we must understand what is wrong with the existing services. Then we must maintain a state of good repair on these existing lines. Only after this is done can we start planning and investing in a complete and effective rapid transit network in a way that will keep costs low and benefits high.

The rapid transit network in our future should include urban rail, including high capacity "heavy" lines. The KTM Komuter lines should be expanded to make them very "heavy" with passenger capacity in the (30,000-60,000 pphpd range) and the Kota Damansara - Cheras line should be a high capacity "heavy" line as well. The Star LRT extension and new stations should be designed for 10-carriage trains and the existing stations should be retrofitted to handle larger trains.

The rapid transit network should also include bus and tram services as well. We cannot build new rail infrastructure fast enough to make a difference. Rapid bus and rapid tram lines running along major roads will be a quick and effective way to introduce rapid transit to the Klang Valley. The costs will be lower and the benefits much higher.

Sincerely

Moaz Yusuf Ahmad

transportkini@gmail.com
Cheers, m

TWK90

August 6th, 2008, 10:11 AM

^^

Do you know what is the progress of Kota Damansara-Cheras rail line planning? It is already almost 2 years since the announcement...

I am also wondering consistency of planning between different authorities, for example, Selangor state government plan before, was different from the one proposed by Rapid KL....

allurban

August 7th, 2008, 05:11 AM

TWK90

August 7th, 2008, 10:29 PM

Source : http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_business.php?id=351407

August 07, 2008 21:28 PM

Scomi Expects To Complete New Centre By Year End

RAWANG, Aug 7 (Bernama) -- Scomi Engineering Bhd subsidiary, Scomi Rail Bhd expects to complete its new RM30 million technology and manufacturing centre (STMC) in Rawang by end of this year.

Scomi group chairman, Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin said the 150,000 sq ft is designed to manufacture both monorail and conventional steel wheel rail vehichles such as the electrical multiple unit (EMU), locomotive and rail wagon.

He said the facility which will comprise a 12-station monorail and 16-station EMU rail can assembly lines will provide Scomi the capability to produce a carbody every five to seven days in a single shift.

"This is in line with Scomi's goal to become an integrated monorail systems provider offering full range services include design, fabrication and integration of monorail rolling stocks and related electrical and mechanical (E&M) systems," he said.

"The EMU assembly line can be doubled up as a secondary monorail line for future expansion," he said after the ground breaking ceremony here today.

He said that the facility with its 1-km test track will also house research and development centre for all its logistics engineering activities.

Transport Minister, Datuk Ong Tee Keat officiated the ground breaking ceremony.

At the event, Ong also welcomed the move by Scomi to enhance its efficiency, saying it was in line with the government's efforts to improve public transportation in the country.

"Public transportation has overnight become a solution to many road users following the rise in the price of petrol," he said.

"For monorail alone, we have seen the average passenger rate going up to 61,937 a day after the rise in petrol price from 61,302 before the price rise.

"As for RapidKL bus, there has been a 7.5 percent rise in the number of daily passengers from 365,111 previously to 392,654 now," Ong said.

He said the new centre will also help create more job opportunities in the Rawang area and bring more vendors from the small and medium industries of the sector to the area.

On another note, Ong said his ministry was also looking at the prospect of of refurbishing old EMUs.

"We are assessing the condition of the old units and the parties that would be appointed to refurbish the old rail units," he said.

The government is looking at the cost and is expected to finalise the evaluation by end of this year, he added.

-- BERNAMA

Em...local EMU? Sounds interesting....the only thing is the market size here, not big...

nazrey

August 8th, 2008, 03:35 AM

http://fotoweb.bernama.com/fotoweb/bin/preview.dll/KL32_070808_TEE%20KEAT.jpg?D=66B41D891AEB61D756C12B3583179569CDBF53C015F1DE892567726C82C629DD1F44847FD89EE574856B60965E07FCEBD88720C366318AB28379F8DFC46977663382EEF11C200DC23850D67D7C2D8AC99518C53A702B6D71856FF6D1DE645B29BDABF2D30DF831B742C037F0FFAF65CC37381A4E0521A67917DC156E88273D053DCDE0F61AD1767C847585E9F9716052300F99A10EB3F72F82155B33FD01CBCF5B3B51CAA48693DBE780482379583EAFC6EA8554E895CEB2

RAWANG, 7 Ogos -- Menteri Pengangkutan Datuk Ong Tee Keat melihat replika monorel selepas merasmikan majlis pecah tanah Pusat Teknologi dan Pengeluaran Scomi di sini, hari ini.
Turut hadir Pengerusi Scomi Group Bhd Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin (kanan).
Pusat itu akan mengeluarkan bas, kenderaan khas, monorel dan perkhidmatan serta produk berkaitan rel.

--fotoBERNAMA HAKCIPTA TERPELIHARA
Byline: HARRY SALZMAN

http://fotoweb.bernama.com/fotoweb/bin/preview.dll/KL34_070808_TEE%20KEAT.jpg?D=66B41D891AEB61D756C12B3583179569CDBF53C015F1DE892567726C82C629DD1F44847FD89EE574856B60965E07FCEBD88720C366318AB28379F8DFC46977663382EEF11C200DC23850D67D7C2D8AC99518C53A702B6D71856FF6D1DE645B29BDABF2D30DF831B742C037F0FFAF65CC3701EB4C482A73BB17DC156E88273D053DCDE0F61AD1767C847585E9F9716052300F99A10EB3F72F82155B33FD01CBCF5B3B51CAA48693DBE780482379583EAFC6EA8554E895CEB2

RAWANG, 7 Ogos -- Menteri Pengangkutan Datuk Ong Tee Keat melihat replika monorel selepas merasmikan majlis pecah tanah Pusat Teknologi dan Pengeluaran Scomi di sini, hari ini.
Turut hadir Pengerusi Scomi Group Bhd Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin (kanan).
Pusat itu akan mengeluarkan bas, kenderaan khas, monorel dan perkhidmatan serta produk berkaitan rel.

--fotoBERNAMA HAKCIPTA TERPELIHARA
Byline: HARRY SALZMAN

http://fotoweb.bernama.com/fotoweb/bin/preview.dll/KL33_070808_TEE%20KEAT.jpg?D=66B41D891AEB61D756C12B3583179569CDBF53C015F1DE892567726C82C629DD1F44847FD89EE574856B60965E07FCEBD88720C366318AB28379F8DFC46977663382EEF11C200DC23850D67D7C2D8AC99518C53A702B6D71856FF6D1DE645B29BDABF2D30DF831B742C037F0FFAF65CCC021A7D63155136717DC156E88273D053DCDE0F61AD1767C847585E9F9716052300F99A10EB3F72F82155B33FD01CBCF5B3B51CAA48693DBE780482379583EAFC6EA8554E895CEB2

RAWANG, 7 Ogos -- Menteri Pengangkutan Datuk Ong Tee Keat melawat kilang membuat bas dan kenderaan khas selepas merasmikan majlis pecah tanah Pusat Teknologi dan Pengeluaran Scomi di sini, hari ini.
Mengiringi beliau ialah Pengerusi Scomi Group Bhd Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin (kanan).
Pusat itu akan mengeluarkan bas, kenderaan khas, monorel dan perkhidmatan serta produk berkaitan rel.

--fotoBERNAMA HAKCIPTA TERPELIHARA
Byline: HARRY SALZMAN

rizalhakim

August 8th, 2008, 07:30 AM

Scomi Rail bina Pusat Teknologi
Oleh Ahmad Fiesal Othman
fsal@bharian.com.my
Syarikat kukuh kepakaran kejuruteraan logistik

SCOMI Rail Bhd, anak syarikat milik penuh Scomi Engineering Bhd, memperuntukkan RM30 juta bagi pembinaan Pusat Teknologi dan Pengeluaran yang akan memberi tumpuan khusus kepada aktiviti pembuatan dan pengeluaran monorel serta kenderaan berasaskan rel.

Pengerusi Scomi Group Bhd, Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin, berkata pusat itu yang juga tambahan kepada kemudahan kilang Scomi Engineering sedia ada, mempunyai keluasan 150,000 kaki persegi.

Katanya, pembinaan pusat itu yang dijangka siap akhir tahun ini, bertujuan mengukuhkan kepakaran teknologi Scomi Engineering dalam bidang kejuruteraan logistik.

Beliau berkata, sebuah pusat penyelidikan dan pembangunan (R&D) bagi semua kerja pengeluaran Scomi Engineering dalam bidang kejuruteraan logistik juga akan ditempatkan di situ, yang akan dilengkapi peralatan terkini serta pakar khas di bidang berkenaan.

"Ini akan memastikan teknologi yang diperkenalkan Scomi Engineering sentiasa diperbaharui dan terkini, yang boleh memanfaatkan pelanggan selaras permintaan semasa," katanya pada majlis pecah tanah Pusat Teknologi dan Pengeluaran Scomi Engineering di Rawang, Selangor, semalam.

Perasmian disempurnakan Menteri Pengangkutan, Datuk Ong Tee Keat. Hadir sama Presiden Scomi Engineering, Hilmy Zaini.

Scomi Engineering adalah anak syarikat Scomi Group yang terbabit dalam aktiviti kejuruteraan logistik selama hampir 20 tahun. Ia mengeluar dan membuat bas, kenderaan khas, monorel dan perkhidmatan serta produk berkaitan rel.

allurban

August 8th, 2008, 08:37 AM

Source : http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_business.php?id=351407

Em...local EMU? Sounds interesting....the only thing is the market size here, not big...Malaysia is not a big market - but Indonesia, Thailand, India - are a bigger market that could be tapped in the future...not that I have much hope for the national monorail or the national emu.

Cheers, m

TWK90

August 8th, 2008, 08:38 AM

you know, I havent seen any photos of the minister of transport at a rail station yet...just at the production facilities and factories.

Am I wrong?

Cheers, m

Er, i thought he was walking at KLO when he mentioned about ORR....

Regarding to Indonesia, they got their own manufacturer, INKA....INKA also produce EMU...

allurban

August 8th, 2008, 08:39 AM

rizalhakim

August 8th, 2008, 08:40 AM

Scomi sets sights on LRT jobs
by Yong Yen Nie
Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

RAWANG: Scomi Group Bhd has proposed to the government to expand the rolling stock of the existing monorail to cater for the increasing passenger volume. The company also expressed interest in participating in the extension of the current light rail transit (LRT) tracks.

Speaking to reporters after the ground-breaking ceremony of Scomi’s monorail factory here yesterday, the president of Scomi Engineering Hilmy Zaini said the proposal was prompted by the full capacity of the existing monorail.

“We would like to propose the expansion of the KL Monorail. The capacity (of monorails) today is quite limited, especially during the rush hour, and it’s time we consider the expansion of the LRT and the monorail system, in addition to the number of buses on the road.”

Scomi is proposing that the existing two-car monorail system be replaced with its four-car system. The cost of replacement is not known.

The other major job that Scomi is eyeing is the extension of the existing LRT lines which is already in the pipeline under the Ninth Malaysia Plan. The government is said to have allocated about RM10 billion for the extension of the LRT lines from Kelana Jaya to Subang Jaya and from Sri Petaling via Puchong to Subang Jaya.

The tenders are not out yet but leading the pack will be international manufacturers such as Bombardier of Canada who provided the systems in the existing LRT lines. This is because the LRT systems have proprietary technology that is owned by Bombardier.

The civil works on the existing line was done by local construction companies.

Although a new player, Scomi has secured some rail related works. Last November, Scomi Engineering secured a RM121.8 million contract to upgrade the electrical and mechanical systems under the Kelana Jaya LRT expansion project.

However, Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat said the decision on which company would take up the job does not rest on the transport ministry alone.

“It’s not a decision made by the Transport Ministry alone because the costing comes under the purview of MoF (Ministry of Finance),” he said.

Nevertheless, he said the transport ministry would take the initiative to study the feasibility of the proposals brought before them, despite the final decision being a collective one by both ministries.

In a related development, Ong said that the Gemas-Johor Bahru double-tracking rail project was not on the ministry’s radar at the moment as it wanted to concentrate on the refurbishment of the existing and old rolling stocks first.

“The project has to be deferred currently as our hands are already full,” he said.

The Edge weekly had reported that China Railway Engineering Corp (CREC) had expressed interest to build the 197-km long Gemas-Johor Baru double-tracking railway project estimated at RM9 billion. The Chinese company was awarded a portion of the double tracking job several years ago before the government back tracked on its decision and awarded it to a MMC Corp Bhd and Gamuda joint-venture.

On another matter, Ong said the ministry was evaluating the cost of overhauling, repairing and refurbishing the old electrical multiple units (EMU) to meet the shortage of rolling stock for the Komuter services provided by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB).

“Currently, we are studying the details, cost implementation and completion schedule, and we expect the evaluation process to be completed by the third quarter this year,” he said.

Ong said it would take at least two years to obtain new rolling stock units, and hence, the ministry was looking at repairing some old and abandoned units instead.

“So long as these old units are still repairable, we should always attempt to do so first,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hilmy said given the opportunity, Scomi would also like to participate in KTMB’s old EMU refurbishment project.

“We are in the rail business, and we certainly have the capacity to refurbish old units. If given the opportunity, yes, we will participate and put in the proposal for the refurbishment work.”

Hilmy added that the company’s proposals to build monorails in Mumbai and Vietnamese cities were at the advanced stage.

“There are no firm deals yet, but we hope they would be firmed up as soon as possible,” he said, adding that these projects were valued in the regions of “hundreds of millions”.

As Scomi had recently participated in another bid for a monorail job in Bologna, Italy, in addition to various bids in other countries, the company’s hands were already full for the year, he added

mrtfreak

August 18th, 2008, 04:22 PM

A new photo from the Star. I kinda prefer the old livery with the red-line across if this is really close to the final paint job the trains will get.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2008/8/18/business/b_12train.jpg

TWK90

August 18th, 2008, 05:14 PM

Source : http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/8/18/central/1776673&sec=central

·New Four-Car Trains

It is learned that SPNB, the asset owner, and RapidKL will bring in a total of 22 sets of new four-car trains between 2009 and 2011;

“We expect to have the complete set of 22 trains by the end of 2011. By the end of 2009, the Kelana Jaya Line service will have a combination of four car and two-car trains in operation during peak hours,” RapidKL chief executive officer Suffian Baharuddin said.

With that, he said, the Kelana Jaya Line could hold a maximum capacity of more than 300,000 passengers per day compared with the current capacity of 160,000 per day.

It will be interesting how they reprogram the platform screen door to accomodate both four car and two car trains at the same time...

Regarding to the old livery, i also prefer the old one, because without the horizontal red line, it looks bulky...

mrtfreak

August 19th, 2008, 03:46 AM

If I'm not wrong, Bombardier is reprogramming the PSDs at the underground stations. And someone from Westinghouse did say that with automated systems, the PSDs are able to detect the train length and open the correct number of doors. Pretty cool eh?

What they could do would be to get rid of the black strip perhaps and that might make it look better - somewhat like the Vancouver MKIIs.

TWK90

August 21st, 2008, 08:39 AM

Source : http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=354167

August 21, 2008 12:55 PM

Abdullah Rides The Commuter And LRT To Gauge Service Quality

By Voon Miaw Ping

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 (Bernama) -- Setting aside protocol, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took rides on the commuter and LRT rail services from Serdang to the city centre Thursday to get a feel of the transportation problems faced by the public and came away less than satisfied.

Throughout the one-hour journey, during which he switched trains, the prime minister noted the congestion, especially during the peak period, and spoke to his fellow passengers to get their feedback.

Speaking to Bernama after disembarking at the Masjid Jamek LRT station, he said he was not satisfied with the rail services and wanted immediate improvements to be made.

He said the existing services were not systematic, there were not enough coaches and coverage was not comprehensive, leaving many areas not serviced.

"I just saw the plight of people using the trains to get to work every morning. They were jostling to get on board every time a train arrived. There appeared to be no system.

"I'm not happy with this because the people are not getting satisfaction from riding the trains. This we must fix," he said.

"I found the trains really packed with so many passengers. Some had waited for three trains and yet could not board.

"There's no queue. People push their way in, women with children and old people are pushed aside," he added.

Abdullah, who was not accompanied by any officials from the two rail services, arrived at the Serdang Komuter KTM station at 8.15am but could not get on board the first train that arrived because it was packed.

He got on the next train which arrived 15 minutes later and headed for KL Sentral, the modern transportation hub for the various rail services.

There he also had to wait a while to switch to the Putra LRT service to get to the Masjid Jamek station because again, the first train to arrive was full.

On both the trains that he took, the prime minister, dressed in a red batik shirt with golden print, had to stand although the passengers offered him their seats.

Upon arrival at the Masjid Jamek station at 9.15am, he chatted with members of the the public and bought several types of local cakes from the sellers there before leaving.

Abdullah said he would give attention to efforts to improve the quality of both rail services.

He said trains that were not punctual and people scrambling to get into the trains caused problems to other passengers.

Immediate steps would be taken including improving the train schedules, having a more systematic system and giving attention to senior citizens and women with children.

"There were many more suggestions given me by the passengers for my attention. I will strive for improvements, I will propose changes," he said.

-- BERNAMA

TWK90

August 21st, 2008, 08:58 AM

New KTM Komuter rail link for Subang Skypark?

Here's the map....

http://www.subangskypark.com/Download/Location_map.jpg

triple-j

August 21st, 2008, 10:18 AM

New KTM Komuter rail link for Subang Skypark?

Here's the map....

http://www.subangskypark.com/Download/Location_map.jpg

^^
http://www.subangskypark.com/Download/Location_map.jpg

TWK90

August 21st, 2008, 10:21 AM

Found this on the same site....

http://www.subangskypark.com/Download/Img01_SriSubangStationPlatform.jpg

http://www.subangskypark.com/Download/img10_SriSubangStationEntranceDay.jpg

http://www.subangskypark.com/Download/img11_SriSubangStationEntranceNight.jpg

forrestcat

August 21st, 2008, 10:51 AM

Is that this new line to the Subang Skypark just a proposal or are they gonna build it?

adiyon84

August 21st, 2008, 10:54 AM

TWK90

August 21st, 2008, 10:59 AM

Is that this new line to the Subang Skypark just a proposal or are they gonna build it?

I don't know, but their videos always stressed that it is connected by rail....hopefully it is not just a proposal, and it is also a good way to revive Sri Subang line...

TWK90

August 21st, 2008, 12:47 PM

Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/8/21/nation/20080821121505&sec=nation

Thursday August 21, 2008 MYT 3:33:23 PM
Two extra LRT lines being studied
By SIM LEOI LEOI

KUALA LUMPUR: Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (SPNB) is still carrying out a land and engineering study on the proposed two additional light rail transit networks in the Klang Valley.

Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat told Tony Pua (DAP - Petaling Jaya Utara) in Parliament on Thursday that the study would focus on the 32km rail line and 24 new LRT stations.

"The two lines - the STAR network which runs from Sri Petaling to Putra Heights and the Putra network from Kelana Jaya to Putra Heights - will be constructed as soon as the study is completed.

"The project will be carried out via private financing infrastructure scheme. We have not yet determined the cost," he said.

To another question from Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (BN - Batu Pahat) on limiting the number of private vehicles from entering the city, Ong said the matter of public transport in Kuala Lumpur came under the purview of the Federal Territories Ministry.

"It was brought up for discussion during the Cabinet Committee for public transport meeting," he said.

Members of Parliament from both sides of the divide voiced their unhappiness in the Government's decision not to reduce the prices of fuel at the petrol pumps before Sept 1. Salahuddin Ayob (PAS - Kubang Kerian) and Datuk Seri Abdul Ghapur Salleh (BN - Kalabakan) had complained that the prices at petrol pumps should be revised daily according to the ups and downs according to the global markets.

In reply, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Kong Cho Ha said it would have been good for the Government if it could revise the prices at the petrol pumps daily.

"However, because the Government still gives a 30 sen subsidy on the fuel price, it has to calculate this according to the average price each month," he said.

TWK90

August 21st, 2008, 01:00 PM

http://gallery.thestar.com.my/default.asp?id=1136

Photo gallery of the Prime Minister's ride on Komuter and LRT....

forrestcat

August 21st, 2008, 01:47 PM

http://gallery.thestar.com.my/default.asp?id=1136

Photo gallery of the Prime Minister's ride on Komuter and LRT....

hey look...a grandpa inside a train:lol:

TWK90

August 21st, 2008, 01:49 PM

^^

Too late, i think at the end, he will announce surprise for rail transport or keep it for Budget 2009 announcement or maybe none?

Em, the visit has became today's national news headline...

patchay

August 21st, 2008, 03:15 PM

Aiyoh... naik LRT pun heboh sangat like he doesnt really know its existence at all and its atmosphere inside. I suggest he take a bus from Pudu/Plaza Rakyat next time.

forrestcat

August 21st, 2008, 03:20 PM

Aiyoh... naik LRT pun heboh sangat like he doesnt really know its existence at all and its atmosphere inside. I suggest he take a bus from Pudu/Plaza Rakyat next time.

ya..ley him try walking from puduraya to the star lrt station ALONE :)

TWK90

August 21st, 2008, 03:38 PM

Aiyoh... naik LRT pun heboh sangat like he doesnt really know its existence at all and its atmosphere inside. I suggest he take a bus from Pudu/Plaza Rakyat next time.

Hahaha....

Available on Youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhcF4iXKwQ4

nazrey

August 21st, 2008, 04:19 PM

Abdullah Tak Puas Hati Sistem Komuter Dan LRT Selepas Tinjau Sendiri
Oleh Voon Miaw Ping

KUALA LUMPUR, 21 Ogos (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hari ini menaiki tren komuter dan LRT bagi mengetahui sendiri masalah orang ramai yang menggunakan pengangkutan awam di bandar raya dan mendapati perkhidmatan itu kurang memuaskan.

Dalam perjalanan dari Serdang ke Masjid Jamek menggunakan dua perkhidmatan rel berbeza itu, Perdana Menteri menyaksikan masalah kesesakan yang berlaku terutama pada waktu puncak serta berbual-bual dengan penumpang bagi mendapatkan maklumat balas mengenai perkhidmatan itu.

Bercakap kepada Bernama di stesen Masjid Jamek, Abdullah melahirkan rasa tidak puas hati dengan perkhidmatan sistem rel yang disediakan dan mahu tindakan segera diambil untuk memperbaikinya.

Katanya perkhidmatan itu tidak bersistematik, gerabak tidak mencukupi dan liputan laluan tidak meluas.

"Saya lihat tadi keadaan tren yang digunakan untuk penumpang setiap pagi untuk pergi kerja. Mereka sentiasa berebut-rebut bila tren tiba. Dari segi itu, ialah, nampaknya macam tak ada sistem.

"Yang ini yang saya rasa tak senang hati kerana rakyat tidak mendapat satu kepuasan daripada menggunakan tren. Ini kita kena perbaiki," katanya.

Perdana Menteri, yang tidak diiringi mana-mana pegawai daripada dua perkhidamtan rel itu, tiba di stesen Komuter KTM Serdang pada 8.15 pagi tetapi tidak dapat menaiki tren yang tiba pada waktu itu kerana terlalu sesak.

Beliau menaiki tren seterusnya yang tiba 15 minit kemudian untuk menuju ke KL Sentral, hab pengangkutan moden bagi pelbagai perkhidmatan rel.

Di situ, Abdullah juga terpaksa menunggu seketika untuk menukar kepada perkhidmatan LRT Putra untuk ke stesen Masjid Jamek kerana tren yang pertama tiba juga penuh.

Dalam kedua-dua tren yang dinaikinya itu, Perdana Menteri yang berbaju batik warna merah bercorak keemasan, terpaksa berdiri walaupun ada penumpang yang menawarkan tempat duduk kepada beliau.

Setiba di stesen Masjid Jamek pada 9.15 pagi, Abdullah berbual-bual dengan orang ramai. Sebelum beredar, beliau sempat membeli beberapa jenis kuih daripada penjual di situ.

Perdana Menteri berkata beliau akan memberi perhatian kepada usaha memastikan mutu perkhidmatan kedua-dua sistem rel itu diperbaiki.

Katanya jadual waktu yang tidak tepat dan sikap penumpang yang berebut-rebut memasuki tren juga menimbulkan masalah kepada penumpang lain.

"Saya dapati memang tren-tren ini cukup sesak dengan penumpang, ada yang tunggu sampai tiga tren tak dapat naik, dan ada yang memintas dan mengetepikan orang tua.

"Saya mahu mesti ada perubahan dalam hal ini," katanya.

Perdana Menteri berkata langkah segera yang akan diambil termasuk memantapkan sistem jadual perjalanan dan sistem beratur, serta perhatian diberi kepada warga tua dan wanita yang membawa anak.

"Banyak lagi pandangan penumpang yang diberi kepada saya untuk diambil perhatian. Saya akan usahakan untuk memperbaikinya, saya akan cadangkan perubahan-perubahan," katanya.

-- BERNAMA --

PM unhappy with City rail services
Thursday August 21, 2008 MYT 8:12:59 PM
TheStar

http://www.thestar.com.my/archives/2008/8/21/nation/n_pmtrain.jpg

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi taking a ride on the KTM Komuter from the
Serdang station to the City yesterday to gauge the effectiveness of the
train services in the City. The Prime Minister came away less than satisfied.
- Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took rides on the commuter and Kelana Jaya rail line from Serdang to the city centre Thursday to get a feel of the transportation problems faced by the people and came away less than satisfied.

Throughout the one-hour journey, during which he switched trains, the prime minister noted the congestion, especially during the peak hours, and spoke to his fellow passengers to get their feedback.

Speaking to Bernama after disembarking at the Masjid Jamek LRT station, he said he was not satisfied with the rail services and wanted immediate improvements to be made.

He said the existing services were not systematic, there were not enough coaches and coverage was not comprehensive, leaving many areas not serviced.

“I just saw the plight of people using the trains to get to work every morning. They were jostling to get on board every time a train arrived. There appeared to be no system.

“I’m not happy with this because the people are not getting satisfaction from riding the trains. This, we must fix,” he said.

“I found the trains really packed with so many passengers. Some had waited for three trains and yet could not board. “There’s no queue. People push their way in, women with children and old people are pushed aside,” he added.

Abdullah arrived at the Serdang Komuter KTM station at 8.15am but could not get on board the first train that arrived because it was packed.

He got on the next train, which arrived 15 minutes later, and headed for KL Sentral, the modern transportation hub for the various rail services.

There he also had to wait a while to switch to the Putra LRT service to get to the Masjid Jamek station because again, the first train to arrive was full.

On both the trains that he took, the prime minister had to stand although the passengers offered him their seats.

Upon arrival at the Masjid Jamek station at 9.15am, he chatted with members of the the public and bought several types of local cakes from the sellers there before leaving.

“There were many more suggestions given me by the passengers for my attention. I will strive for improvements, I will propose changes,” he said. – Bernama

mrtfreak

August 21st, 2008, 07:09 PM

While I think it is a good move on PM's part, perhaps this could have been done earlier? I suppose the recent fuel hikes could have made the problem more apparent due to the surge in demand, but he could have done this "blitz" before to see what the conditions are like. Nevertheless, better late than never eh? Perhaps now we shall see more funds going to KTM for new trains and also to RapidKL for refurbishment of the older trains (seriously, deal with the ugly floor on the MKIIs) and better connections between lines. The KL Monorail seems to have been left out of the visit though. Hopefully there will be improvements there too.

OshHisham

August 22nd, 2008, 02:06 AM

^^ 'done earlier'?, dude we are having a by-election in Permatang Pauh (Penang). so...i really think this is somethin 'coincidence' with the election...;)

erwinkarim

August 22nd, 2008, 03:15 AM

^^ 'done earlier'?, dude we are having a by-election in Permatang Pauh (Penang). so...i really think this is somethin 'coincidence' with the election...;)

anwar did something like those while he was the DPM. soon after that, you get bus lanes in KL.

mrtfreak

August 22nd, 2008, 06:26 AM

^^ 'done earlier'?, dude we are having a by-election in Permatang Pauh (Penang). so...i really think this is somethin 'coincidence' with the election...;)
Badawi seems to be concerned with the country genuinely, so I don't see why he couldn't have done this earlier. And its not likely that a tour of the rail operations in KL would affect votes in Permatang Pauh. If anything, he should have visited RapidPenang then to see how operations were going.

TWK90

August 22nd, 2008, 06:44 AM

Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/8/22/nation/22146142&sec=nation

Friday August 22, 2008
Rail sevices should ensure efficiency, says Ong

KUALA LUMPUR: The Transport Ministry has limited say over the LRT operator’s capacity to meet passenger demand and comfort level, said Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat.

He clarified that two LRT systems – the Ampang line and Kelana Jaya line - were operated by RapdidKL while the asset owner was Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (SPNB) – both Government-linked companies under the Finance Ministry.

“It is up to the railway service providers to plan and ensure efficiency of services, including adequate capacity and passenger comfort,” he said in response to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s call for improved train services.

Abdullah made a surprise check on the LRT and KTM commuter trains and was not happy with the services.

On the KTM commuter services, which is under the Transport Ministry, Ong said the Government had allocated RM200mil to procure 10 sets of electric multiple units (EMU) expected to arrive in 2010.

Also, five electric train sets would be procured to facilitate the KL Sentral-Ipoh fast train services, he said, adding that these were expected to arrive in 2010.

RapidKL and KTM said the shortage of coaches had caused much of the problems for commuters but measures were being taken to resolve this.

RapidKL general manager (communications) Ebi Azly Abdullah said SPNB would deliver 22 sets of new four-car trains between 2009 and 2011

“This will double the Kelana Jaya line's current passenger capacity of 160,000 passengers daily to more than 300,000 daily,” he said.

A KTM spokesman said the critical shortage was due to a major overhaul exercise being conducted in stages on 50 train sets since last year but passenger capacity would increase by 10% once the overhaul was done.

Both RapidKL and KTM Berhad also said they had put in place various measures to ensure the crowds were orderly at the stations and inside the trains, and to ensure safety.

2010 for KL-Ipoh rapid intercity service, still a long way to go....

mrtfreak

August 22nd, 2008, 07:58 AM

I feel that sometimes comments like these are simply rather vague. How do they measure efficiency or what is efficiency in this case? Could a KLJ train arriving every 1 minute be considered efficient? Passenger capacity to me is not part of efficiency. Its more of forward planning. The KLJ already showed signs of being jammed over-capacity years ago and extra trains were talked about for ages (ala these LRT extensions) but the deal was only officiated in 2006 (after at least 2 years of "talks" of new trains). It is a good move, but perhaps a bit overdue.

As for KTM Komuter... Will 10 extra trains for the komuter service and 5 trains for rapid intercity service be sufficient? Look what happened when they decided to do a staged overhaul of 50 EMUs. If they were to do that thing to the rapid intercity trains in future, would service also result in the same fate that the komuter service is in currently? And what happens if a train happens to break down as well? Would there be sufficient trains to sustain the frequency and service standards?

What can be done with regards to efficiency is to establish a set of guidelines as to how many times escalators, elevators, ticket machines, etc can break down within a stipulated amount of time. I think that's what Singapore does to ensure service standards. KLJ should be commended though, for using the yellow boxes at its busier stations. If passengers would be more gracious, that would be an efficient way to facilitate boarding and alighting.

rizalhakim

August 22nd, 2008, 10:12 AM

RAIL BAD! LRT, Komuter not meeting expectations, says PM
BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR: Setting aside protocol, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took rides on the Komuter and LRT rail services from Serdang to the city centre yesterday to get a feel of the transport problems faced by the public. He came away dissatisfied.

Throughout the one-hour journey, during which he switched trains, the prime minister noted the congestion, especially during the peak period, and spoke to his fellow passengers to get their feedback.

Speaking after disembarking at the Masjid Jamek LRT station, he said he was not satisfied with the rail services and wanted immediate improvements to be made.

He said the existing services were not systematic, there were not enough coaches and coverage was not comprehensive, leaving many areas not serviced.

"I saw the plight of people using the trains to get to work every morning. They were jostling to get on board every time a train arrived. There appeared to be no system.

"I'm not happy with this because the people are not getting satisfaction from riding the trains. This we must fix," he said.

"I found the trains really packed with so many passengers. Some had waited for three trains and yet could not board.

"There's no queue. People push their way in, women with children and old people are pushed aside."

Abdullah, who was not accompanied by officials from the two rail services, arrived at the Serdang Komuter KTM station at 8.15am but could not get on board the first train that arrived because it was packed.

He got on the next train, which arrived 15 minutes later, and headed for KL Sentral, the modern transportation hub for the various rail services.

There he also had to wait a while to switch to the Putra LRT service to get to the Masjid Jamek station because again, the first train to arrive was full.

In both trains, the prime minister, dressed in a red batik shirt with golden print, had to stand although passengers offered him their seats.

Upon arrival at the Masjid Jamek station at 9.15am, he chatted with the public and bought several types of local cakes from sellers there before leaving.

Abdullah said he would give his attention to efforts to improve the quality of both rail services.

He said trains that were not punctual and people scrambling to get into the trains caused problems to other passengers.

"There were many more suggestions given by passengers.

" I will strive for improvements. I will propose changes." -- Bernama

rizalhakim

August 22nd, 2008, 10:13 AM

Transport firms dragging their feet
By : Minderjeet Kaur

A FEW years ago if you ask a car owner if he or she would take a bus or train to work, their answer would be a resounding no. Back then, public transport service was for the low income group.

But with the recent fuel hike, there is a sudden change in perception of the public transportation system among Malaysians. You get to see professionals dressed in their power suits taking trains and buses to work.

Many public transport experts were taken by surprise with the change. They had almost given up hope in persuading motorists to take public transport to work.

There is a sudden surge in the number of commuters on trains and buses.

But try getting on board one of the public transport services during peak hours.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in his outing on the KTM Komuter and LRT yesterday, was rather lucky that he could board a train after a 15-minute wait.

I am a regular user of the LRT and on most mornings, I would have to wait for the eighth train (where each train comes at a four-minute interval) to pass me by before I can board it. Each car is packed like a can of sardines.

The LRT stations in Bangsar, KL Sentral and other areas have seen an increase of 50,000 people daily, swelling the crowd to almost 200,000.

The long queues at KL Sentral would discourage many from taking the trains. Frequent breakdowns due to technical glitches are also not helping at all.

Many commuters are happy to see that Abdullah is taking the initiative to understand the plight of Malaysians who use trains as their mode of travel in the city.

There is a possibility of a bigger allocation in next year's budget to further improve the public transport system.

The government is also putting in motion other plans including the National Transport Policy which is now under review for further improvement by the Transport Ministry. This includes the connectivity of roads with public transport.

The government is seen to be taking firm action to improve the country's much criticised public transport system with the setting up of the Transport Commission.

The commission doesn't have to look too deep for the root of the problem.

Most commuters can tell them that the transport operators are not fast enough to support the government's move to encourage the public to use public transport.

The light rail transit (LRT) has been in operation for 10 years but it is only recently that they have announced plans to improve their services.

Plans are just underway to increase the number of carriages but it would take a little while to see this happening.

Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, for example, is acquiring 22 sets of four-car trains for the Kelana Jaya LRT line but the new trains will only start operating by the end of next year.

KTM Komuter is also facing the same problem of a lack of commuter sets but there is no indication as to whether KTM Bhd would be sourcing for new sets.

For commuters in the low-income bracket, they do not have a choice as to their mode of transport while those who own cars but opt to take trains can go back to driving their vehicles.

They can merely hope that their wait for an improvement in the country's public transport system will pay off.

rizalhakim

August 22nd, 2008, 10:14 AM

Rail operators promise action

KUALA LUMPUR: The increase in the number of public transport users has led to capacity problems, but transport operators are taking steps to address these.

The increase in world oil prices and the subsequent hike in prices at the pump increased the number of people using public transport practically overnight.

This development caught public transport operators by surprise.

After hearing numerous complaints from users, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi paid a surprise visit to the LRT and KTM Komuter lines to gain firsthand knowledge of the crowded trains, delayed services and lack of connectivity often faced by commuters in the city.

The operators were caught by surprise, but assured the prime minister and commuters that steps were being taken to meet capacity problems.

Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL), the operator of the Kelana Jaya and Ampang LRT lines, said it would overcome the capacity issue when new trains arrive next year.

"We're prepared to overcome the issue although it's a bit late," RapidKL communications general manager Ebi Azly Abdullah said.

Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (SPNB), which owns the Ampang and Kelana Jaya LRT lines, had acquired 22 sets of four-car trains for the Kelana Jaya LRT line two years ago.

The new trains will start operating by the end of next year.

Passenger capacity is expected to double from 160,000 passengers to more than 300,000 passengers per day.

Ebi said all the trains were operating at optimum frequency and capacity.

Trains service both lines every two minutes during peak hours and every five minutes during off-peak hours.

"The logical extension would be to add to the capacity, which is what we're doing with the new train purchase," Ebi told the New Straits Times yesterday.

He added that the "ridership" for the Ampang line could be improved. "We're hoping that more people will use the Ampang line to travel to Puchong, Bukit Jalil, Cheras and Ampang."

In earlier reports, SPNB had confirmed that there were plans to extend the Ampang and Kelana Jaya LRT lines, while the new Kota Damansara-Cheras line was still in the planning stage.

Several new urban rail lines are also being planned, including for the KL Monorail.

A new LRT station at Sri Rampai will be opened late next year.

However, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd blamed the crowded trains on the lack of commuter sets.

Calling the shortage critical, KTM said in a statement that a major overhaul of 50 sets of its trains had been carried out since the end of last year.

The commuter service has been badly affected by the overhaul and the less-than-reliable conditions of the trains.

KTM is now operating a minimum of 27 sets of trains daily, about half the optimum number needed.

As a long-term measure, KTM expects to increase passenger capacity by 10 per cent by redesigning the interior of the trains.

OshHisham

August 22nd, 2008, 11:50 AM

how come you (PM) expect a better service of Komuter or LRT if you yourself don't give a priority in national budget? Komuter is in very desperate needs of EMU. and remember, he (Abdullah Badawi) is the one who put the double track project on hold when he took the premiership! and now pretending that KTM is the one to be blamed.

shameful!!:bash:

mrtfreak, welcome to Malaysian Politics where everything is POSSIBLE ;)

memot_jr_jr

August 22nd, 2008, 11:53 AM

^^ just wait 4 dis year budget. hopefully our PM will give some peruntukan 4 the public transportation

TWK90

August 22nd, 2008, 11:53 AM

^^ just wait 4 dis year budget. hopefully our PM will give some peruntukan 4 the public transportation

I think he will, the only question is, how much is it?

TWK90

August 22nd, 2008, 12:27 PM

Source : http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/arkib.asp?y=2008&dt=0821&pub=utusan_malaysia&sec=kota&pg=wk_07.htm&arc=hive

Tren shuttle Setiawangsa-Terminal Gombak

KUALA LUMPUR Perkhidmatan transit aliran ringan (LRT) antara stesen Setiawangsa dan Terminal Gombak kini beroperasi sebagai tren shuttle.Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn. Bhd. (RapidKL) memberitahu, ia berikutan kerjakerja menaik taraf sub stesen di Laluan Kelana Jaya.

Bagaimanapun, perkhidmatan antara Kelana Jaya dengan Setiawangsa beroperasi seperti biasa dan semua penumpang ke Terminal Gombak perlu turun di stesen Setiawangsa dan menaiki perkhidmatan shuttle tersebut.

Sebagai langkah keselamatan, tren shuttle itu akan bergerak lebih perlahan tetapi perkhidmatan LRT itu akan kembali seperti biasa sebelum waktu puncak pada sebelah petang.

RapidKL juga menyediakan bas shuttle antara kedua-dua stesen itu sebagai satu pilihan kepada pengguna.

Stesen yang terlibat dengan perkhidmatan shuttle khas itu ialah Setiawangsa, Wangsa Maju, Taman Melati dan Terminal Gombak.

Erm, special shuttle service, does that mean they are upgrading the line now for 4 car set?

mrtfreak

August 22nd, 2008, 02:29 PM

Upgrading has been going on for awhile now. Bombardier was contracted, according to their website, to do the system upgrade. I also know Scomi mentioned getting a contract to upgrade the KLJ. Whoever is doing it, they are also responsible for upgrading the PSDs at the underground stations to open the appropriate number of doors per train.

mrtfreak

August 22nd, 2008, 02:32 PM

mrtfreak, welcome to Malaysian Politics where everything is POSSIBLE ;)
Haha, have seen that for sure. If others can be involved in cases which they were jailed for supposedly committing years ago a decade later, surely anything is possible too.

As with Singapore, best to wait and see. PM now has an idea of what "normal" people go through everyday.

daeng_jal

August 22nd, 2008, 03:35 PM

^^
really hope that he will understand on how 'normal' person in klang valley go through, and then he can go to jb and penang witout the flashing police escort to see how 'normal' person in these city really need a rail transit

TWK90

August 22nd, 2008, 03:37 PM

YeahWho

August 22nd, 2008, 10:11 PM

TWK90

August 22nd, 2008, 11:03 PM

Source : http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=354580

Government Takes Back 30 EMUs From Company

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 22 (Bernama) -- The Transport Ministry on Friday took firm action in taking back 30 of 50 Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) for the commuter rail system that were given to Malaysian Korean Rail Corporation (MKRC) for overhaul work.

Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat said this was because the company had failed to do the work according to schedule as stipulated in the contract signed in January.

He said according to the contract MKRC was to have 15 units ready in July but till now only seven have been readied.

"We have been monitorig the work and found that the company was way behind schedule so the decision was made after the ministry discussed with the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) board.

"There are reasons (given by MKRC for the delay) but what is important is we need to meet the delivery schedule. We need to face the demand of the people," Ong told reporters at his office here.

Ong said the EMUs withdrawn were 10 units of Class 81 and 20 units of Class 82 while the contract for 20 units of Class 83 would remain with MKRC as the company had already overhauled seven.

He said the 20 EMUs of Class 83 would be ready by December to add to the 27 existing ones to meet the increase in number of commuters till the end of next year.

Ong said his ministry will review and consider the legal implications of MKRC's failure to get the work done and the 30 EMUs withdrawn would be given to other companies.

Besides overhauling the EMUs, Ong said the ministry was also ready to take over coaches that were not functioning to be repaired to meet increase in commuter numbers.

"The average number of commuters daily is more than 100,000. As comparison, the number of commuters increased by 2.4 per cent to be 3.1 million in July up from 3.028 million last June," he said.

Meanwhile, commenting on the dissatisfaction by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on the rail service during his surprise visit Thursday, Ong said his ministry only acted as a regulator while the rail services were fully managed by Syarikat Perbadanan Nasional Berhad (SPNB).

He said by the Railways Act 1991 the ministry only has powers to approve or retract rail services licenses and set railways operations systems, especially regarding to safety, whereas management powers including service was up to SPNB which was a government-linked company (GLC) under the Finance Ministry.

-- BERNAMA

TWK90

August 22nd, 2008, 11:17 PM

I would say that if they transfer all the money on unnecessary projects like new KT, Miri, Bintulu airports to KL Lrt/Komuter, at least we can see some improvements. It is just a matter of what tops their priority list.

Well, we need to address the issue of public transport in Johor Bahru, Penang, and all other towns in the country as well....not just in Klang Valley...

mrtfreak

August 23rd, 2008, 04:53 AM

Did KTM really have to take all 30 komuter sets out for refurbishment at the same time? Wouldn't they have the sense to see that it would affect the passenger operations element of the service if they did that?

I would have thought that they would upgrade the class 81s first, since they're the oldest on the network and have one of the poorest designs. The class 82s and 83s aren't so bad. Meh, nice planning there... :nuts:

TWK90

August 23rd, 2008, 07:13 AM

^^

I wonder how they refurbish the Class 81, considering the original manufacturer is not available anymore....

mrtfreak

August 24th, 2008, 02:52 AM

erwinkarim

August 24th, 2008, 05:10 AM

Refurbishment doesn't need to be carried out by the original manufacturers. As long as you have the technical plans for the trains, I suppose it should be okay. In Singapore, the current MRT trains were built by Kawasaki for the first batch but they are being refurbished by Rotem. It would be helpful to refurbish the class 81s since theirs is the worst design (small doorways that prolong boarding and alighting times and the seating arrangement leaves little room for standing passengers).

the class 81 looks more like it was designed for medium haul journeys than mass transit. it'd be perfect for seremban-kl, ipoh-kl direct service. i think the KTM officers never thot so many EMUs would be out of service at a single time.

mrtfreak

August 24th, 2008, 01:22 PM

I think you're right about the class 81 - it doesn't seem to be designed for mass transit. As to whether the authorities at KTM thought that so many EMUs would be out of service at once... Quite possibly they simply did not expect to run into such big problems. But seriously, they could have done it in stages in my opinion. Or class by class.

TWK90

August 24th, 2008, 01:53 PM

Found something today...

http://www.dasazman.com/railways.htm

Proposed design for Ipoh-Padang Besar stations...

nazrey

August 25th, 2008, 05:16 AM

RapidKL silent on rep’s request
Monday August 25, 2008
By OH ING YEEN
TheStar

FOR the past one month, Selangor DAP secretary and Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San has been trying to fix an appointment with the management of public transport operators RapidKL and Syarikat Prasarana Bhd.

Speaking at a press conference held at the Selangor DAP headquarters in Taman Paramount, Petaling Jaya, Lau said RapidKL “just poured cold water” on his request, by telling him to go through the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).

Lau is wondering why they are not respecting his office as an elected state assemblyman.

“Despite the increasing number of commuters and passengers, the public transport operators especially Prasarana has failed miserably to meet the demands of the passengers.

“For the past one month, there are numerous reports of breakdowns on the two LRT systems, not to mention the many unexpected delays in bus services.

“I wonder what the MBPJ has to do with the breakdowns. Why does an elected representative has to turn to MBPJ to convey the message of the people to the management of RapidKL?” he asked.

Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh and Petaling Jaya councillor Tiew Way Keng were also present at the press conference.

Yeoh had called for a press conference about the cancellation of a bus route in Subang Jaya but was disappointed that there had been no official reply from RapidKL.

According to Yeoh, RapidKL had announced on Aug 11 that they will be revising their routes on Aug 23.

“They gave people only about 10 days’ notice. We are questioning the short notice given and why a route (T522 from USJ 8 to Subang Parade) has been cancelled without consulting the people,” she said.

Association for the Improvement of Mass Transit Klang Valley (Transit) adviser Moaz Yusuf Ahmad, a Subang Jaya resident himself, could not agree more with Yeoh.

“It’s unfair for RapidKL to make these decisions, we hope RapidKL can be more considerate to the people.

“It is generally assumed that public transport users are people from the lower-income group who have no other choice.

“There’s not much you can do if the driver doesn’t follow the route. If you complain, he will yell at you or he’ll say ‘if you don’t like it, buy a car’.

“It does not give a positive image of public transportation,” said the lecturer, who has written numerous articles about the public transport system in Malaysia.

He said by sacrificing these routes, people would be forced to drive and this would lead to more traffic congestion.

He added that RapidKL was not solely to blame for the public transport problems as other public transport companies share the same responsibility to provide good service to the public.

Referring to the Prime Minister taking rides on the LRT recently, Moaz suggested that the PM took the bus, too.

“If he wants to see how bad it is, he has to take the bus and wait for it. Then he will runderstand what public transport is like,” he said.

Lau said the first step to solve these problems on public transport was to have a meeting.

He hoped that he would not have to resort to sending a memorandum directly to RapidKL if they kept avoiding communication.

“A city without an efficient and reliable public transport system will not be a livable city,” he said.

rizalhakim

August 25th, 2008, 08:35 AM

paklah shud take lrt star ampang line n stop at plaza rakyat!!! some1 shud cekik him for that!!! :bash::bash:

allurban

August 25th, 2008, 11:20 AM

Rail operators promise action
He added that the "ridership" for the Ampang line could be improved. "We're hoping that more people will use the Ampang line to travel to Puchong, Bukit Jalil, Cheras and Ampang."

A new LRT station at Sri Rampai will be opened late next year. Interestingly enough, RapidKL just cut the E5 route, which linked Putrajaya Sentril to Bukit Jalil.

Not a good way to encourage public transport use.

Sri Rampai is not a "new" station per se...just an incomplete, unopened station.

Cheers, m

allurban

August 25th, 2008, 11:23 AM

Source : http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/arkib.asp?y=2008&dt=0821&pub=utusan_malaysia&sec=kota&pg=wk_07.htm&arc=hive

Erm, special shuttle service, does that mean they are upgrading the line now for 4 car set? m think that they are cutting back service on the Kelana Jaya line to Setiawangsa to increase service frequencies in the city.

We may see another "special shuttle service" from Universiti or Taman Jaya to Kelana Jaya soon.

If every 2nd train is turned back earlier then you can double the frequency of service.

Id like to see if that is what they are really planning.

Cheers, m

TWK90

August 25th, 2008, 01:58 PM

Today i noticed something different, the seats in KTM Komuter platform in KL Sentral, are all changed to steel one...no longer plastic ones, and looks like more seating too!

jlshyang

August 25th, 2008, 04:18 PM

TWK90

August 25th, 2008, 07:08 PM

Source : http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=354978

August 25, 2008 15:12 PM

13 New Commuter Trains To Serve The People By Mid-2010

By Mohd Faizal Hassan

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) will receive 13 sets of new trains by mid-2010 for its commuter service to cope with the rising demand for the service, its corporate communications manager Shahriza Embi said Monday.

She said tenders are open until end of September to acquire the trains. Successful bidders will be announced by year-end.

"Eventhough we will take delivery of 13 new sets of commuter trains, existing trains will continue to be used to meet the increasing demand for commuter services," she told Bernama.

Shahriza said though KTMB had 50 sets of commuter trains, only 27 were operating in a day while the rest were undergoing overhaul.

The trains needed to be overhauled to ensure they were in good working order, she said.

She said KTMB needed at least 36 to 40 commuter trains a day to provide efficient service to the people. An average of 100,000 people use the KTM Komuter service everyday.

KTMB Employees' Union president Abdul Razak Md Hassan urged the government to take appropriate measures to replace the ageing trains.

He said the train overhaul work should be given to the right parties having the expertise for the job.

The failure of the Malaysian Korean Rail Corporation to complete the overhaul work of 30 of the 50 trains was regrettable as it had affected the commuter services.

The Transport Ministry recently withdrew 30 Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) from the corporation for failing to complete overhaul work within the specified period in the contract signed in January.

Under the agreement, the corporation must complete at least 15 EMUs by July but it could only manage seven.

-- BERNAMA

TWK90

August 26th, 2008, 06:10 AM

Source : http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/8/26/north/1883972&sec=north

Tuesday August 26, 2008
Plan for rail station modified

SEVERAL modifications are being made to the original plan to build a new railway station for Kuala Kangsar at Kampung Simpang Tiga, a traditional Malay village located at the fringe of the royal town.

Manong assemblyman Datuk Ram-ly Zahari said the construction of KTM Bhd’s workers’ quarters would be relocated to the existing railway station at Jalan Sultan Idris, about 5km from the new railway station.

“The new railway station’s par-king lots will also be relocated away from Kg Simpang Tiga, enabling us to spare more houses (from demolition),” he told reporters during the Kuala Kangsar parliamentary constituency 51st Merdeka celebration recently.

Ramly, who is also Perak Umno secretary, said originally 35 houses in Kg Simpang Tiga would be demolished but developer Gamuda MMC later agreed to demolish only half the number.

“Land owners will also be adequately compensated and paid the commercial rate even though their land is officially designated as agriculture land,” said Ramly.

Kuala Kangsar MP Tan Sri Rafi- dah Aziz, who earlier handed over wheelchairs and cash aid to fire victims in Wai Thong Garden, said villagers affected by the railway project should adopt a “give and take” attitude.

“We have to make some sacrifices for the sake of development,” said Rafidah who is also Umno Wanita chief.

Rafidah said there was a need for a new railway station as the existing one was located at a sharp bend in Jalan Sultan Idris, rendering it unsuitable for fast-moving trains to make a stop.

At the event, Rafidah also handed Merdeka awards comprising a cash prize of RM500 and certificate each to nine recipients who excelled in various fields.

TWK90

August 27th, 2008, 09:52 AM

26/8/2008

Tanjung Malim KTM station

Unlike most stations in Rawang-Ipoh section, this station has 3 platforms, two entrances and its platform, in my opinion, is very long...

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/26082008001.jpg

allurban

August 28th, 2008, 02:22 AM

Perhaps they built it for 9 carriage trains? Is the KL-Ipoh train going to stop at Tg. Malim?

mrtfreak

August 28th, 2008, 04:03 AM

Or do the intercity trains stop at Tanjung Malim too?

TWK90

August 28th, 2008, 04:56 AM

rizalhakim

August 28th, 2008, 05:29 AM

Park at your own risk
By GEETHA KRISHNAN

THE high cost of petrol, accompanied by the rising inflation, has led many people to opt for public transport like the KTM Komuter and LRT.

Many of them park their vehicles at the open car parks at the light rail transit and train stations and then board the train to work.

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/8/28/central/Faez.jpg[/img[
Old car stolen: Mohd Faez who parked his 1985 Toyota LE at the Ampang LRT station holding up the police report lodged over the theft.

This seems to be a very viable and convenient option, but one big problem has arisen from the arrangement — vehicle thefts.

There has been an increase in car and motorcycle thefts at the light rail transit and train stations during the last few months.

Thefts of old cars and cannibalisation of the vehicles for spare parts are occurring at an alarming rate at a few LRT stations and the people have been warned to be cautious when parking in these areas.

Since January, five cars have been reported stolen from the public car park at the Ampang LRT station. There were reports of attempts to steal motorcycles too.

The passenger volume on the LRT has increased with the rising cost of living, prompting more commuters to leave their vehicles at public car parks for the daily commute.

This translates to limited parking spaces for the LRT workers who are forced to park in desolate areas.

RapidKL worker Ab Razak Mahmud’s 25-year-old Datsun 120Y was stolen in February.

“I have been parking in the car park since 1996 and only had a third-party insurance coverage. Now I am saddled with a new car loan,” he said.

Mohd Faez Md Zain’s Toyota LE 1985 model was stolen in January.

The latest car theft there occurred on Aug 5.

Khalil Mohd Piei was fortunate that his nine-year-old Proton Putra was recovered by the police after it was stolen from the car park in June. But the repairs cost him RM6,000.

[img]http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/8/28/central/Zaid.jpg
Botched attempt: Mohd Zaid Talib demonstrating how thieves kicked his motorcycle handle to dislodge the lock

Meanwhile, an attempt was made to steal Zaid Talib’s new motorcycle.

“When I got to my bike after work, I realised the keyhole had been tampered with and the handle had been kicked to dislodge the lock,” he said.

Rosli Arshad’s car sustained damage when the side window was smashed by thieves to retrieve a bag filled with sporting goods.

“Unfortunately, the heavy downpour caused water to seep in and damage the seats. I didn’t lose my valuables but the repair bill was high,” he said.

According to a newspaper vendor in the area who only identified herself as Fathima, she had spotted a few suspicious-looking individuals lurking near the vehicles.

“They usually disappear when I start to observe them but I am only here a few hours daily. They might be studying my routine too,” she said.

The LRT workers and the public are lamenting the serious lack of security in the car park.

Suggestions have been made to convert an abandoned warehouse in the area to a multi-level car park but unresolved ownership issues are throwing a damper on the proposal.

Ampang OCPD ACP Abdul Jalil Hassan told StarMetro that in the first two weeks of this month, two cars and six motorcycles were reported stolen.

“I advise motorists and motorcyclists not to park in back lanes and areas far from public view because vehicle thefts are on the rise. If there is no choice, invest in steering locks and central locking systems,” he said.

Jalil said the police department was beefing up its patrol unit with eight motorcycles for easy access into narrow paths and back lanes.

Sentul OCPD ACP Zakaria Pagan said most car thefts occurred at the Wangsa Maju LRT station.

“From January to August, we have had 17 cases at the station and most occurred between 6am and noon,” he said.

Zakaria said the police had taken note of the trend by increasing patrols during the hours.

“We also have to look at whether the parking lots were guarded and I sincerely ask that car owners increase the safety measures in their vehicles,” Zakaria said.

According to a parking attendant at the Sentul Timur LRT station, there were hardly any case of car thefts for the past one year, except for one incident during the March 8 general election.

“I’ve been working here for about a year and I always keep an eye out for suspicious characters lingering near the cars,” Hamidah Sapii said.

She said the theft occurred when she was busy handling customers on another side of the parking lot.

“These people were very daring to commit the crime at 9am when I had my back turned for a few minutes,” she said.

Hamidah said she knew the owners of the vehicles and that it made it easier to identify strangers at the parking lots.

“I have all the emergency numbers needed should anything happen while I’m on watch,” she said.

For those who park their cars around the area, their concerns are also about cars being broken into.

“My cousin’s car was broken into two months ago at the Sentul LRT. We pay RM3 for the parking space.

“What’s the point of paying if you can’t leave with peace of mind,” Devan Nair, 25, said.

Till press time, RapidKL had yet to comment on the incidents.

mrtfreak

August 28th, 2008, 11:32 AM

Yes, the KL - Ipoh rapid intercity train will stop at Tanjung Malim and the regular intercity trains do stop at Tanjung Malim too.....

In addition to that, it will be the terminus for KTM Komuter...

I observe that stations like Batu Gajah, Slim River....all have 2 platforms, in my opinion, probably only 2 stations will have 3 platfotms, Ipoh and Tanjung Malim...

I hope MDTM do something about the passageway from the town to this station, it is actually possible to walk from that station and the town, relatively short distance, 2 to 3 minutes walk, but the path is a bit rocky and grass, normally got some motorcycle passing through, so MDTM should do something to make this path, pedestrian friendly...
The station probably has longer platforms to accomodate the intercity trains then. 3 platforms could be used to ensure that services on both the intercity and komuter line are not interupted. Even if 2 komuter trains are using the platforms, the intercity train is still able to arrive at the station and passengers can board or alight without having a small delay while waiting for one of the komuters to move off.

TWK90

August 28th, 2008, 11:45 AM

Most likely on regular service, KTM Komuter at most use one platform, as it is the terminus....well Tanjung Malim folks are really looking forward to KTM Komuter and Rapid intercity service, because the railway station is just few hundred metres from the town itself, although the bus station is inside the town too....

The old station has been converted to small cafe, as i saw that day....the former level crossing, now got i think 2 bridges.....one for motorcycle...

If i am not mistaken, economy fare to Tanjung Malim from KL Sentral is about RM 6...

mrtfreak

August 28th, 2008, 03:44 PM

^^ Maybe 1 platform per service then? :lol:

TWK90

August 28th, 2008, 04:01 PM

Perhaps 1 for Komuter, the other two for both Intercity and Rapid Intercity?

bootluv

August 29th, 2008, 05:05 AM

In view of the increased petrol prices, the government should have heeded the warnings beforehand and invested in public transportation projects, with long term focus - not just quick solutions.

Sadly, the government has been lacking even in quick solutions – enforcement lacking for bus lanes and bus bays (to keep cars and trucks from blocking traffic), or the creation of temporary bus lanes (using the red and white road dividers) as an immediate solution. They have said nothing about reducing the number of touts at the Puduraya bus station or keeping the Metrobuses moving in the city centre and the suburban hubs.

I suppose that the announcement of the Kota Damansara-Cheras line and the extensions of the Ampang LRT and Kelana Jaya LRT were meant to be cheerful updates, however that was in 2005 and they have been silent on the proposals since. These costly long term projects do little for the people today except to give them hope that the future may be better - small comfort if you are standing at a crowded bus shelter or in a packed train.

People need to know details, benefits and costs of these long term projects Are these projects part of a master public transport plan for the Klang Valley?

The proposed line extensions are part of a government plan but it is not a 'master plan' for the Klang Valley.The federal government has been short on specific information about the lines. The thinking seems to be corporate in nature - building the extensions and the new line to tap markets for potential commuters and increase the use of the existing lines.

Compare government plans against the KL Structure Plan 2020 or the current KLCity2020 Draft Local Plan, both provided by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall. They don’t match and this is a cause for concern.

How have the people been consulted on these projects?

The ethos is “if we build it, they will come,” followed by “how could they refuse” and “they better be grateful.”

Little is done to find out what people really want.

The solution for public transport seems to be LRT at all costs.

This single-minded, almost obsessive attitude reminds me of American Admiral David Farragut who famously after having one ship from his fleet blown in a minefield area said “damn the torpedoes (mines), full steam ahead!”

Mutually sustaining

How many passengers are these lines expecting to carry initially? How much room for expansion is in-built?

This is a very important question, because the initial passenger projections will determine whether the line will be successful and able to stand without additional government support. Including long-term expansion into the initial planning gives room for the line to grow and gives room for development to occur around the line.

The line provides a good location for development projects and provides mobility for residents, workers and visitors. The developments will provide the passengers who will support the line and give people reasons to move around. Thus the line and the development become mutually sustaining.

But look at our experience so far: the PUTRA and STAR lines were both money losers making government bailouts necessary. PUTRA has since recovered and is profitable - partly because RapidKL and the government have been slow to invest in providing enough carriages and trains to meet the demand. The STAR is still a money loser on the Seri Petaling stretch.

The line is, according to RapidKL, only at 70% capacity and has room for growth. The extension of the Ampang line westwards from Seri Petaling is designed to increase the number of passengers using the LRT and thus increase returns for RapidKL.

When large amounts of money are invested into mass transit there must be room for future expansion in order to get significant passenger returns now and gain passenger numbers in the future.

As described above, the Ampang LRT is 70% under capacity. These lower passenger numbers are occurring because the line passes through very low density areas that do not justify the cost of the LRT. But at the same time, we must understand that the 30% unused capacity is room for future growth. If we fill all that space up today, where will we put future passengers?

That is precisely the question we see with the Kelana Jaya line. It is already 40% over capacity during peak hours. Doubling the number of carriages will reduce excess capacity to 20%, which is still beyond acceptable levels.

Have you ever wondered why the line was built to such a small capacity and why it is already overcapacity. It is just too small for the communities that it is already serving – so why are we compounding the problem with this proposed extension?

A 'heavy' cost

The proposed extension to Subang Jaya will increase passenger numbers, but the Kelana Jaya line has no room for growth and an extension will likely overwhelm the line.

Do the benefits of these lines justify the costs of planning, land acquisition, design, engineering, construction and maintenance?

We call them ‘light’ rapid transit lines and they are certainly 'light' in terms of passenger capacity. The Kelana Jaya line can carry 9000 passengers per direction per hour with two carriage trains and 18000 passengers per direction per hour with four carriage trains. In contrast, a line with 'heavy' passenger capacity will typically carry 20,000-50,000 passengers per direction per hour.

Lest anyone feel envious of other cities, it could be pointed out that at least the engineering, design and construction costs for our LRT lines were 'heavy' at approximately RM200-250 million per km.

Of course there are more questions, but there is only so much space available. I do invite the government to provide answers to the rakyat so that these questions can be properly explained and addressed, one by one. But until then, please accept my answers above in lieu of answers from the government.

The Klang Valley has 'light' capacity rapid transit lines that bear 'heavy' costs – in terms of land acquisition, planning, design, engineering, construction, and maintenance and operations costs.

The future of public transport appears to be more of the same. Hence my concerns – the government has not used our resources wisely in the past – can we trust them to do so in the future?

bootluv

August 29th, 2008, 05:06 AM

In the case of the extension of the Kelana Jaya LRT line to Subang Jaya, USJ, and Putra Heights I have already expressed my disapproval for the project.

MCPXI still do not believe that this proposed extension is a wise decision to make. It will be a costly mistake, potentially tying up funds that could be used to build mass transport lines elsewhere in the Klang Valley or Penang, where they are more desperately needed.

From a public transport planning perspective, there is little justification for the extension of the Kelana Jaya LRT line to Subang Jaya, USJ and Putra Heights. Unlike the Kota Damansara and Cheras areas, the existing usage of public transport in Subang Jaya and USJ and Putra Heights is very 'light', too low to justify the 'heavy' cost of constructing the extension. Currently there are no public transport services beyond the Goodyear Court apartments in USJ14 and bus operators have been cutting service in the area.

In addition, the extension to Subang Jaya and USJ and Putra Heights will put additional pressure on the Kelana Jaya LRT, which is already 40 per cent overcapacity. Even with four carriage trains, there will be little room on the Kelana Jaya LRT line for the small number of added passengers from Subang Jaya, USJ, and Putra Heights, and no room for the expansion of passenger capacity.

The construction will not come cheaply either. The line will probably cost somewhere between RM250-300 million per km, if not more. It will require costly overhead crossings over major highways and roads.

This lack of careful planning and protection of public transport corridors means that engineering and building (and paying for) the proposed LRT will have high financial costs.

The extension of the Kelana Jaya line should be simple and small: an extension to the existing Subang Valley depot (a quick and relatively simple project) to serve the up-and-coming Ara Damansara area along with 2 other stations, namely Subang Airport (a great site for a truly intermodal public transport hub with rail, road, and air transport) and Shah Alam Stadium (which is located near major highways, has excellent “park & ride” facilities and provides lots of space for an intermodal rapid transit hub).

My neighbours in Subang Jaya may not agree with this because they would not have the LRT that they have been dreaming about for decades. For them, I respectfully point out that they already have an MRT right under their noses – the underutilised KTM Komuter service. What needs to be done is to invest in KTM Komuter services.

Building the Port Klang-Serendah bypass would move freight trains out of the way, and allow more frequent KTM Komuter services, including express train service. KTM Komuter stations have room for six or even nine carriage trains, meaning that there is further room to expand.

As for the mass-transit within the community, for the same amount of money being spent on one kilometre of the Kelana Jaya LRT project, Subang Jaya could have 4-5 km of Rapid Tram lines which would serve more areas. Instead of building a single line, 3 lines could be built. Instead of extending the LRT from Kelana Jaya to Putra Heights, we could build 3 lines starting in Putra Heights, serving USJ and Subang Jaya and Sunway, linking to Kelana Jaya and Ara Damansara, Subang 2 and Kampung Subang, Damansara Jaya, Damansara Utama and Kayu Ara.

Change perspective

The point is that, if we change our perspectives on public transport, we can get so much more than just a single LRT line.

Another hurdle is that RapidKL and Prasarana might not agree with the extension to Shah Alam stadium that I have proposed. One reason for this might be that they will not be able to sell their depot in Subang Valley (which is sitting on highly valuable land) and set up a new depot in Putra Heights (where land will be much cheaper). I do not wish to deny RapidKL the opportunity to profit, but the profit should not come at the expense of proper public transport planning that is in the best interests of the rakyat.

I have generally been in support of the proposed Kota Damansara-Cheras line. Because it is a new line, it will provide new LRT service to the untapped catchment areas in the northwest and southeast of Kuala Lumpur. These two areas contain major residential, employment, and commercial services and they have not been yet been served by mass transportation.

I believe that the Kota Damansara-Cheras line is likely to be successful as the demand for public transportation services already exists along the proposed routing. The various bus services between KL and the northwest 'Damansara' suburbs and southeast 'Cheras' suburbs are almost always full of passengers.

In addition, the Kota Damansara-Cheras line will also reduce pressure on existing LRT and KTM services within Kuala Lumpur, especially in the northwest and southeast.

Although the government is talking about 4-carriage trains for the Kelana Jaya LRT, the line will still be overcapacity and have no room for future demand. For this reason I am worried that the Kota Damansara-Cheras line will not be built with the necessary capacity to serve existing and future demand.

Unfortunately, the government has said little about their plans for the new line, including the routing through Kuala Lumpur. I can only hope that the government will not make the same mistakes with the proposed new Kota Damansara-Cheras Line as they have with the Kelana Jaya LRT line.

Therefore, it is necessary that the government study existing passenger demand and make careful projections for the future. Since the line will be serving dense residential and commercial sites as well as the city centre, it must have enough capacity for current demand and leave lots of room for future expansion.

I will not be sure until I actually review the data, but I daresay that perhaps the Kota Damansara-Cheras line should be planned and built as Malaysia's first MRT (mass-rapid transport) line, rather than just an LRT.

As I have said before, the government has built 'light' capacity lines that have very 'heavy' design, engineering, and construction costs. Because of poor planning and execution, the lines have either become unsuccessful (the Ampang LRT is only carrying 70% of its passenger capacity) or too successful (the Kelana Jaya LRT is 40% over its capacity).

If the government continues with this pattern, we may see the Kota Damansara-Cheras line become too successful as well. Of course, a line that is successful for the planners and the government and the operators will be described as crowded, packed, and dangerous and unsafe by the passengers.

Future growth

This is why I believe that the government should build the Kota Damansara-Cheras line for 'heavy' passenger capacity: to justify the 'heavy' costs of design, engineering, and construction and to provide space for passengers now and in the future.

If using shorter, narrower 'LRT' carriages, the Kota Damansara-Cheras line could start at four carriages per train and be expanded to eight or even 12 carriages as demand increases in the future. If using longer, wider 'MRT' carriages, the line should be built for six carriages.

I just hope that the government will soon make public the information about the projected capacity of the Kota Damansara-Cheras line along with the projections for future growth. That way we can be sure that this project will be very successful and return great benefits, relative to the costs, for the rakyat.

And if the government is planning to build a line that is 'light' in passenger capacity but 'heavy' in costs, then the rakyat can question the government about their planning and they can stand up and speak out for a better public transport system.

We do not often get a chance to correct mistakes in infrastructure, and if we do get the chance, it is often costly and time consuming and disruptive. Thus, it is vitally important that things are done correctly the first time.

In the case of the extension of the Ampang LRT line from Seri Petaling, the federal government has most recently mentioned an extension to Puchong and Putra Heights. However, in the past the destination has alternated between 'Bandar Sunway', 'Old Klang Road,' and 'Puchong', depending on who was discussing the proposal.

In the current KLCity2020 Draft Plan, this line is described as going 'to Puchong' in one map and 'to Sunway' in a table on the next page!

How is that for confusing?

At present, I recognise that there is a need for better public transport service to Puchong. Unfortunately, the reason for the Ampang LRT extension is not really to bring public transport service to Puchong.

The true goal is to fill up the excess space in the Ampang line, which is operating 30 per cent below passenger capacity.

Rakyat interest

That is why the end point of the extension keeps on changing – to RapidKL and Prasarana it doesn’t matter where the LRT goes – just that it is extended so they can carry more passengers.

Like the Kelana Jaya LRT extension, the Ampang line extension is more about profits than it is about building public transport services in the interest of the rakyat.

I do agree that there is a need for the extension of the Ampang line from Seri Petaling. However, the preferred extension is to Old Klang Road and Petaling Jaya South. Ideally, this extension would serve the southwest of the Federal Territory and link the LRT and KTM Komuter service.

Add to this another extension of the Ampang line from Sentul Timur to Kepong would provide an extension of the LRT as well as a link between LRT and KTM Komuter in the northwest areas of the Federal territory. These two extensions would then be linked by a North-South line for Petaling Jaya.

This proposed two-phase extension of the Ampang LRT would bring reliable public mass transport service to many communities in KL and PJ and link LRT and KTM Komuter services as well. Once completed, this would create a single LRT loop line serving KL and Petaling Jaya efficiently and comfortably.

As for service to Puchong, it makes more sense to build a line from KL directly to Puchong, following Jalan Klang Lama and Jalan Puchong. This line would provide effective development along Jalan Klang Lama and Jalan Puchong, establishing these areas as a reliable public transport corridor.

A line along Jalan Klang Lama and Jalan Puchong would be a more direct and effective choice for the residents of Puchong than the LRT extension proposed by the government which does not really have their interests at hand. This line could also cost less than the LRT but it would have similar capacity to the LRT. 'Light' passenger capacity at ‘light’ costs sound a lot better than what we have been doing in the past.

The government has expressed that it is ready to invest in public transport – but it must also invest in the rakyat. While expansions to the rail network are very beneficial, the efficiency of these projects must be very high and much higher than the previous examples of LRT.

We need to see projects that are very “heavy” on the benefits and 'light' on the costs, not the other way around.

In this way, we can build a complete and effective and efficient rapid-transit network that meets the needs of the people – connectivity, comfort, and mobility.

rizalhakim

August 29th, 2008, 07:51 AM

51st Merdeka: Extended bus, LRT services

KUALA LUMPUR: Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd will extend its bus and light rail transit services on the eve of Merdeka Day.

In a statement yesterday, RapidKL said the bus and LRT services would operate until 3am and 2.30am, respectively on Sunday.

The bus services for the Kelana Jaya line covering Kelana Jaya, Taman Bahagia, Taman Paramount, Asia Jaya, Universiti, Kerinchi, Bangsar, Setiawangsa, Wangsa Maju and Taman Melati (Gombak) would end at between 3am and 3.20am.

The bus services for the Ampang Line covering Ampang, Cempaka, Pandan Indah, Bukit Jalil, Pandan Jaya, Maluri, Salak Selatan and Bandar Tasik Selatan will end at 3am.

Meanwhile, for the Kelana Jaya Line LRT, the Kelana Jaya, KL Sentral, Pasar Seni, Masjid Jamek and KLCC stations would operate until 2.30am.

The Bangsar, Dang Wangi, Kampung Baru and Ampang Park stations would be closed at 2am. Other stations will close at 12.45am.

For the Ampang Line LRT, the Hang Tuah, Masjid Jamek and Bandaraya stations will close at 2am. Other stations close at 12.45am. -- Bernama

TWK90

September 1st, 2008, 07:27 PM

1/9/2008

Construction of lifts at Subang Jaya station
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/01092008001.jpg

New seats on the platform at KL Sentral, replaced those plastic seats
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/01092008002.jpg

Kuala Kubu Bharu station

The entrance
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/01092008028.jpg

Ticket counter
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/01092008023.jpg

The fare table of the KTM Komuter, finally, i can see the fare for KL Sentral to Tanjung Malim, it looks like it is about RM 7...
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/01092008015.jpg

Made by LG
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/01092008022.jpg

The route map, one interesting thing, it lists Ipoh-Tanjung Malim as a KTM Komuter route, could it be there will be a seperate KTM Komuter service for Ipoh-Tanjung Malim?
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/01092008021.jpg

The list of stations and halts along the Ipoh-Seremban route, unlike the one in Batang Kali, the list do include Bank Negara and Mid Valley...
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/01092008016.jpg

Designated area for a kiosk...
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/01092008017.jpg

The faregates, made by Omron, the faregate looks very similar to those used in Japan, on the left side, that is the Touch n Go lane....2 readers, one for entry and one for exit...
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/01092008026.jpg

On the platform
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/01092008012.jpg

The track, towards north....next station, Tanjung Malim, but now, it is only Rawang-KKB shuttle...
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/01092008020.jpg

Finally, the EMU came from Rawang to this station and it will head back to Rawang...
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/01092008030.jpg

Skyprince

September 2nd, 2008, 06:13 PM

^^Wao KKB station is freakin' posh n artistic!

TWK90

September 2nd, 2008, 06:26 PM

^^Wao KKB station is freakin' posh n artistic!

Not just KKB, but all stations and halts along the Rawang-Ipoh, generally have the same design....

Certainly, those stations are a lot better and spacious than those under Klang Valley electrified double track project...nice looking ticket counter and more modern passenger information system....

Stations on Ipoh-Padang Besar project and Seremban-Gemas project will be different than those on Rawang-Ipoh project....

mrtfreak

September 3rd, 2008, 10:21 AM

^^ In what way will they be different? :) Will the Ipoh - Padang Besar and Seremban - Gemas stations have the same design?

TWK90

September 3rd, 2008, 10:31 AM

^^ In what way will they be different? :) Will the Ipoh - Padang Besar and Seremban - Gemas stations have the same design?

Design for the Ipoh-Padang Besar projects...

http://www.dasazman.com/railways.htm

For the Seremban-Gemas project, it will be different than Ipoh-Padang Besar and Rawang-Ipoh...the rendering shown on 5pm news in July, shows that it has more glass in a station than other projects...

TWK90

September 3rd, 2008, 05:58 PM

Taken outside Rawang station, this signboard, gives an insight of the future Rapid Intercity train will look like....

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t224/Nissan_FUGA/01092008037.jpg

TWK90

September 4th, 2008, 11:54 AM

Source : http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/bm/newsindex.php?id=357100

Lokasi Terminal Pengangkutan Bersepadu Utara Sedang Dikenalpasti

KUALA LUMPUR, 4 Sept (Bernama) -- Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (SPNB) kini dalam proses mengenal pasti lokasi yang sesuai dan strategik bagi membina sebuah terminal pengangkutan bersepadu antara bandar dari kawasan utara Semenanjung yang dijangka siap pada 2014.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif SPNB Shaipudin Shah Harun berkata lokasi itu berkemungkinan besar terletak di kawasan Damansara atau Sungai Buloh di mana ia akan dihubungkan dengan salah satu lokasi Transit Aliran Ringan (LRT) yang baru.

"Kami masih dalam proses mengenal pasti lokasi yang sesuai dan berdekatan dengan stesen LRT yang baru bagi menghubungkan terminal dengan pusat bandar dari kawasan utara.

"Selepas mengenal pasti lokasi barulah kami akan membuka tender kepada mana-mana pemaju sebelum proses mengambil tanah (lokasi) dan kedua-dua projek ini mengambil masa selama tiga bulan hingga satu tahun," katanya pada sidang akhbar bersama SPNB dan Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL) di sini hari ini.

Shaipudin berkata apabila siapnya terminal itu kelak ia dijangka akan menampung lebih 130 teksi dan 100 bas bergantung kepada saiz bangunan dan lokasi.

Shaipudin berkata bagi penambahbaikan sistem perkhidmatan bas RapidKL, laluan baru bagi bas tersebut sedang dikaji dan dijangkakan ia berdekatan dengan laluan baru LRT Aliran Kelana Jaya dan Ampang.

"Ini bagi memudahkan pengguna untuk bergerak dari satu kawasan ke satu kawasan dengan menggunakan bas atau LRT di kawasan yang sama dengan lebih cepat dan pantas," katanya.

Beliau berkata sistem LRT yang dipanjangkan bagi Aliran Kelana Jaya akan menghubungkan stesen Kelana Jaya sedia ada ke Putra Heights melalui Subang Jaya manakala sistem LRT yang dipanjangkan bagi Aliran Ampang akan menghubungkan stesen Sri Petaling sedia ada ke Putra Heights melalui Puchong.

"Terdapat pendengaran awam selama tiga bulan bagi mendapat maklum balas penduduk berdekatan sama ada setuju atau tidak stesen itu dibina di kawasan mereka," katanya.

Beliau berkata LRT baru sepanjang 42km yang akan dibina dari Kota Damansara ke Cheras pula mungkin akan dinaiktaraf kepada sistem Transit Aliran Massa (MRT) kerana kawasan laluan baru itu mempunyai kepadatan penduduk yang tinggi.

"Kita jangkakan lebih 500,000 pengguna sehari di kawasan itu dan sistem MRT dilihat lebih sesuai berbanding LRT kerana mampu menampung jumlah pengguna yang banyak pada satu-satu masa, tapi sistem ini perlu dikaji secara menyeluruh terlebih dahulu," katanya.

Baru-baru ini dalam Bajet 2009 Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi mengumumkan sistem LRT di Lembah Klang akan dipanjangkan sejauh 30 kilometer, iaitu masing-masing sepanjang 15 km, bagi Aliran Kelana Jaya dan Aliran Ampang.

Untuk memperluas lagi jaringan perkhidmatan rel bandar di Lembah Klang, laluan LRT baru sepanjang 42km akan dibina dari Kota Damansara ke Cheras, katanya.

Laluan baru ini, dengan kapasiti melebihi 300,000 penumpang sehari, apabila siap pada 2014, akan memberi perkhidmatan rel kepada lebih sejuta orang di kawasan kediaman, perdagangan dan kewangan Koridor Kota Damansara-Cheras.

Abdullah turut mengumumkan sebuah terminal pengangkutan bersepadu sedang dibina di Bandar Tasik Selatan bertujuan menyediakan kemudahan kepada teksi dan bas antara bandar terutama dari kawasan selatan Semenanjung.

-- BERNAMA

According to that article, there is a high possibility for the new northern integrated transport terminal to be located around Damansara or Sungai Buloh whereby it will be connected to one of the new LRT station..

Another interesting thing, the new 42 km line from Kota Damansara to Cheras, may be built as MRT instead of LRT because the route that does the new rail line passes, have high population density...

They expect around 500,000 commuters daily in that area and MRT system is seen more suitable than LRT because it is able to handle such number of commuters at one time, but this system have to be studied throughly first...

tomkat

September 4th, 2008, 04:29 PM

Subang airport area would be the best location for the Northern Intergrated Transport Terminal. The LRT and KTM komuter tracks could easily be extended to this terminal. Plus it is near major highways.

pedang

September 5th, 2008, 02:22 AM

Laluan LRT bawah tanah baru di KL

Oleh NIZAM YATIM

KUALA LUMPUR 4 Sept. - Bandar raya Kuala Lumpur akan mempunyai laluan transit aliran ringan (LRT) bawah tanah baru sejauh 5.9 kilometer dari Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields ke Pasar Rakyat di Bukit Bintang.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (SPNB), Shaipudin Shah Harun berkata, laluan bawah tanah itu yang mempunyai lima stesen adalah sebahagian daripada projek LRT baru aliran Kota Damansara ke Cheras yang dijangka siap pada 2014.

''Berikutan jumlah penduduk yang ramai iaitu kira-kira 878,000 orang di sepanjang laluan ini, maka kita sedang mengkaji kemungkinan mengunakan tren berkapasiti lebih besar seperti diguna Transit Aliran Massa (MRT) di Singapura," jelasnya.

Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang akhbar bersama SPNB dan Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn. Bhd. (RapidKL) mengenai Bajet 2009 di sini hari ini.

Ketika membentangkan Bajet 2009 baru-baru ini, Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi mengumumkan langkah kerajaan memperuntukkan RM35 bilion dalam tempoh 2009 hingga 2014 bagi meningkatkan kecekapan pengangkutan awam khususnya LRT.

Laluan LRT bawah tanah sedia ada membabitkan aliran Kelana Jaya dari Masjid Jamek sehingga ke Ampang Park.

Menurut Shaipudin, projek laluan baru sejauh 42 kilometer dengan 32 stesen itu akan bermula pada suku kedua tahun 2009 membabitkan proses reka bentuk.

Antara laluan yang terlibat, katanya, ialah Kota Damansara, Bandar Utama, Bangsar, KL Sentral, Bukit Bintang, Bandar Tasik Selatan dan Cheras manakala stesen untuk laluan bawah tanah belum ditetapkan.

Mengenai pengumuman ketika Bajet 2009 untuk menyambung LRT aliran Ampang dan Kelana Jaya yang masing-masing sejauh 15 kilometer yang dijangka siap pada akhir 2011, beliau berkata, pihaknya telah selesai melakukan kajian tanah serta menentukan jajaran dan kini dalam proses reka bentuk landasan dan stesen.

''Projek pembinaan kedua- dua laluan ini dijangka bermula pada pertengahan tahun depan dengan aliran Kelana Jaya akan mempunyai 12 stesen termasuk Subang, Subang Jaya, USJ dan Putra Heights.

''Sambungan aliran Ampang juga turut mempunyai 12 stesen termasuk OUG, Kinrara, Puchong dan Putra Heights," jelas beliau.

Ditanya tentang perolehan 35 set tren baru bagi aliran Kelana Jaya, beliau berkata, tren itu yang sedang dibina oleh Bombardier di Sahagun, Mexico dijangka tiba di Pelabuhan Klang November ini.

''Tren baru ini akan dipasang dengan peralatan tambahan di sini termasuk penyaman udara dan menjalani beberapa siri ujian sebelum memulakan operasi yang dijangka pada September 2009," jelasnya.

Tambah beliau, dengan siapnya projek sambungan dan laluan baru itu, jumlah pengguna LRT di Lembah Klang dijangka meningkat kepada sejuta orang sehari berbanding 350,000 orang sekarang.

rizalhakim

September 5th, 2008, 04:10 AM

New LRT lines may save billions in fuel costs
By ROYCE CHEAH

KUALA LUMPUR: More than a million Klang Valley residents stand to benefit from the extension and new light rail transit lines announced in Budget 2009, a three-fold increase from current levels.

Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (SPNB) said with the new level of public transport usage, the country could save as much as RM3bil in fuel costs.

The construction of a new 42km Kota Damansara-Cheras LRT line as well as extensions to the Kelana Jaya and Ampang LRT lines were announced as part of measures to develop public transport under the Budget.

Other measures include the purchase of more trains and buses.

The initiatives will cost a total of RM35bil.

SPNB chief executive officer, Shaipudin Shah Harun, said the first train from the 35 trains that were ordered for the Kelana Jaya LRT line would be operational by September next year.

Speaking to reporters at a special post-budget briefing yesterday, Shaipudin said all the trains, which were ordered in 2006, would be ready by 2011 while the 15km extensions to the Kelana Jaya and Ampang lines would also be ready at about the same time.

“The extensions are now at the detailed design stage and we need about a year for land acquisition,” he said.

Shaipudin said the detailed design stage for the new 42km Kota Damansara-Cheras line would happen by the second quarter of next year adding that this new line would have 32 stations, five of which would be underground.

rizalhakim

September 5th, 2008, 04:12 AM

nazrey

September 5th, 2008, 08:02 AM

Interesting! Wow..

adiyon84

September 5th, 2008, 03:50 PM

Great news.. I live in Kota Damansara. Sure after diz, life gonna be easier than before.. Hehehe... :banana: :banana: :banana:

rizalhakim

September 9th, 2008, 05:40 AM

Subang Jaya rep meets residents
By LIM CHIA YING

The proposed LRT route to Subang Jaya and USJ is yet to be confirmed. It was the first information relayed by Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh at her first town hall meeting with residents of Goodyear Court 7, 8, 9 and 10 last Saturday.

“Prasarana is waiting for the engineering design and survey of the proposed hubs before submitting it for approval.

“Once the approval comes through, the residents will be asked for their feedback and to put in their objections, if any,” Yeoh said.

Her update on the issue comes after the recent announcement in Budget 2009 by the Prime Minister that the LRT line into Subang Jaya and USJ will complement the existing LRT route from Kelana Jaya and connect to the Ampang line via Putra Heights and Puchong.

“The process of finding a proper route and land is tough, as Subang Jaya is already a developed township and residents do not want the proposed route to pass through their property.

“However, Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat has said that residents will be given at least three months to submit their objections and comments,” said Yeoh.

She added that she would also be proposing to the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) president to set up a task force to work with Rapid KL and Prasarana on how to improve public transportation in the township.

During the hour-long meeting, she spoke to the residents about various issues and activities she is working on and things to be ironed out with the relevant authorities.

Present at the meeting were MPSJ secretary Slamat Hamzah and department directors Rosli Mohammad Yunus from engineering and Dr Abdul Rahim Ahmad from health.

With regards to the road from Kesas highway to USJ 1, she said at present, only a one-way route had been approved.

“I understand from the MPSJ that it has submitted to the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) for a two-way route.

Yeoh also spoke on the frequent congestion at Persiaran Tujuan and said the MPSJ would be carrying out an independent assessment study.

“The council will have to study and see which junctions can be closed.”

Later, Yeoh took some questions from the residents, who voiced their concerns on congestion and environmental issues.

Yeoh will continue with her town hall meeting at different places each month.

allurban

September 11th, 2008, 07:14 AM

If you are in support of better public transport, please visit the website (http://transitmy.org) of the Association for the Improvement of Mass-Transit (Transit-Klang Valley) and share your ideas and feedback.

By the way, ASLI is holding a National Summit on Public Transport (http://www.asli.com.my/cgi-bin/details.cfm?type=conference&id=205)on the 18th of this month

Title : National Summit on Urban Public Transport
Theme : Improving the Public Transport Delivery System
Date : 18 Sept 08
Venue : Gardens Hotel & Residences, Mid Valley, Kuala Lumpur
Keynote Speaker Y.B. Datuk Ong Tee Keat
Minister of Transport
Summary A comprehensive public transport system is essential to the development of any modern city. An efficient public transport system will contribute to economic development by linking businesses with employees and customers as well as to provide a realistic and cost-effective alternative to private vehicles.

Cheers, m

nazrey

September 12th, 2008, 04:52 PM

KLIA TRANSIT TICKETS: Check-in only for train users
NST Online » Letters 2008/09/02
By : DR AMINUDDIN ADNAN, Chief executive officer Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd

http://www.nst.com.my/Tuesday/Letters/2338265/insidepix1

KLIA Ekspres charges RM35 for its high-speed train ride.

WE refer to the letter on KLIA transit tickets from A. Mutalib Razak of Kuala Lumpur ("Charge not appropriate" -- NST, Aug 27).
We would like to point out that the RM35 is not a surcharge but the fare for the high-speed train ride.

The check-in facilities at KL CAT are owned by Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd and not KL Sentral or any airline.

The airlines are our strategic partners in offering check-in facilities to our KLIA Ekspres passengers.

Secondly, it was our business strategy when we first started operations that the check-in facility would be solely for KLIA Ekspres paying passengers. This is part of the product differentiation vis-a-vis the airport limousine and the airport coach.
The total investment in KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit as a whole was huge (more than RM2 billion) and there are still additional costs involved to provide the value-added service, such as the check-in facilities and the free porter service.

As a commercial entity, it is our business to protect and recoup our investment and plug any leakages in our sources of revenue.

For your information, in Hong Kong, all airline passengers using the downtown check-in facilities in the city and Kowloon must also have a valid train ticket before they can enter the check-in area.

We hope this explanation puts in perspective the need to maintain certain constraints on the check-in facility.

nazrey

September 15th, 2008, 04:13 AM

New approach needed to tackle transport woes
Monday September 15, 2008
By BAVANI M
TheStar

THE Federal Government’s plan to build extensions to the LRT lines to resolve some of the Klang Valley’s transportation woes seems to lack a holistic approach and some NGOs see it as a narrow-minded way to tackle a perennial problem.

THE Federal Government’s plan to build extensions to the LRT lines to resolve some of the Klang Valley’s transportation woes seems to lack a holistic approach and some NGOs see it as a narrow-minded way to tackle a perennial problem.

ASK any public transport advocate about the state of the urban public transport system and they would say thay the services are not reliable, infrequent, not connected and not comprehensive enough to meet the needs of the passengers.

While the government’s efforts to provide a solution by constructing a new 42km Kota Damansara-Cheras LRT line as well as extensions to the Kelana Jaya and Ampang LRT lines, including measures to purchase more trains and buses, may be seen as a good idea in principle, many public transport activists see it as overlooking the big picture.

Newly established public transport activist group Transit (the Association for the Improvement of Mass Transit – Klang Valley) as well as consumer groups like Fomca and BEAT (the Barrier-Free Environment and Accessible Transport) believe that the cost to build the new extensions is simply too high and the benefits too low to justify the extensions.

More may not be good

The proposed LRT extensions to areas like Kota Damansara, Cheras, USJ and Subang may seem like a move in the right direction but experts believe that by investing highly on LRT lines, compromises have to made such as sacrificing connectivity and comprehensiveness.

“There is no point in building great lines when there is no connectivity. People want to live near these lines and other aspects such as the parking problems must be taken into account,’’ Transit adviser Moaz Yusof Ahmad said.

Moaz said with the new Kelana Jaya lines, it was expected that passenger capacity would increase from 160,000 passengers to 350,000 passengers daily. However, he said the concessionaires should give priority to moving passengers during peak hours instead.

According to Moaz the current maximum capacity per direction per hour at peak hours (8am-9am, 7pm-8pm) is 9,000 passengers per direction per hour.

“When you build trains to take in a maximum capacity of 20,000 per direction per hour, you are going to have problems in the future when there is no room for future extensions,’’ Moaz said, adding that with new lines, it was inevitable that more developments would spring up along the lines, thereby increasing capacity as well.

The bus poser

Ironically, the Federal Government only mentioned the extensions of LRT lines as a solution. There was a brief mention to improve KTM services but absolutely nothing on Rapid KL bus services.

Transit believes that highways and expressways can and should be used to support an integrated mass transit system, which includes all modes of transport including buses, high-speed trains, monorails and light rail transits to prevent congestion.

Spokesperson Muhammad Zulkarnain Hamzah said 30 buses would be more than capable of relieving the maximum amount of freeflow traffic that the RM1.2bil Ampang-KL Elevated Highway (AKLEH) could sustain at any one time.

“With a combined Park-n-Ride capacity of 10,000 parking bays at the Shah Alam and Bukit Jalil Stadiums, this could make all the Kesas, NKVE and Elite expressways empty from private vehicles.

“Since we have an excellent network of limited access free-flow expressways around the Klang Valley, we can consider these as Expressway Rapid Transit (ERT) tracks with ERT buses as trains.

“Bus stations can be built on top of these tracks at identified strategic transit points with a high suburban population and bus terminals for suburban feeder bus services together with depots and car parks can be build inside the suburban area and next to the ERT points so that transit time can be cut short,’’ Muhammad Zulkarnain said.

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/9/15/central/p2queue.jpg

Long wait: Creating more bus lanes and enforcing
them strictly could help cut down queues like these.

Zulkarnain added that three strategic KL gateway points for ERT buses can be created at KL Sentral/Mid Valley, Imbi and Sentul Timur with dedicated bus ramps to Jalan Travers –Jalan Duta (heading to NKVE and NPE), KL-Putrajaya, and DUKE expressways respectively.

These gateway points should be conveniently linked to the Ampang and Kelana Jaya LRT Lines, KL Monorail, and high frequency busway rapid transit with limited routes and dedicated lanes.

“The Dang Wangi LRT Station can be the main gateway point that caters to ERT from Ampang as it sits strategically at the west end point of AKLEH,’’ he explained.

To cater to demand during rush hour, express bus operators should be allowed to bid for periodical contracts to serve as ERT buses.

Dedicated bus lanes

In order to speed up services during peak hours, Transit believes that dedicated bus lanes are the only way out of the jam.

Moaz said the system had worked tremendously well in cities like Bogota in Colombia and Jakarta in Indonesia. He said it has been reported that it is the most efficient and cost effective public transportation system in the world and adopted in some 80 countries.

“Congestion is a big problem during peak periods and buying new buses will not solve the problem,’’ Moaz said.

Even the SMURT-KL Study done in 1997 revealed that dedicated bus lanes could reduce travel time by more than 40% on a congested road.

And this, according to Transit experts, is something that can easily be implemented immediately as part of the short-term solutions to counter congestion.

One agency to rule them all

Transit believes that there should be one Urban Transport Authority to take over all mass transit systems in the Klang Valley.

Currently, mass transit support like enforcement, licensing, route rationalisation, fare system, feedback management, at both the local and federal level are under the complicated and overlapping jurisdictions of some 11 different agencies and three ministries.

What is needed is one autonomous agency that is not politically or financially motivated and monitored by the civil service, Fomca, and the ACA to ensure transparency and accountability.

The Federal Government initiated the Rapid Transit Study called SMURT-KL over 10 years ago which suggested the need for a local transport authority called the Klang Valley Urban Transport Authority (Kuta) - but sadly nothing came out of this endeavour.

“A Transport Authority could monitor all the bus routes in the Klang Valley. Routes should be revised to the hub and spoke system proposed by Rapid KL. Areas would each have one main expressway route and separate feeder buses.

“Each company would tender an application to the authority to operate the routes on three to five-year contracts,’’ Moaz explained.

The successful operator would get one profitable expressway route plus other less profitable routes within an area.

Moaz explained that the authority would collect all fares and pay the operator according to the contracted period.

“The operator must provide services during the contractual period. If the operator is found to be problematic, then the authority can terminate the service and tender for the services of another operator.’’

“This way, the public’s and the authority’s interests are protected,’’ he stressed.

With such a system in place and the existence of such an authority, operators would be accountable and responsible for their own routes. In fact, this arrangement has worked quite well in cities like Vancouver, Berlin and Singapore.

Where do we begin

While it is not easy to solve the transportation problem in the Klang Valley, it certainly is not impossible. But, for this to work, there is a pressing need for an inclusive Master Plan for the Klang Valley.

And that is only possible once the powers that be realise that mass transit is not just seen as a means of travel for the poor but for everyone.

nazrey

September 16th, 2008, 07:38 AM

Subang Jaya residents give views on LRT
Tuesday September 16, 2008
By LIM CHIA YING
TheStar

SUBANG Jaya residents had to make do with whatever little information they had received over the proposed LRT extension to their township when airing their views last Sunday.

They had gathered at the basketball court in SS14 Subang Jaya for a public briefing organised and called upon by the SS14 residents.

Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh was invited to brief the residents.

She was earlier briefed by Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana), which is the asset owners of the Kelana Jaya rail line and also the Ampang line.

Also present were officers from the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) and councillor and JKP Zone 1 chairman Theresa Ratnam Thong.

Yeoh told the group that she had only little information on the LRT issue from Prasarana but shared what she had.

Prasarana, despite being invited to the gathering, did not turn up.

Thong also asked the residents to confine their questions or input on just the LRT. The residents had a diverse range of questions and feedback.

Earlier, the SS14 residents had also come up with four proposed routes for the LRT to run on.

Bandar Sunway resident Joe Gomez said the Federal Government had always come up with the excuse of not having money whenever the people proposed alternatives.

“What I want to know is if other than the LRT, have all other possible alternatives for public transportation being studied?” he asked.

Some residents said they were not keen on the idea for the LRT. They said the LRT would only create noise and dust pollution and that the underground Mass Railway Transit (MRT) would have been better.

“By extending the Kelana Jaya line to Subang Jaya, will bring in more passengers into our township. This can be a potential risk for crime and our safety,” said one resident.

“It’s pointless having the LRT if feeder bus services are not improved. Are we expecting people to drive to the stations when parking space in Subang Jaya is already a problem?” asked another.

An irked SS14 resident objected to having the LRT, especially if it was to pass through residential areas.

Many also questioned Prasarana’s absence at the briefing, citing that they should be around to listen to people’s concerns as part of a consultative process and not when the public hearing is called for.

Yeoh later assured residents that she had taken note of their input and would convey them to Prasarana.

“I’ve also told MPSJ that I’m planning for a meeting next week with Prasarana, RapidKL and the council to convey today’s input.

“I want to have a consultative session with all groups as the four proposed routes made may not be comprehensive and I believe those present today are not a true representation of everyone.

She said under the Railways Act 1991 (Act 463), Prasarana must give notice of its plans in at least three successive issues of at least two national papers, one of which must be in the national language.

This is to ensure that any person having any objections to the plan to send in a statement of objections in writing to the director-general of the Railway Department within three months from the date of the last notice in the newspapers.

“I definitely agree with residents that we need good feeder bus services if the LRT comes in.

“For this, we need the experts to come and tell us.

“At the same time, I don’t know how many people here will use the public transport.

“But whatever it is, the LRT should not be built without consultation because it can be disastrous,” she said.

The residents also later signed a petition attached with a memorandum to Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat on their reservations over several issues of the LRT.

timothy2484

September 16th, 2008, 07:39 AM

Hey TWK90, that pic, that shows a lift at the subang jaya station, is that for the new LRT line?

Does that mean that construction has already taken place?

TWK90

September 16th, 2008, 07:47 AM

Hey TWK90, that pic, that shows a lift at the subang jaya station, is that for the new LRT line?

Does that mean that construction has already taken place?

No, it is just an upgrade to Subang Jaya station, to facilitate better access for the disabled with lifts.....nothing to do with the LRT line...

forrestcat

September 16th, 2008, 09:16 AM

Singapore.

Where do we begin

.

How about by changing the government who thinks that PT is for poor people.

rizalhakim

September 16th, 2008, 09:21 AM

allurban

September 16th, 2008, 09:42 AM

“There is no point in building great lines when there is no connectivity. People want to live near these lines and other aspects such as the parking problems must be taken into account,’’ Transit adviser Moaz Yusof Ahmad said.

Moaz said with the new Kelana Jaya lines, it was expected that passenger capacity would increase from 160,000 passengers to 350,000 passengers daily. However, he said the concessionaires should give priority to moving passengers during peak hours instead.

According to Moaz the current maximum capacity per direction per hour at peak hours (8am-9am, 7pm-8pm) is 9,000 passengers per direction per hour.

“When you build trains to take in a maximum capacity of 20,000 per direction per hour, you are going to have problems in the future when there is no room for future extensions,’’ Moaz said, adding that with new lines, it was inevitable that more developments would spring up along the lines, thereby increasing capacity as well.

The bus poser

“The operator must provide services during the contractual period. If the operator is found to be problematic, then the authority can terminate the service and tender for the services of another operator.’’

“This way, the public’s and the authority’s interests are protected,’’ he stressed.A few points that she missed on. First, the concessionaires should plan according to maximum peak hour capacity, not daily average capacity.

Second, the new developments would lead to increased demand which would overwhelm the line

Third, the contract would also include incentives for performance, not just focus on non-performance.

Cheers, m

allurban

September 16th, 2008, 09:43 AM

and whats next??? ooohhh plz stop dis.....what do you mean, @rizal?

Cheers, m

TWK90

September 16th, 2008, 09:57 AM

what do you mean, @rizal?

Cheers, m

He probably feared that with all those consultations and objections, the LRT line construction will be delayed...

Anyway, yesterday i went to KL Monorail KL Sentral terminus, i saw some of the faregates has been shifted to other area and it seems, they add more faregates...

Is it possible for operators to come out with their own cards so that they can offer cheaper fare when using smart cards without concerns on commissions? But still, having Touch n Go as the de facto card for public transport here, makes things a lot easier!

allurban

September 16th, 2008, 10:07 AM

He probably feared that with all those consultations and objections, the LRT line construction will be delayed...

Anyway, yesterday i went to KL Monorail KL Sentral terminus, i saw some of the faregates has been shifted to other area and it seems, they add more faregates...

Is it possible for operators to come out with their own cards so that they can offer cheaper fare when using smart cards without concerns on commissions? But still, having Touch n Go as the de facto card for public transport here, makes things a lot easier!It would be nice if the operators would at least offer some kind of discount to get people to use the Touch N Go. Instead RapidKL communications lectures the passenger about using small change only. Sheesh

Um, as for Subang Jaya, I also dont support a badly planned LRT. If I had been at the meeting I would have also spoken up against the project. I think there are better options available for the suburbs...better ot build mass-transit in the city where it is reaaaaalllly needed.

hasrul

September 16th, 2008, 05:35 PM

hi ive heard about the new kelana jaya line and the government plan to built a new station in subangjaya.

i just like to let subangjayanites know that i have done a study on that proposal and like to share it with you guys.

http://a659.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/113/l_130e0e39d396ac5e8316d66b0aa5b3ea.jpg

The introductions of transit system in Malaysia come as a great relief to all Malaysian. Our country has finally steps into the global trend of modern mobilopolis by the introduction of newer generation of transit system.

Now what is wrong with that statement? The keywords here are 'trend' & 'modern'. We are so obsessed with these two words, less we as the designer, planner & policy maker forget or ignored the most important aspect in transit design: it serves with an important purpose.

What is the purpose of a transit system? Ask any ordinary people this question they will say it’s for reducing traffic congestions. Is it?

True transit stations have many roles & responsibilities. Basically it’s an interface between a rider & the transit system. This interface must be functional, easy, safe & efficient. It also must comply with the fire & safety requirement and handicapped friendly.

Most of the station which was designed for the various type of light rail transit is either barely meets the requirement or in some cases ignored all aspect of the requirement.

http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/6016/ms2bjt7.jpg

hasrul

September 16th, 2008, 05:45 PM

Mobility is the trend that engulfing the world today. Human need to move faster, reach further and easier while enjoying their life. This trend not only shape the way people live, it also influenced the way transit station are built. Transit stations were designed only as an interface between the rider and the transit system, a place where a passer-by becomes a customer.

http://a771.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/84/l_1b11462ac49f83456339e555be8cd5b2.jpg

force and influence

Transit station roles and impact to the urban form are seldom understood, discussed or incorporated in the final design. Hence its enormous potential for the urban fabric were never use and usually neglected by the policy makers and especially architects and planners.

http://a914.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/20/l_a8cdb1178acb9c072f5d0c2776a1eba1.jpg

mixing uses and zone

What are the changing roles of the transit station? Stations are developing into transport crossroads and service and living centers. Design of stations is being impacted by technological developments as well as changing concepts of spatial arrangements and sequences.

http://a135.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/51/l_ac02e6be363ab64fd916ea34e5d1cf26.jpg

walkable catchment

Transit system was seen like a person evaluating a car. In our mind a good car is the one that have a better brand. Brand like BMW or Ferrari make a better car than Proton or Kia, etc. This mentality not only infects the ordinary people who use the transit system but unfortunately it also plaguing the mind of policy makers, architect and designers.

http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/23/b3tf4.jpg

That is why we have four different systems which incompatible with each other and to make things worst the station where the line met are not integrated. One should know why we need a transit system; it’s a tool for development, it’s a catalyst for growth. Reducing car congestion is only one small part that a transit system could do.

The potential to be a catalyst for the development. Can the station and the city development symbiosis with each other? Can it offer urban services and creating impact to the neighborhood?

http://a30.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/74/l_495b7aac2a093cbd4ba179e1f5371d2d.jpg