MALAYSIA | Railways

[nazrey]

[nazrey]

[nazrey]

[nazrey]

[nazrey]

Terminal in progress

[nazrey]

Western transport terminal Putrajaya
More infos Here.

[nazrey]

Originally Posted by nazrey

Electrified Double Track Project Sentul - Batu Caves
source : EDT



In line with the Government’s Policy to alleviate road congestion and enhance the existing public transportation system, it has become indispensable to extend the existing Klang Valley Commuter Network to Batu Caves. Upon completion, residence in the Selayang/Gombak municipality would benefit from a high capacity railway service that would also serve as an alternative means for road transportation. The existing single track route will be upgraded to a double track and equipped with new infrastructure, i.e., new bridges, underpasses, drainage systems, new Sentul and Batu Caves Stations, new halts at Taman Wahyu, Kampung Batu and Batu Kentonmen, overhead electrification system 25kV AC (single phase) including modern signalling and communication system. The project is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2004 and expected to complete within a period of 30 months.



Sentul - Batu Caves EDT Project







Perspective View

1) Typical Halt







2) Batu Caves Station

Proposed three halts and an end station at an environmentally and historically sensitive site as an extension of the Kuala Lumpur commuter line located in Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur.

YTL and Siemens in talks to take over project
SHAREN KAUR
Dec 5


YTL Corp Bhd, the country’s largest builder, and Siemens AG, Europe’s largest engineering group, may take control of the RM480 million Sentul-Batu Caves high speed rail contract, people familiar with the matter said yesterday.


Mail Money was told that YTL is in talks with Siemens to take over the three-packaged rail project.

"YTL wants to rope in Siemens to work on the three packages with Sentul Raya, by providing its expertise in signalling and electrification works," Mail Money was told.

It is firmly believed that Sentul Raya Sdn Bhd, partly owned by YTL, had secured the letter of intent (LoI) for the first package worth as much as RM230 million from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) last month.

The LoI for package two, worth about RM80 million, was given to Saujana Beta Development Sdn Bhd, a unit of Brunsfield Corp Sdn Bhd, while the LoI for package three, worth nearly RM150 million, was given to privately-held Golden Land Development Sdn Bhd.

Mail Money was told that Sentul Raya had been nominated by the MOF to work on package one, as well as manage package two and three.

The MOF had also asked Sentul Raya to interface all the three packages and deliver the project within schedule.

"The Sentul-Batu Caves project is an important project. The MOF wants to engage companies with railway expertise so that the whole system is delivered on time," said the source.

Apart from Siemens, the companies which have the infrastructure expertise to undertake the job are Bombardier Transportion, Balfour Beatty Plc, Alstom Transporation, Westing- House, Union Switch & Signal, Ascom AG (Switzerland) and Korea LG.

[nazrey]

Govt Assessing Coaches For Kuala Lumpur-Ipoh Electric Train


IPOH, Jan 5 (Bernama) -- The government is assessing the trains to buy for the Kuala Lumpur-Ipoh electric train service which is scheduled to commence in early 2008.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said Thursday that the government was looking for the most suitable model but did not disclose details like the cost or the manufacturer.

He was speaking to reporters at the railway station here after arriving from Kuala Lumpur on board a train to inspect the progress of the construction of the 204km Ipoh-Rawang electric double-track railway.

He said the RM4.1 billion project was scheduled for completion by the end of 2007.

"The infrastructure works which are now 84 per cent completed are scheduled to be ready end of this year while the system works will be fully completed by end of next year to enable the service to be launched in early 2008," he said.

On the service for the route, he said the journey between Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur would take more than two hours and the train would only stop at the Batu Gajah, Kampar, Tapah, Slim River, Tanjung Malim and Rawang stations.

"This means that Ipoh residents can commute to work in Kuala Lumpur," he added.

The project was delayed before it was taken over by UEM World Bhd from DRB-Hicom Bhd last June.

[nazrey]

Progress Photograph
1) Railway Bridge BR527 - Sg. Keranji





2) ROB Jalan Tapah - Teluk Intan





3) New Centralised Train Control (CTC) At Sentral KL Station




4) Serendah Station

[nazrey]

Originally Posted by nazrey

Proposed 14 standard Halts and Stations for the Rawang - Ipoh high-speed line. Located between Rawang to Ipoh.

[nazrey]

Locomotives underutilised
By Cindy Tham
10-01-2006


Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) is unable to maximise the use of the 40 high-power locomotives it bought for US$123 million (RM461 million) due to the delay in the completion of the Rawang-Ipoh double-tracking project.

With the double-tracking, KTMB will be able to raise the capacity by five-fold from the current operations. In the meantime, the national railway is losing out on the chance of making more revenue.

According to KTMB, it will be able to use these high-power locomotives for freight trains more frequently after the completion of the double-tracking project between Rawang and Ipoh. These locomotives from the US and China will be able to serve the busy freight sector between Ipoh and Port Klang, it said.

“We anticipate the capacity increase to be five-fold,” it said in an email reply to FinancialDaily.

KTMB had acquired 20 high-power Blue Tiger locomotives from General Electric Company, USA, which arrived in stages beginning 2003. “All 20 of these locomotives are now fully commissioned,” it said.

The Blue Tiger locomotives, including capital spares, cost US$64.5 million via the counter trade of palm oil, it said.

KTMB said it had acquired another 20 high-power locomotives from Dalian, China, which cost US$58 million — including capital spares — also via the counter trade of palm oil.

By last November, it had received 12 of these locomotives from China, which are currently undergoing commissioning tests.

KTMB said the high-power locomotives are capable of operating 30 to 40 wagons per run, compared with 20 wagons with existing locomotives.

The hauling capacity of these high-power locomotives is 2,500 tonnes as opposed to only 1,200 tonnes using existing locomotives, it added.

These high-power locomotives are expected to reduce the national railway’s dependence on locomotives leased from India.

KTMB is currently leasing 20 locomotives from India. “This number will be reduced to 15 in 2006, 10 in 2007 and by 2008, we expect to stop leasing the locomotives,” it said.

The average cost for leasing and maintenance is expected to come up to about RM13 million for 15 locomotives for 2006, it said.

Work on the 179-km electrified double-tracking project between Rawang and Ipoh, which took off in 2000, was initially scheduled to be completed in 2002. DRB-Hicom Bhd was appointed to handle the construction of the infrastructure part of the project.

Following delays and cost overrun, the government announced last August that it had terminated the contract with DRB-Hicom and appointed UEM World Bhd to take over the rest of the work.

The RM4.1 billion project is now scheduled for completion by the end of 2007.

[nazrey]

Picture by : KonstantineChoo from KTMRailwayfan Club

[nazrey]

Picture by : KonstantineChoo from KTMRailwayfan Club



Main entrance

[nazrey]

Picture by : KonstantineChoo from KTMRailwayfan Club

Ticket counters



Cafeteria

[nazrey]

Less attractive or was never attractive?

Is Rawang today less attractive than the towns in the south? Chan, understandably, does not think so. "It is just that those areas have become more attractive. Properties located in the southern corridor are enjoying enhanced values as development there is government-led. The infrastructure is in place, making the properties a more attractive investment," he reasons. "If Cyberjaya and Putrajaya weren't in the south, property prices in Puchong wouldn't be as high as that."

Talam's other developments are in the south, one of which is at Putra Perdana.

However, the property consultant at DTZ Debenham Tie Leung maintains that Rawang was never attractive. "Most developers went to Rawang based on the premise that there was going to be a lot of development by the state government, such as Proton City," he says.

"There has been no emphasis on Rawang's rejuvenation," he adds, noting that "the few rows of pre-war shop houses" in the town centre are the only commercial units in the town. Avtar agrees, saying that as the population has grown, the businesses in town handle a lot more transactions.

[nazrey]

Rewriting the ending

All said and done, can the ending for Rawang be rewritten? Developers with existing projects and those embarking on new ones seem to think so.
Talam's Chan says that as the southern corridor has become quite congested, there is potential for development in the north that caters to the country-living concept.

One of the newer developments here, the Emerald township, jointly developed by Hong Leong Properties Bhd and Singapore-based Hong Bee Land Sdn Bhd, is banking on the country lifestyle concept that it offers, among others.

At the Serendah Golf Resort north of Rawang, the developer of Taman Rawang Perdana -- SunwayMas -- is planning a 200-acre mixed development. Its marketing manager, Madeline Soo, says that the company is planning to launch 2-storey terraced and semi-detached units early next year, again a resort-type of housing development.

However, these are private sector initiatives. For Rawang to be truly rejuvenated, efforts have to be government-led, says the DTZ Debenham Tie Leung consultant.

"Since there are huge landbanks available, the state government should start educational centres to act as the growth catalyst, to draw more industrialists," he adds, stressing that the educational institutions need to be market-driven, catering to the agro-based or electronics industries.

There is hope yet for Rawang. According to a spokesperson for the Selayang Municipal Council, the local authority is expected to unveil a detailed development plan for Rawang (up to 2020) very soon.

The plan is expected to gazette areas for industrial, housing and agricultural activities as well as earmark forest reserves. It is expected to be launched by the Selangor Menteri Besar this month, the spokesperson tells City & Country.

Meanwhile, a privatised project, undertaken by SAP Holdings Bhd and Mahumas Sdn Bhd to redevelop parcels of state and federal land, is expected to be a boon to the town. This project will see the development of commercial properties, the construction of a bypass and a new taxi and bus terminal.

There is also potential in leisure-related developments. The local authority, it has been proposed, should set up information kiosks or centres to inform both residents and non-residents of the activities available in the town.
"Tourism is one area that is yet untapped," says the consultant at DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, citing the Ulu Yam-Batang Kali area with its waterfalls as a site where eco-tourism developments can be undertaken.
With the Gombak Forest Reserve and the Main Range nearby, Rawang would be what the pioneer developers had said it would be -- green.
"Rawang and the north cannot challenge the south in economic terms… there is no way they can do it. The only way of going about it is through non-competitive areas," reasons the consultant.

[nazrey]

Traffic woes in Rawang

There doesn't seem to be any conscious effort to improve traffic congestion in this town. It is not surprising to find bumper-to-bumper traffic on the trunk road during the weekends as people head for tourist spots like Genting Highlands. There is also a daily traffic crawl along the main trunk road to Kuala Lumpur.

As a result, areas that are outside the congested spots in Rawang, like Taman Rawang Perdana, are preferred by investors, says First Serendah's Avtar. According to him, the traffic jam, made worse by narrow roads, can be so bad that the crawl may extend from Sungai Choh (north of Rawang) right up to Templer Park on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

Although the North-South Expressway is an option for motorists, Avtar says "the increase in toll has discouraged many buyers".

It is timely then that KTM Bhd began its commuter services in August 1995. The number of Rawang commuters this year is close to 60,000 a month, up from 30,000 a month in 1995 and 41,000 in 1998, a KTMB spokesperson tells City & Country.

Image-wise, Rawang hasn't been able to shed its "cowboy town" tag, and motorists who double-park along the main road in the town centre while they run their errands are not helping much.

[nazrey]

Rawang revival

No regrets, just no luck!" says Talam Corp Bhd managing director Tan Sri Chan Ah Chye, emphatically, when asked if he had any regrets about venturing into Rawang. Chan, who is also chairman of the company, believes that if the expected growth in the northern corridor had materialised, Talam's two projects -- Bukit Beruntung and Bukit Sentosa -- would have enjoyed phenomenal sales and growth.

But is it merely luck that has resulted in development in the southern corridor overtaking that of the north? Does the location of the KL International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang and the development of Putrajaya and Cyberjaya, all in the south, mean that developers are ignoring the north?

City & Country tours Rawang, taking a look at some of the development in and around this town, as well as the areas that hold potential for future development.

Between the early and mid-1990s, most of the major developers fought for a presence in Rawang. Talam, Land & General, Tanco Properties -- you name it -- had their respective land banks in the area or were busy acquiring them.
The public sector was just as excited about its prospects. In 1994, the Selangor government acquired 2,400ha of land in Kalumpang, near Tanjung Malim, for an integrated development to be undertaken by the Selangor State Development Corp. The Perak government also offered Hicom Bhd a site for its car assembly plant in Behrang.

Back then, property developers and consultants had only positive things to say about Rawang and the northern corridor. "An investor's goldmine" was the catchphrase property players used, recalls a consultant with proper advisors DTZ Debenham Tie Leung.

The northern corridor and Rawang seemed to have everything going for them. The North-South Expressway had just been completed, slashing travel time between Rawang and Kuala Lumpur. Most of the developers capitalised on this to promote the "country-living concept".

There was also talk that the KLIA would be located in the Bernam Valley, north of Rawang, Talam's Chan tells City & Country. And so, by the mid-1990s, Rawang and its neighbouring areas were literally besieged by new property developments.

Then came the announcement by the government to locate KLIA in Sepang. The federal government's new administrative capital, Putrajaya, was also to be sited in the south as was the Multimedia Super Corridor and its high-tech city, Cyberjaya. The south started seeing rapid development with areas like Puchong becoming much sought-after due to their proximity to the airport and the much-improved road network.

Like bees to honey, developers began to shift their attention to the southern corridor. And, although not forgotten, the northern corridor began to lag in infrastructure, property development activities and property values.

[nazrey]

[nazrey]