Ampang Line

The Ampang Line is one of the two lines in Kuala Lumpur Rail Transit System network operated by RapidKL Rail network. The other rail network is the Kelana Jaya Line.

Other rail-based public transport modes in Kuala Lumpur include the KL Monorail, KTM Komuter and Express Rail Link.

The line consists of two sub-lines, with one major leg of the line is shared:

Sentul Timur to Chan Sow Lin (shared stations between the two sub-lines)
Chan Sow Lin to Ampang
Chan Sow Lin to Sri Petaling

On 28 November 2011, the Ampang Line and the Kelana Jaya Line were integrated with a single ticketting system, allowing commuters to transfer from one line to another at Masjid Jamek station without the need to buy a new ticket.

1 Nomenclature
2 Lines and stations
3 Interchange with other railway systems
4 Rolling stock
5 History and timeline
- 5.1 Accidents
6 Extensions
- 6.1 Amendments to Extensions
7 Gallery
8 References
9 See also
10 External links
- 10.1 Route Maps

Nomenclature

The system has assumed multiple names throughout its service. Initially known as STAR (Malay: Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan; English: Light Rail Transit System), the STAR LRT or the STAR Line, the system was renamed in 2005 to refer to system's two sub-lines: the Sri Petaling and Ampang Lines. In April 2007, the entire system was renamed the Ampang Line as one common line, with no official names given to the sub-lines.

Lines and stations

The Ampang Line consists of two routes with a total length of 27 kilometres that begin at two different stations to the south of the city, meeting at an interchange station, continuing through the city centre and ending at the same station at the north. The Ampang-Sentul Timur line begins at Ampang, while the Sri Petaling-Sentul Timur line begins at Sri Petaling. Both lines converge at Chan Sow Lin; the merged line leads to the north, terminating at Sentul Timur. The Ampang-Sultan Ismail route was the first phase of the system to open, on 16 December 1995, with the second stretch from Chan Sow Lin to Sri Petaling operational on 11 July 1998, primarily for accessibility to the National Sports Complex during the 1998 Commonwealth Games via the Bukit Jalil station. The section between Sultan Ismail and Sentul Timur opened on 6 December 1998.

The line between Plaza Rakyat and Sentul Timur is elevated, running along the Gombak River between Bandaraya and Titiwangsa. The Chan Sow Lin-Ampang line is primarily at surface level, while the Chan Sow Lin-Plaza Rakyat line and the Sri Petaling-Chan Sow Lin line use a combination of surface-level and elevated tracks. There are no underground sections.

The system includes 25 stations: eleven along the Chan Sow Lin-Sentul Timur line, and seven each along the Ampang-Chan Sow Lin line and the Sri Petaling-Chan Sow Lin line. The service depot and primary train depot is at Ampang. There is a secondary train depot at Sri Petaling.

Unlike previous railway lines in Malaysia, which were built to metre gauge, the Ampang Line was the first railway system in the country to adopt standard gauge. Between Ampang and Plaza Rakyat and between Chan Sow Lin and Salak Selatan, the line uses the trackbed of previously disused lines that were part of the Malayan Railway network (Ampang/Sultan Street branch), closed in the 1960s (between the present Chan Sow Lin station and the present Plaza Rakyat) and the early 1990s (the remaining portion of the line). The Ampang depot stands on the site of the former Ampang railway station.

Ridership on the line has been far below expectations. Built with a capacity of 500,000 passengers per day^[1] and a breakeven point of 170,000 passengers per day,^[2] in 1998, two years after launch, the line was averaging only 53,000 passengers per day, in part because of fares perceived as too high.^[2] In 2002, STAR LRT was taken over by the government-owned Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad. By 2003, the ridership had increased to 110,000, still insufficient for profitability.^[1]

Common stations on the Ampang Line

These stations are the common stations that the yellow and green routes share.

No.	Name	Type	Notes
ST11	Sentul Timur	Terminal
ST10	Sentul	Side
ST9	Titiwangsa	Side	Interchange with KL Monorail and Metrobus and RapidKL hubs.
ST8	PWTC	Side	Interchange with KTM Komuter.
ST7	Sultan Ismail	Side
ST6	Bandaraya	Side	Interchange with KTM Komuter.
ST5	Masjid Jamek	Side	Interchange with Kelana Jaya Line, walking distance to Metrobus hub.
ST4	Plaza Rakyat	Side
ST3	Hang Tuah	Side	Interchange with KL Monorail.
ST2	Pudu	Side
ST1/AG1/PH1	Chan Sow Lin	Island	Interchange for Ampang and Sri Petaling destinations.

Yellow route stations

Chan Sow Lin is the interchange station between the two routes. The route that runs to Ampang station consists of 7 stations running into East of Klang Valley.

No.	Name	Type	Notes
AG2	Miharja	Side
AG3	Maluri	Side	Interchange with RapidKL hub.
AG4	Pandan Jaya	Side
AG5	Pandan Indah	Side
AG6	Cempaka	Side
AG7	Cahaya	Side
AG8	Ampang	Side	Interchange with RapidKL hub.

Green route stations

Chan Sow Lin is the interchange station between the two routes. The line that runs to Sri Petaling station consists of 7 stations running into South of Klang Valley.

No.	Name	Type	Notes
PH2	Cheras	Side
PH3	Salak Selatan	Side
PH4	Bandar Tun Razak	Side
PH5	Bandar Tasik Selatan	Island	Interchange with KLIA Transit and KTM Komuter.
PH6	Sungai Besi	Side
PH7	Bukit Jalil	Side
PH8	Sri Petaling	Terminal	Originally named Komanwel (Commonwealth) station.

Interchange with other railway systems

Since its launch, the Ampang Line had been intended to include forms of interchangeability with other rail-based systems in the region. When the STAR line was launched in 1996, the Bandaraya LRT station became the first STAR station to be designated as an Interchange station, with a footbridge connecting to the Bank Negara Komuter station, a KTM Komuter regional rail station, a few hundred metres away. With the completion of the Sri Petaling-Chan Sow Lin line, the Bandar Tasik Selatan station was opened as a more integrated interchange between the STAR line and the KTM Komuter. The line would later include interconnectivity with Kelana Jaya Line, ERL and KL Monorail services in the following years. The system currently has a total of five stations linked to other railway systems.

The Ampang Line is the only rail system in the Kuala Lumpur rail transit network that, though it passes through the city centre, does not stop within or near Kuala Lumpur Sentral. This is because KL Sentral, despite its name, is not in fact in the centre of KL.

Rolling stock

The rolling stock of the Ampang Line consists of a fleet of 90 Adtranz standard-gauge trains manufactured by Walkers Limited, an Australian engineering company. The trains consist of electric multiple units, which draw power from the underside of a third rail installed alongside the track. All cars in each train are powered. The trains are manned, with driver cabs occupying the ends of the train.

The trains come in two trainset configurations. The first and most common variation is the six-car trainset, which consists of three sets of two EMUs (2+2+2) and occupies the maximum platform length of the lines' stations. Each of the two EMU sets at the front and rear consist of one driving car and one trailer car, while the two EMUs between are trailer cars. Each two EMU sets are not connected to other EMU sets in the train. The second variation is a four-car trainset, a more obscure configuration that consists of only two EMU sets (2+2) of one driving car and one trailer car at both ends. With only two-thirds the length and number of cars as the six-car variation. The 2+2 trainsets were once used in full in the service until the massive deployment of 2+2+2 trainsets.

Each car has 3 bogies, 2 power bogies and one articulated trailer for the centre bogie. The end cars, numbered 1101 to 1260 have driver cabs. Middle cars numbered 2201 to 2230 have a concealed driver control panel, enabling the car to be moved around the depot independently.

The train interiors are simple and basic. There are no individual seats, only longitudinal bench seating on either side of the train, surfaced in metal, while spaces near the connecting ends of the cars are provided for passengers who use wheelchairs and other assistive devices. There is a large amount of floorspace for standing passengers.

The rolling stock has remained relatively unchanged since its introduction in 1996.

In 2009, together with the display on the proposed Puchong extension of the line, it was announced that the rolling stock fleet would be expanded with 13 new trains.

History and timeline

13 November 1992: Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan Sdn Bhd (Star LRT) incorporated to implement Kuala Lumpur's first LRT project.
22 December 1992: Franchise agreement between the Malaysian government and Star LRT signed for the development, ownership and operation of LRT system.
30 August 1994: Work on the project officially commenced.
16 December 1996: Phase One between Ampang and Sultan Ismail stations begins operations.
11 July 1998: Branch line from Chan Sow Lin station to Sri Petaling station begins operations. This branch forms part of the Sri Petaling Line.
6 December 1998: Extension from Sultan Ismail station to Sentul Timur station begins operations.
1 September 2002: Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (SPNB) takes over ownership and operations of Star LRT under the first phase of Kuala Lumpur's public transport restructuring exercise. SPNB renames the system Starline.
November 2004: Operations of Starline transferred to Rapid KL. Ownership of assets remain with SPNB.
19 July 2005: Rapid KL announces that Starline's two lines will be renamed the Ampang and Sri Petaling Lines. All signage will be changed by 2006.
28 November 2011: Kelana Jaya and Ampang - Sri Petaling Line integrated with a single ticketing system.

Accidents

27 October 2006: A six-coach LRT train which came in from Ampang overshot the end of the elevated tracks at Sentul Timur station, resulting in the front half of the first coach dangling in the air about 25m above the ground.
25 September 2008: Six people injured when a train hits another train near the Bukit Jalil station. It is believed that the first coach suddenly stopped 200 metres from the station before it was rammed by another train on the same track. LRT service was disrupted for the day before resuming the next day.^[3]

Extensions

On 29 August 2006, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak announced that the southern end of the Sri Petaling Line, which now ended at Sri Petaling station, would be extended to the suburbs of Puchong and Putra Heights, located to the south-west of Kuala Lumpur. The extension will be part of a 10bil ringgit plan to expand Kuala Lumpur's public transport network.

The expansion plan will also see the western terminus of the Kelana Jaya Line extended to the suburbs of Subang Jaya and UEP Subang Jaya (USJ), all located to the south-west of Kuala Lumpur. The plan also involved the construction of an entirely new line; Kota Damansara-Cheras Line from Kota Damansara to the west of the city, to Cheras which lies to the south-east of Kuala Lumpur.

No details of the alignment of the extensions and the new line nor locations of new stations were revealed.^[4] As of August 2008, the operator of the line, Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, was running a land and engineering study on the proposed extension. It is believed that construction will start once the study is complete.^[5]

In September 2009, Syarikat Prasarana Negara began a public viewing for the details of the alignment for the Ampang Line and Kelana Jaya Line at various locations. The extension will add 13 new stations and 17.7km of new track. The new terminus will be at Putra Heights where the line will meet the Kelana Jaya Line to provide a suburban interchange.

Construction works on the Kelana Jaya Line and the Ampang Line Extension project are targeted to escalate at the end of March, with commencement of structural works, subject to approval from state government and local authorities.^[6]

Amendments to Extensions

On 26 May 2011, the asset owner request to public consultation on the amendments to line in respect to their extension plans. The public display begins on 27 May and will continue for 3 months.

The amendments will show changes made on the alignments between km 15.5 to km 17.0 and the location of the new depot. ^[7]

Gallery

References

^ ^a ^b Property Times
^ ^a ^b Oh, Errol (16 June 2000). "Red flags". Malaysian Business. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn6207/is_20000616/ai_n24903233.
^ Looi, Elizabeth (25 September 2008). "Six injured in LRT accident". The Star (Kuala Lumpur). http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/25/nation/2116102&sec=nation.
^ "Interview with Shaipudin Shah Harun CEO SPNB on the proposed new LRT lines and extension". AstroNews (English). 1 October 2006. http://www.prasarana.com.my/Video/011006-2.wmv.
^ Sim Leoi Leoi (21 August 2008). "Two extra LRT lines being studied". The Star (Kuala Lumpur). http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/8/21/nation/20080821121505&sec=nation.
^ "Construction Works for LRT Extension Project to Commence". Rapid KL. 11 March 2011. http://www.myrapid.com.my/news-events/media-releases/2011/construction-works-lrt-extension-project-commence.
^ "Public Display for the Proposed Amended Section of the Ampang Line LRT Extension". Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana). http://www.lrtextension.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=207%3Aproposed&catid=1%3Anewsroom&lang=en. Retrieved 2 June 2011.

External links

Route Maps

Route search - Interactive transport guide of Kuala Lumpur public transport system
Train Journey Planner & Fare Calculator from thepricechat.com
Route Map from malaysiaexpat.com
Route Map from ktmb.com.my
Route Map from prasarana.com.my
Route Map from stesensentral.com

Rail transport in Malaysia

Existing lines	• Kelana Jaya • Ampang • KL Monorail • Rawang-Seremban • Batu Caves-Port Klang • KLIA Ekspres • KLIA Transit • ETS

Future lines	• Under construction ~Sungai Gadut-Gemas ~Ipoh-Padang Besar ~Kelana Jaya Extension ~Sri Petaling Extension • Suspended ~Putrajaya Monorail • Proposed ~Gemas-Johor Bahru ~Sungai Buloh-Kajang

Other lines	• KLIA Aerotrain • Penang Hill Railway • Sabah State Railway • Eastern and Oriental Express • International Express

Companies	• Syarikat Prasarana Negara ~RapidKL Light Rail Transit • Keretapi Tanah Melayu ~KTM Komuter ~Electric Train Service • Express Rail Link

Rolling stock	• Adtranz • Alweg • Desiro ET 425 M • Bombardier Advanced Rapid Transit • KTM Class 81 • KTM Class 82 • KTM Class 83 • KTM Class 91 • KTM Class 92