Rapid Rail

Rapid Rail
Background
Owner	Prasarana
Locale	Klang Valley, Malaysia
Transit type	Light rail and Monorail
Number of lines	3
Number of stations	60 (Ampang Line: 25, Kelana Jaya Line: 24, Monorail Line: 11
Daily ridership	326,095 (FY08/09)
Operation
Began operation	Ampang Line: 16 December 1995 Kelana Jaya Line: 1 September 1998 Monorail Line: 31 August 2003
Operator(s)	Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd
Technical
System length	64.6 km (40.14 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge & ALWEG straddle-beam
System map Rapid Rail network map Legend Italic font indicates station or line under construction or planning. Gombak Taman Melati Wangsa Maju Sri Rampai Setiawangsa Jelatek Sentul Timur Dato' Keramat Sentul Damai Titiwangsa Titiwangsa PWTC Ampang Park  KTM  Putra KLCC Chow Kit Kampung Baru Sultan Ismail Medan Tuanku Bandaraya Bukit Nanas Bank Negara Dang Wangi Masjid Jamek Raja Chulan Masjid Jamek Bukit Bintang Plaza Rakyat Imbi Hang Tuah Hang Tuah Pasar Seni Kuala Lumpur Maharajalela Tun Sambanthan Pudu Monorail Depot Chan Sow Lin KL Sentral KL Sentral Cheras Miharja Salak Selatan Maluri Bangsar Bandar Tun Razak Abdullah Hukum Pandan Jaya Kerinchi Bandar Tasik Selatan Universiti Sungai Besi  KTM  Taman Jaya Bukit Jalil  ERL  Asia Jaya Sri Petaling Taman Paramount Pandan Indah Taman Bahagia Cempaka Kelana Jaya Cahaya Subang Depot Ampang Depot Putra Damai Ampang Lembah Subang Bukit OUG Glenmarie Kampung Muhibbah Subang Jaya Bukit Kinrara Bandar Kinrara Subang Square Puncak Kinrara  KTM  Jalan Jengka Puchong Jaya The Summit Pusat Bandar Puchong Subang Business Centre Batu 12 USJ19 Puchong Utama USJ21 Puchong Perdana Subang Alam Puchong Prima Alam Megah Seri Aman Depot Putra Heights Putra Heights This route map: view talk edit

Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd is established to place all three rail operators for the Ampang Line, Kelana Jaya Line and Monorail Line – under one administrating umbrella in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.^[1] The Rapid Rail network contains two Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines, comprising the Ampang and Kelana Jaya Lines, and the KL Monorail. Along with the KTM Komuter lines, owned and operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad, and the Express Rail Link airport lines, this system constitutes the entire public rail network of Kuala Lumpur. The network comprises 60 stations with 64.6 km of rail between the three lines and operate on standard gauge for the LRT Lines and ALWEG straddle beam for the KL Monorail. Train services operate from 6.00 a.m and typically end before midnight daily with frequencies varying from approximately three minutes during peak hours to twenty-three minutes during non-peak hours.^[2]

The Ampang and Kelana Jaya lines were constructed and initially operated by different owners; Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan Sdn. Bhd. for the Ampang Line from 1995 and Projek Usahasama Transit Ringan Automatik for the Kelana Jaya Line from 1998. In 2004, operational aspects of the two LRT lines were transferred to Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd under the second phase of the restructuring process of Kuala Lumpur's public transportation network. The KL Monorail was initially owned and operated by KL Infrastructure Group, from 2003 until 2007, until the company declared bankruptcy. As a result, Prasarana purchased the monorail and gave operating rights to their subsidiary Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd.

Infrastructure

Current network

	Line	Began operation	Stations	Length (km)	Terminals
	Ampang Line	16 December 1995	25	27	Ampang	Sultan Ismail
		11 July 1998			Chan Sow Lin	Sri Petaling
		6 December 1998			Sultan Ismail	Sentul Timur
		Due 2014	13	17.7	Sri Petaling	Putra Heights
	Kelana Jaya Line	1 September 1998	24	29	Kelana Jaya	Gombak
		Due 2014	13	17	Kelana Jaya	Putra Heights
	Monorail Line	31 August 2003	11	8.6	KL Sentral	Titiwangsa
	MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line	Due 2017	31	51	Sungai Buloh	Kajang railway station

The Ampang Line consists of two sub-lines, one a north-south line and one heading eastward.^[3] The Chan Sow Lin-Sri Petaling route serves the southern part of Kuala Lumpur. The Chan Sow Lin-Ampang route primarily serves the suburb of Ampang in Selangor and the town of Pudu in Kuala Lumpur, both of which are located in the northeastern region of the Klang Valley. Both lines converge at Chan Sow Lin; the merged line leads north, terminating at Sentul Timur LRT station.

The Kelana Jaya Line consists of a single line that connects Petaling Jaya in the west to Gombak in the northeast, passing through the city centre and various low density residential areas further north in Kuala Lumpur. The line has a total of 870 individual bridges, the longest of which has a 68m span.^[4]

The Ampang Line and the Kelana Jaya Line intersect at Masjid Jamek LRT station.

Stations

Since the Kelana Jaya and Ampang lines were intended to be operated by different owners during the planning and construction phase, both lines have unique and distinct station designs. Except for five underground stops between Pasar Seni and Ampang Park on the Kelana Jaya Line, the entirety of the LRT is elevated or at-grade. The Ampang Line consists of elevated and at-grade stations, while the Kelana Jaya Line comprises underground and elevated stations, in addition to one unused at-grade station. All trains are air-conditioned.

The Kelana Jaya Line runs in a northeast-southwesterly direction, consisting primarily of elevated stops and a handful of underground and at-grade stations. Of a total of 24 stations, 16 are elevated, and 5 stops are underground. The only at-grade station, Sri Rampai. The service depot is located in Subang.

The stations, like those of the Ampang Line, are styled in several types of architectural designs. Elevated stations, in most parts, were constructed in four major styles with distinctive roof designs for specific portions of the line. The KL Sentral station, added later, features a design more consistent with the Stesen Sentral station building. Underground stations, however, tend to feature unique concourse layout and vestibules, and feature floor-to-ceiling platform screen doors to prevent platform-to-track intrusions. 13 stations (including two terminal stations and the five subway stations) utilize a single island platform, while 11 others utilize two side platforms. Stations with island platforms allow easy interchange between north-bound and south-bound trains without requiring one to walk down/up to the concourse level.

On the Ampang Line, the system includes a total of 25 stations: eleven along the Chan Sow Lin-Sentul Timur line, and seven along the Ampang LRT station-Chan Sow Lin line and the Sri Petaling-Chan Sow Lin line each. The service depot and primary train depot for the system is situated before the Ampang terminal station and the end of the Ampang-bound line. A secondary train depot is located after the Sri Petaling station.

The line between the Plaza Rakyat station to the Sentul Timur station is strictly elevated, with the line between the Bandaraya station to the Titiwangsa station running along the Gombak River. The Chan Sow Lin-Ampang line is primarily surface leveled, while the Chan Sow Lin-Plaza Rakyat line and the Sri Petaling-Chan Sow Lin line use a combination of surface leveled and elevated tracks. There are no subway lines in the system.

Connectivity to other rail network

Rapid Rail network map

Legend Italic font indicates station or line under construction or planning. Gombak Taman Melati Wangsa Maju Sri Rampai Setiawangsa Jelatek Sentul Timur Dato' Keramat Sentul Damai Titiwangsa Titiwangsa PWTC Ampang Park  KTM  Putra KLCC Chow Kit Kampung Baru Sultan Ismail Medan Tuanku Bandaraya Bukit Nanas Bank Negara Dang Wangi Masjid Jamek Raja Chulan Masjid Jamek Bukit Bintang Plaza Rakyat Imbi Hang Tuah Hang Tuah Pasar Seni Kuala Lumpur Maharajalela Tun Sambanthan Pudu Monorail Depot Chan Sow Lin KL Sentral KL Sentral Cheras Miharja Salak Selatan Maluri Bangsar Bandar Tun Razak Abdullah Hukum Pandan Jaya Kerinchi Bandar Tasik Selatan Universiti Sungai Besi  KTM  Taman Jaya Bukit Jalil  ERL  Asia Jaya Sri Petaling Taman Paramount Pandan Indah Taman Bahagia Cempaka Kelana Jaya Cahaya Subang Depot Ampang Depot Putra Damai Ampang Lembah Subang Bukit OUG Glenmarie Kampung Muhibbah Subang Jaya Bukit Kinrara Bandar Kinrara Subang Square Puncak Kinrara  KTM  Jalan Jengka Puchong Jaya The Summit Pusat Bandar Puchong Subang Business Centre Batu 12 USJ19 Puchong Utama USJ21 Puchong Perdana Subang Alam Puchong Prima Alam Megah Seri Aman Depot Putra Heights Putra Heights This route map: view talk edit

Rolling stock

The rolling stock of the Kelana Jaya Line, in use since the opening of the line in 1998, consists of a fleet of 35 Mark II Bombardier Advanced Rapid Transit (ART) trains^[5] with related equipment and services supplied by the Bombardier Group. The ART trains consist of two-electric multiple units, which serve as either a driving car or trailer car depending on its direction of travel. The trains utilise linear motors and draw power from a third rail located at the side of the steel rails. The plating in between the running rails is used for accelerating and decelerating the train. The reaction plate is semi-magnetised, which pulls the train along as well as helps it to slow down.

The ART is essentially driverless, automated to travel along lines and stop at designated stations for a limited amount of time. Nevertheless, manual override control panels are provided at each end of the trains for use in an event of an emergency.

Since October 2006, the operator has ordered 35 new 4-car trainsets to be delivered starting from 2008. Due to some delays from the manufacturer, the delivery was delayed to November 2008. After extensive series of testing, the first batch of trains began operation on Dec 30, 2009.^[6]

The rolling stock of the Ampang Lines consists of a fleet of 90 Adtranz standard gauge trains manufactured by Walkers Limited, an engineering and company. The trains consist of electric multiple units, which draw power from the underside of a third rail installed along a side of the line. All cars in each train are fitted with both current collector and motors. The trains are manned, with driver cabs occupying the tips of the trains.

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 utilises the maximum platform length of the lines' stations. Each two EMU sets at the front and rear consist of one driving and one non-driving motor car, while the two EMUs between are non-driving motors. There are no gangway connections between the two-car sets. 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 non-driving motor at each end, thus with two-thirds the capacity of the more common six-car set. 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 powered end bogies and one trailing bogie under the central articulation. The end cars, numbered 1101 to 1260 have driver cabs. The middle car number 2201 to 2230 have concealed driver control panels to enable the car to be moved around the depot independently.

The MRT line 1 will have trains provided by Siemens. They will be driveless and comes in 4-car configuration. Expected capacity per train set is at 1200 persons which translate into 48000 person per direction per hour capacity with head times of 90 seconds.

Expansion

LRT Extension Project

On 29 August 2006, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak announced that the western end of the Kelana Jaya Line would be extended to the suburbs of Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya and UEP Subang Jaya (USJ), which are located to the south-west of Kuala Lumpur. The extension will be part of a RM10 billion plan to expand Kuala Lumpur's public transport network.

The expansion plan will also see the Ampang Line extended to the suburb of Puchong and the south-west of Kuala Lumpur The plan also involved the construction of an entirely new line, tentatively called the Kota Damansara-Cheras Line which later on changed to mass rapid transit line rather than the original planning, running from Kota Damansara in the western portion of the city, to Cheras which lies to the south-east of Kuala Lumpur.

According to news reports, tenders of the line extension is expected to be out in Q1 2009. It is expected large local constructions players will take in track and civil works, fare collection, and systems works involving power supply, signaling and communication worth RM 1 billion. Extensions will involve the construction of 24 new stations and 32 km of new tracks.^[7] It is expected that 35 new trains for the Kelana Jaya Line and 20 for the Ampang line will be added to the rolling stock.^[8]

Soil testing has been seen sighted in Subang Jaya in mid February although the project has not been given a final approval yet from the government.^[9]

It has been learned by April 2009, that design contracts has been awarded to HSS Integrated and Minconsult. Meanwhile, project management has been awarded to Opus, a subsidiary of United Engineers Group. Extension of the lines is expected to cost around MYR 3 billion for each line.^[10]

Asset owner of the project, Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, has invited locally incorporated companies to submit the “expression of interest (EOI)” to participate in the extension and upgrading of the KL light rail transit system project on May 2009. This is considered as a pre-qualification bidding process. The EOI, which has no ending date covers two major jobs, which are civil construction works and mechanical/electrical works. The jobs is expected to be RM7 billion in which RM1 billion will be set aside to purchase new rolling stocks from Bombardier.^[11]

On 25 July 2009, RapidKL, the operator of the lines has conducted a town-hall meeting with Subang Jaya and USJ residents concerning the extension of the Kelana Jaya Line towards their neighbourhood. Although the proposed alignment shown is still under proposal phase, it is to believe that the line will continue from the current terminus at Kelana Jaya towards Lembah Subang depot and go through Subang Jaya Komuter station, Jalan Jengka, passing by Shah Alam Expressway towards The Summit USJ mall and go through USJ 8, USJ19 and USJ21 before heading towards Putra Heights for the new terminus. The operator said there will be three Park and Ride facilities in Subang Jaya and hopes the extension will complete by 2013.^[12]

Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad has formally announce its plans to extend the two lines and begins the public display of the plan for three months beginning September 15, 2009. The public display aims to gather public input as well showing where all the lines and stations will be constructed.^[13][14]

On June 2010, Prasarana announced that it had obtained approval to build the extension, although the extension has to be built in two phases as certain parts of the extensions have yet to obtain approval. The stations that are in the first approved phase is a 9.2 km track from Kelana Jaya LRT station to USJ near Shah Alam Expressway for the Kelana Jaya line and 7.4 km track from Sri Petaling LRT station to Bandar Kinrara 3. Prasarana also announce that preliminary work involving relocating utility lines is expected to begin in mid-July while the actual construction of the lines will commence by end of 2010 after the tendering process.^[15][16]

On November 2010, Prasarana announced that it has awarded RM1.7 billion for first phase of the project. The winners include Trans Resource Corp Bhd for the Kelana Jaya line extension portion and Bina Puri Holdings Bhd and Tim Sekata for the Ampang line extension. UEM Builders Bhd and Intria Bina Sdn Bhd were appointed as subcontractors for the fabrication and supply of segmental box girder jobs for the Kelana Jaya line while Bina Puri and Tim Sekata will do it for the Ampang line.^[17]

On December 2010, local authority Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya approved the location of seven LRT stations. They are at SS15, SS17, USJ 10, USJ 15 and USJ 21. All the station aforementioned are of Kelana Jaya Line. Two stations along the Bukit Jalil - Puchong highway also have been approved by the local authority.^[18]

On June 2010, Parasana announced that CMC Engineering-Colas Rail-Uniway join venture won the contract to build the Kelana Jaya Line extension. The contact is work RM 673.9 million. The joint-venture company is the only company to fulfill all tender conditions, beating out the others.^[19]

On July 2011, Parasana announced that MRCB and Sunway won tenders for Package B for the Ampang Line and Kelana Jaya Line respectively. The tender is valued at RM 1.33 billion for the Ampang Line and RM 569 million for the Kelana Jaya Line. Package B consists of construction and completion of facilities works that include the fabrication and delivery of segmental box girders. Works is expected to start on August 2011 and complete 20 to 30 months later.^[20]

The project was officially launched on 5 March 2012 with the first lift of the first segmental box girders in Subang.^[21]

LRT Shah Alam Line Project

Fares and ticketing

RapidKL LRT implements an automatic fare collection system with stored value tickets and single journey tickets issued in the form of magnetic stripe cards at every station. Tickets can be purchased either from ticket vending machines or at station counters found at all LRT stations.^[22] Turnstiles are located at the entrances to train platforms. Rail fares range from RM 0.70 to RM 2.80 (RM 2.50 for the Kelana Jaya Line) depending on the distance travelled by commuters along the network.^[23] Table with fares from 0.70 to 5.10.^[24]

Touch 'n Go stored value cards are also accepted at fare gates on the RapidKL LRT network as well as the RapidKL bus network, the KL Monorail route and the KTM Komuter system to improve integration.^[25] Touch 'n Go cards are available at all LRT stations for a RM 10 deposit.^[26] The Touch 'n Go system is also used in the production of RapidKL's monthly passes, called Rapidpass. These passes can be purchased by frequent users of the RapidKL LRT and bus networks, which entitles them to unlimited rides for thirty days on all RapidKL buses and LRT stations. LRT Rapidpass are valid only on the LRT network and they cost RM 100 each while Integrated Rapidpass, which are valid on both the LRT and bus networks, cost RM 150 each.^[27] Rapidpass Pelajar is a variant of the conventional Rapidpass that can be purchased by students for a 50% discount.

Concessionary fares are available to people with disabilities such as physical handicaps, learning disorders, blindness, deafness or cerebral palsy, provided that they are registered with the Department of Social Welfare. The concessionary fares range from RM 0.30 to RM 1.40.

On June 14, Parasana announced that a new ticketing system will be introduced in July 2011 with full integration made by 30 November 2011. The new ticketing system will finally combine all rail systems in Klang Valley under one roof with the exception of KTM Komuter. The new system will feature a chip coin system for single journeys and a new contact-less smart card system for monthly passes in addition to traditional Touch 'n Go card. The new system was develop at a cost of RM 115.2 million.^[28]

Criticisms

The lines receive a barrage of criticism. Key points of criticisms are:-

• Poor integration with other rail operators such as KL Monorail and KTM Komuter.
• Overcrowding on the Kelana Jaya Line, resulting in an unpleasant experience.
• Underuse of the Ampang Line
• Unreliable ticket vending machines which result in long lines at the manned ticket counter.

The network operator, RapidKL is working the resolve these issues and improve the service by:-

• Masjid Jamek LRT station has been upgraded to ensure seamless integration between Ampang Line and Kelana Jaya Line.
• Hang Tuah station and Titiwangsa station have been upgraded to ensure seamless integration between Ampang Line and KL Monorail.
• Ticket Vending Machine can now give up to 5 tickets at once and accept multiple bank notes.
• Extending the Ampang Line and Kelana Jaya Line to Putra Heights which will serve Puchong and Subang Jaya area to increase usage on both lines. It is expected that the Putra Heights terminus will integrate both lines.
• Purchasing 35 new trains for the Kelana Jaya Line to increase the capacity by 100% and increase train frequency. It is expected that the train set will start operation in 2009.
• Improved integration with RapidKL buses to increase ridership on both lines.
• Introducing new, additional fare gates which only accept Touch 'n Go card to encourage electronic payment methods.
  • Introducing Touch 'n Go reload kiosk on select stations.

Gallery

• 

  An ART train used in the Kelana Jaya Line

• 

  Ampang Line Train Car

• 

  Ampang Line's Bandaraya station

• 

  The concourse level of the Ampang Park LRT station on the Kelana Jaya Line with the turnstiles in the foreground.

• 

  Exterior of the Universiti LRT station at night. It is one of several elevated stations on the Kelana Jaya Line.

References

External links

• Klang Valley MRT Project
• LRT Extension Project
• MRT Tunneling Project
• RapidKL - operator

External links

• Syarikat Prasarana Negara's official site
• RapidKL's official site
• Official website for the Kelana Jaya and Ampang Line extension proposal
• Kuala Lumpur MRT Website

v t e Rail transport in Malaysia Klang Valley Lines Seremban Line Port Klang Line Ampang Line Kelana Jaya Line Monorail Line KLIA Ekspres KLIA Transit Regional Lines West Malaysia North-South Route East Coast Route Electric Train Service International Express Eastern and Oriental Express East Malaysia Sabah State Railway Other Lines KLIA Aerotrain Penang Hill Railway Kerteh-Kuantan Port Railway Line Future Lines Under Construction LRT Extension Ampang Line LRT Extension Kelana Jaya Line ERL Extension MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line KTM Ipoh-Padang Besar KTM Subang Skypark Spur Line BRT Sunway Line Suspended Putrajaya Monorail Proposed LRT Shah Alam Line MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya Line MRT Circle Line KTM Gemas-Johor Bahru HSR Kuala Lumpur-Singapore Defunct Lines Sunway Monorail Malacca Monorail Genting Monorail Companies Express Rail Link Keretapi Tanah Melayu Electric Train Service KTM Intercity KTM Komuter Sabah State Railway Syarikat Prasarana Negara Rapid Rail MRT Corp 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

v t e Klang Valley train stations Kelana Jaya Line    Gombak Taman Melati Wangsa Maju Sri Rampai Setiawangsa Jelatek Dato' Keramat Damai Ampang Park KLCC Kampung Baru Dang Wangi Masjid Jamek Pasar Seni KL Sentral Bangsar Abdullah Hukum Kerinchi Universiti Taman Jaya Asia Jaya Taman Paramount Taman Bahagia Kelana Jaya Ampang Line    Common stations Sentul Timur Sentul Titiwangsa PWTC Sultan Ismail Bandaraya Masjid Jamek Plaza Rakyat Hang Tuah Pudu Chan Sow Lin Route to Ampang Miharja Maluri Pandan Jaya Pandan Indah Cempaka Cahaya Ampang Route to Sri Petaling Cheras Salak Selatan Bandar Tun Razak Bandar Tasik Selatan Sungai Besi Bukit Jalil Sri Petaling KL Monorail    KL Sentral Tun Sambanthan Maharajalela Hang Tuah Imbi Bukit Bintang Raja Chulan Bukit Nanas Medan Tuanku Chow Kit Titiwangsa Express Rail Link KLIA Ekspres    KL Sentral KLIA KLIA Transit    KL Sentral Bandar Tasik Selatan Putrajaya/Cyberjaya Salak Tinggi KLIA Rawang-Seremban Route    Shuttle route Tanjung Malim Kuala Kubu Bharu Rasa Batang Kali Serendah Rawang Kuang Sungai Buloh Kepong Sentral Kepong Segambut Putra Bank Negara Kuala Lumpur KL Sentral Mid Valley Seputeh Salak Selatan Bandar Tasik Selatan Serdang Kajang UKM Bangi Batang Benar Nilai Labu Tiroi Seremban Senawang Sungai Gadut Rembau Batu Caves-Port Klang Route    Batu Caves Taman Wahyu Kampung Batu Batu Cantonment Sentul Putra Bank Negara Kuala Lumpur KL Sentral Angkasapuri Pantai Dalam Petaling Jalan Templer Kampung Dato Harun Seri Setia Setia Jaya Subang Jaya Batu Tiga Shah Alam Padang Jawa Bukit Badak Klang Teluk Pulai Teluk Gadong Kampung Raja Uda Jalan Kastam Port Klang