Extension of Ampang and Kelana Jaya lines proceeding smoothly

The Putra Heights Integrated Green station.

A COMPREHENSIVE transportation system is one of the crucial elements required for a city to be liveable.

Cities with a relatively good system are usually well-developed and it is no secret that being near a public transport mode provides more benefits to residents and business owners in the area.

Without a good transportation system, Kuala Lumpur can never be considered one of the best cities in the world.

With that in mind, Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (Prasarana) is working to improve the public transportation system.

Despite a slight delay, all systems for both the Ampang Line and Kelana Jaya Line extensions are proceeding smoothly with a targetted revenue service for both lines to start in March and June 2016 respectively.

“The work progress for the Kelana Jaya line is 66.8% while the Ampang line is 44%, with overall work progress for both lines at 52.9%,” said Ampang Line Extension (project development division) head Ahmad Kamal Md Yatim.

The Ampang extension line stretches 18.1km-long with 13 stations proposed along the alignment, whereby 11 are currently under construction and two earmarked for future stations.

It will start from the Sri Petaling station and pass Bukit Jalil Highway, IOI Mall and Bandar Puteri Puchong, before ending in Putra Heights. It will have seven park-and-ride facilities.

The Kelana Jaya line is 17.4km-long and starts at Subang Depot before continuing to Subang Parade, USJ, Summit, USJ Taipan and ending at Putra Heights with a total of 12 stations and seven park-and-ride facilities.

The alignments for both lines were designed after looking at their cost effectiveness and the number of people it reached.

Better facilities and technology

The Ampang and Kelana Jaya lines operate differently; for instance, the Kelana Jaya line is a fully automated train control/driverless system while the Ampang line operates via communication-based train control (CBTC), with attendant/drivers.

Both lines will be equipped with facilities that are disabled-friendly, with better security, wider gangways, proper ramps, tactile blocks, lifts, escalators going up and down and bicycle bays, among others.

A dynamic route map system will inform passengers of the origin and destination stations they are heading to.

“The dynamic route map will display the entire route inside the trains. A directional blinker system will indicate in red the stations that have passed.

“The light will be continuously blinking for an oncoming station,” said Kelana Jaya Line Extension (project development division) head Mohd Lokman Hamid.

“This will be useful for older folk and those who may be occupied with electronic devices because they will be alerted by the blinking lights,” explained Mohd Lokman.

The Ampang line will have a new depot in Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru to serve and maintain the trains and track maintenance equipment.

Most of the depot is built on an elevated slab (deck structure measuring 150m by 750m) with parking and equipment rooms at the lower level.

Going green

Prasarana is proud of the Putra Heights Green Station that integrates both lines. While the company hopes to ensure that all stations are green, the Putra Heights station will be certified as they are going for silver rating.

“Once ready, the station and its staff will adopt green practices as they will work and implement green-themed initiatives,” said Mohd Lokman.

“We will use only energy-efficient lights, there are specially designed windows to allow sunlight, a rainwater harvesting system and even during construction, we will be recycling and using sustainable materials,” he said.

He explained that since the trains run on electricity, there will not be smoke emission and the noise level will be set per the Environment Department (DOE) guidelines.

He added that in certain areas, sound barriers had been installed to minimise the noise level, and the Bukit OUG/PPR Kampung Muhibbah area had the longest sound barrier installed because of the large number of residents living there.

“There are many challenges when constructing these lines and one of the biggest is the amount of time and effort spent on re-laying utilities such as cables and pipes and getting the necessary approval from the various utility companies and local authorities.

“Sadly, this has caused a delay. We dig up and find all these wires and cables which do not belong there,” added Ahmad Kamal.