KLUANG: KTM Bhd’s (KTMB) ETS service between Johor Baru and Kuala Lumpur will begin commercial operations on Dec 12, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
He added that His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, will grace the official opening ceremony in Johor Baru on Dec 11, a day ahead of actual operations.
“Initially, the ETS trains will connect to Kuala Lumpur, with longer-distance routes, including services to Padang Besar and Butterworth, scheduled for subsequent phases.
“For longer routes, the train can only make two trips a day – one up, one down. Shorter sectors like Johor Baru to Kuala Lumpur will allow for more frequent trips,” he said at a press conference after officiating the Kluang Rail Festival at the Mahkota Rail Park here yesterday.
He added that those wanting to go to northern states using the ETS from Johor Baru will have to change trains at Kuala Lumpur to continue northwards, and vice versa for the return journey.
However, at press time, KTMB has yet to offer any tickets for ETS journeys from Johor Baru to Kuala Lumpur.
The current ETS journey from Kuala Lumpur to Kluang takes 3.5 hours, with stops at Bandar Tasik Selatan, Kajang, Seremban, Pulau Sebang (Tampin), Batang Melaka, Gemas, Segamat, Labis, Bekok and Paloh.
On the Elevated Automated Rapid Transit (E-ART) transit system that has been mooted by the Johor government to help ease congestion in Johor Baru, Loke stressed that the government had not postponed it.
“The E-ART proposal is still being refined. The Public Private Partnership Unit (Ukas) is not fully satisfied with the proposals submitted, so the details are being fine-tuned.
“But the project is not delayed or cancelled,” he said, adding that E-ART remains a priority project under the Transport Ministry, and discussions with Ukas are ongoing to expedite the award process.
When asked about the progress in the facilitation of cross-border e-hailing services with Singapore, Loke said that discussions between the two countries are ongoing.
“A memorandum of understanding is expected to be announced during the annual leaders’ retreat between the Malaysian and Singaporean prime ministers on Dec 4,” he said.
