Construction of the reinstated stops set to begin later this year
PETALING JAYA: Work on five stations along the LRT Shah Alam Line (formerly LRT3) shelved as part of a cost-cutting exercise in 2019 is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year, says Prasarana Malaysia Bhd.
The stations are Tropicana (formerly Lien Hoe), Temasya, Raja Muda (Sirim), Bukit Raja and Bandar Botanik.
Speaking at a media briefing ahead of the line’s official opening tomorrow, Prasarana head of operations for the Shah Alam Line, Mohd Ariffin Idris, said the project is expected to take around five years to complete.
When completed, the line will have a total of 26 stations.
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He said the extension marks the first time railway stations in Malaysia will be built from the ground up while train services continue operating on a live rail line.
“It means trains will continue running concurrently with construction activities taking place right next to the line, an undertaking that introduces its own set of risks, which of course can be mitigated through careful planning and supervision,” said Yuslizar Daud (pic), former head of the now-defunct Land Public Transport Commission’s rail division.
One consequence, however, will be longer end-to-end travel times, which were initially promised to be no more than 60 minutes when the 37.8km line was proposed.
When the 37.8km line was first proposed, the journey from Bandar Utama to Johan Setia in Klang was expected to take no more than 60 minutes.
Currently, the fully automated, driverless trains can only cover the distance from Bandar Utama here to Johan Setia in Klang in about 70 minutes, averaging 32.4kph across 20 stations.
“When five more stations are added to the equation, you can expect the journey time to be lengthened by at least eight more minutes, bringing the entire journey closer to a more realistic 80 minutes.
“And don’t forget that when construction of the five reinstated stations takes place, trains will have to operate even slower when passing the construction sites as a safety measure,” said Yuslizar, who has more than 30 years of experience in the rail industry as both an operator and regulator.
Under the Land Public Transport Act 2010, a railway scheme is an official planning and construction plan submitted to relevant transport authorities before a project proponent builds, expands or modifies a railway line.
The commencement of commercial operation tomorrow is a rare case where services are being allowed to begin despite the project not fully complying with key parameters of the approved railway scheme.
Recent rail projects, including the Kajang and Putrajaya MRT lines, as well as KTM Bhd’s Gemas-Johor Baru double-tracking extension project, were completed in accordance with their respective railway schemes.
The upcoming East Coast Rail Link connecting Port Klang and Kota Baru, and the Rapid Transit System Link connecting Johor Baru and Woodlands in Singapore, will likewise be scrutinised by the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad).
“While the law allows the Transport Minister some flexibility relating to compliance with the railway scheme, it is to be understood that in exercising such discretion, the advice of the Apad director-general and other appointed competent persons would have been taken into account,” said Yuslizar.
