Rapid Rail

Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd (styled as rapidrail) is the operator of the rapid transit (metro) system serving Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley area in Malaysia.[2] A subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia, it is the sole operator of five rapid transit lines which collectively form the Rapid KL rapid transit system. The system currently consists of three light rapid transit (LRT) lines, one mass rapid transit (MRT) line and a monorail line, with another MRT and LRT line currently under construction.[3]

Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd
Kelana Jaya Line Innovia Metro 300 train
Overview
Owner
LocaleKlang Valley, Malaysia
Transit typeRapid transit
Number of lines3 4 5 8 9
Number of stations149[Note 1]
Daily ridership794,794 (2019)[1]
Annual ridership290.1 million (2019)
Websitemyrapid.com.my
Operation
Began operation16 December 1996 (1996-12-16)
Technical
System length151.1 km (93.9 mi) (total)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
& ALWEG straddle-beam

The LRT and MRT lines operate on standard gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)) rail, while the KL Monorail operates on an ALWEG straddle beam. Train services operate from 6:00 a.m. and typically end before midnight daily,[4] with frequencies varying from approximately three minutes during peak hours to fourteen minutes during non-peak hours.[5]

History

Malaysia's efforts to revolutionise commuting began in 1984 when the then Minister of Federal Territory Shahrir Abdul Samad released details of a light rapid transit (LRT) system implementation study for Kuala Lumpur. Many were sceptical over its implementation, especially when financing was a major question. The study, undertaken by a Belgian consortium in association with Spie Batignolles of France in cooperation with Master Carriage Malaysia Sdn Bhd, was for an urban or suburban LRT system - powered by overhead electric lines or catenaries. The system - covering 18 stations between Petaling Jaya and Sentul - was targeted for implementation in 1984 and completion in 1988.[6] Unfortunately, the project did not take off until 4 years later, when the Government of Malaysia signed an agreement with Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan Sdn Bhd (STAR). The first LRT line, named STAR LRT after its owner, was constructed and opened completely in 1998. The original system consisted of 36 stations along two routes, Sentul TimurAmpang and Sentul TimurSri Petaling.[7][8]

Around the same time, the government signed another agreement with Projek Usahasama Transit Ringan Automatik Sdn Bhd (PUTRA) to construct the second LRT system. The line, known as PUTRA LRT, featured a single route from Gombak in the north to Kelana Jaya in the south. The section of the line was built underground and became Malaysia's first underground railway. The line was fully operational in 1999, and complemented the STAR LRT system.[9]

However, both STAR and PUTRA ran into financial difficulties and both companies filed for bankruptcy.[10] In 2002, both companies were bailed out by the government, and the newly formed Prasarana Malaysia took over ownership of both the lines, renaming them STAR Line and PUTRA Line respectively. In 2004, the routes were renamed and rebranded under the Rapid KL brand, with the STAR Line producing the LRT Ampang Line and LRT Sri Petaling Line, and the PUTRA Line forming the LRT Kelana Jaya Line. Operations of the three lines were assumed by Rapid Rail. In 2016, the Sri Petaling Line and Kelana Jaya Line were both extended beyond their southern termini to Subang Jaya and Puchong respectively, with both lines now sharing a common southern terminus at Putra Heights.

In the 1990s, the government of Malaysia commissioned a stradle-beam monorail to serve the city centre of Kuala Lumpur. Various delays and changes to the project occurred, however, the KL Monorail line was fully operation in 2003. The Line was owned and operated by KL Infrastructure Group.[11] The company ran into financial difficulties, leading to a government takeover. In the end, the line was sold to Prasarana Malaysia, and was placed under the operations of Rapid Rail and was integrated into the Rapid KL system in 2007.

In 2010, then Prime Minister Najib Razak announced proposals to introduce a new mass rapid transit (MRT) system to complement the current metro system. The proposal included three new lines in a "Wheel and Spoke" formation around the city.[12] The Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) was founded in 2011 and was appointed as the owner of the project and the MRT lines, unlike the LRT and monorail lines which are owned by Prasarana Malaysia. However, Rapid Rail was awarded the concession to operate the MRT lines, thus allowing the MRT lines to be full integrated with the Rapid KL system. The first line to be constructed, the MRT Kajang Line, which runs from Sungai Buloh to Kajang, entered full revenue service in 2017.[13][14]

Network and infrastructure

Network map

Current services

Line Number Line Number of stations Length Began operations Termini
3
Ampang Line
18
18 km
16 December 1996Sentul TimurAmpang
4
Sri Petaling Line
29
45.1 km
11 July 1998Sentul TimurPutra Heights
5
Kelana Jaya Line
37[15]
46.4 km[15]
1 September 1998GombakPutra Heights
8
KL Monorail
11[16]
8.6 km[16]
31 August 2003KL Sentral MonorailTitiwangsa
9
Kajang Line
31[17]
51 km[17]
16 December 2016Sungai BulohKajang
TOTAL
149
[Note 2]
151.1 km
 

Future service

Line Number Line Status Planned
opening
Number of stations Length Termini
11
Johan Setia LineUnder constructionPhase 2: 2025
10
36 km
Bandar UtamaMalawati
Phase 1: 2024
15
Bandar Anggerik Johan Setia
12
Putrajaya LineUnder constructionPhase 1: July 2021
12
52.2 km
Kwasa DamansaraKampung Batu
Phase 2: January 2023
24
Kampung Batu Putrajaya Sentral

Fares and ticketing

Rapid Rail implements an automatic fare collection system with stored value tickets and single journey tickets in the form of tokens. Tickets can be purchased either from ticket vending machines or at station counters found at all train statioms stations.[18] Turnstiles are located at the entrances to train platform, which separate the paid area and unpaid area of the stations. In 2011, Prasarana Malaysia announced a new ticketing system, effectively integrating the different rail lines which previously functioned as different systems. The new system allowed passengers to transfer seamlessly between rail lines at designated interchange stations without exiting the system and paying multiple fares or buying new tokens.[19]

Touch 'n Go stored value cards are also accepted at fare gates on the Rapid Rail network as well as the Rapid Bus network as well as the KTM Komuter system to improve integration.[20] The Touch 'n Go system is also used in the production of Rapid KL's monthly/weekly passes as well as their stored-value concession cards.[21][22] These passes can be purchased by frequent users of the Rapid KL rail and bus networks, The Rapid KL concession cards are provided for students, the elderly and disabled people, which provides a 50% discount on all train and bus fares.[21]

Services

The rail services operates daily from 6 a.m. to noon. The operation hours will be extended for certain stations when special events such as the final of Piala Malaysia[23] and New Year's Eve countdown[24] were held.

Rail Lines Peak-Hour Headway[25]
Ampang Line 6 minutes
Sri Petaling Line 6 minutes
Kelana Jaya Line 3 minutes
KL Monorail 8 minutes
Kajang Line 4 minutes
BRT Sunway Line 5 minutes

Infrastructure

The Ampang Line consists of two sub-lines, one a north–south line and one heading eastward.[26] 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.[27]

The Ampang Line and the Kelana Jaya Line intersect at Masjid Jamek and Putra Heights.

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 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 37 stations, 31 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. 22 stations (including two terminal stations and the five subway stations) use a single island platform, while 15 others use 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 36 stations: eleven along the Chan Sow Lin-Sentul Timur line, seven along the Ampang LRT station-Chan Sow Lin line and eighteen along the Sri Petaling-Chan Sow Lin line. The service depot and primary train depots for the system are situated before the Ampang terminal station and the end of the Ampang-bound line, and beside the Putra Heights terminal at the end of Putra Heights-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.

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[28] 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 use 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.[29]

The rolling stock of the Ampang Line currently consists of a fleet of 50 new trains, better known as AMY, that are deployed to increase the capacity of the line and provide a better service. Each of the new trains is six cars long and provided by CSR Zhuzhou of China, similar to on the design for İzmir Metro and Buenos Aires Underground 200 Series. These trains are disabled-friendly and include safety features like closed-circuit TV, emergency breakable window, emergency ventilation fan, fire and smoke detection system and supervised automatic train operation system (SATO), and other elements such as interactive destination display inside the train, non-slipping seats, LCD infotainment, walk-through gangways, and a more spacious wheelchair space for the physically challenged. The first trains were put into service on the Sri Petaling-Kinrara BK5 stretch in October 2015, and then until Putra Heights and Sentul Timur in July 2016, and finally the Ampang branch line in December 2016.

The former rolling stock of the Ampang Lines consists of a fleet of 90 standard gauge light rail vehicles manufactured in Australia by Walkers Limited.[30] 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 uses 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.

Fleet

Line Code Line Name Formation In service
On order
EMU/Fleet Manufacturers
3
Ampang Line 6 carriage LRV 50 trainsets (300 car) CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive LRV "AMY" CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive
4
Sri Petaling Line
5
Kelana Jaya Line 2 carriage EMU

4 carriage EMU

35 trainsets (70 car)

49 trainsets (196 car)
27 trainsets (108 car)

Bombardier Innovia Metro Bombardier

*Consortium
Bombardier / Hartasuma

8
KL Monorail 2 carriage EMU

4 carriage EMU

12 trainsets (24 car)

6 trainsets (24 car)

MTrans Monorail

Scomi SUTRA

Scomi Rail
9
Kajang Line 4 carriage EMU 58 trainsets (232 car) Siemens Inspiro "The Guiding Light" *Consortium
Siemens / CRRC Nanjing Puzhen / SMH Rail
11
Johan Setia Line 6 carriage EMU 42 trainsets (252 car) CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive LRV *Consortium
CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive / Siemens Ltd China / Tegap Dinamik
12
Putrajaya Line 4 carriage EMU 49 trainsets (196 car) Hyundai Rotem *Consortium
Hyundai Rotem / Apex Communications / POSCO Engineering

Notes

  1. Counting interchange stations only once: Sentul Timur, Sentul Titiwangsa, PWTC, Sultan Ismail, Bandaraya, Masjid Jamek, Plaza Rakyat, Hang Tuah, Pudu, Maluri, Chan Sow Lin, Putra Heights, and Pasar Seni. KL Sentral (Kelana Jaya Line and KL Monorail) & Bukit Bintang (KL Monorail and Kajang Line) are not actual interchange stations despite the similar name. There is paid-to-paid integration between Merdeka (Kajang Line) and Plaza Rakyat (Ampang Line/Sri Petaling Line) stations, but they are operationally and structurally separate stations.
  2. Counting interchange stations only once: Sentul Timur, Sentul Titiwangsa, PWTC, Sultan Ismail, Bandaraya, Masjid Jamek, Plaza Rakyat, Hang Tuah, Pudu, Maluri, Chan Sow Lin, Putra Heights, and Pasar Seni. KL Sentral (Kelana Jaya Line and KL Monorail) & Bukit Bintang (KL Monorail and Kajang Line) are not actual interchange stations despite the similar name. There is paid-to-paid integration between Merdeka (Kajang Line) and Plaza Rakyat (Ampang Line/Sri Petaling Line) stations, but they are operationally and structurally separate stations.

References

  1. "Statistik Rel 2019" (PDF). Ministry of Transport (Malaysia). Archived from the original (pdf) on 22 April 2020.
  2. "Profile - SYARIKAT PRASARANA NEGARA BERHAD". Syarikat Prasarana Negara. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  3. "LRT". MyRapid (Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad). Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  4. "Operating Hours". MyRapid (Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad). Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  5. "Train Frequency". MyRapid (Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad). Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  6. Fauziah, Ismail (18 December 1996). "Answer to transport woes: [Shipping Times Edition]". Business Times, The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad.
  7. Trolley Wire, page 12-14
  8. Light Rail Transit Stations, page 4
  9. Meng Yew Choong (31 August 2015). "Klang Valley urban rail service turns 10". The Star Online. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  10. LRT to be bailed out, govt confirms
  11. "Monorails of Asia - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia". The Monorail Society. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  12. "KL to get landmark MRT in world-class city bid". The Malaysian Insider. 10 June 2010. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010.
  13. "Najib launches Phase 2 of Sungai Buloh-Kajang MRT line". The Star Online. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  14. "PM picks '17-7-2017' start date for MRT phase two". The Malay Mail. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  15. "Kelana Jaya Line". Prasarana Malaysia. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  16. "KL Monorail Line". Prasarana Malaysia. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  17. Sim Leoi Leoi (11 December 2016). "MRT first phase opens on Friday". The Star.
  18. "Rail Transportation in Kuala Lumpur". Japan Railway & Transport Review. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  19. Abas, Marhalim (15 June 2011). "One ticket for LRT and Monorail in November". The Malay Mail. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  20. "What's Touch 'n Go - Where to Use". Touch 'n Go. Archived from the original on 10 February 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
  21. "Concession Cards - All Tickets | MyRapid Your Public Transport Portal". www.myrapid.com.my. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  22. "Go Cashless - All Tickets | MyRapid Your Public Transport Portal". www.myrapid.com.my. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  23. "Rapid KL Lanjut Perkhidmatan LRT di Stesen Bukit Jalil Sempena Perlawanan Akhir Piala Malaysia 2019 - Media Releases | MyRapid Your Public Transport Portal". www.myrapid.com.my. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  24. "Rapid KL lanjut perkhidmatan di stesen dan laluan terpilih - Media Releases | MyRapid Your Public Transport Portal". www.myrapid.com.my. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  25. "How to Travel with Us? - Traveling with Us | MyRapid Your Public Transport Portal". www.myrapid.com.my. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  26. "Integrated Urban Transportation System - Riding the Rails". kiat.net. Archived from the original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  27. "Kuala Lumpur LRT 2 Kelana Jaya Line: PUTRA". Halcrow. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
  28. "Kuala Lumpur Driverless Metro System, Malaysia". RailwayTechnology.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2008.
  29. "Three new trains for Kelana Jaya line". The Star. 30 December 2009. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.
  30. "EDI Wins Light Rail Order Extension", Railway Digest, June 1995, p. 9.
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