Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya MRT Line

The MRT Putrajaya Line is the second Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Klang Valley, Malaysia, and the third fully automated and driverless rail system in the country. It was previously known as the MRT Sungai Buloh–Serdang–Putrajaya Line. The line stretches from to Putrajaya and runs through densely populated areas such as Sri Damansara, Kepong, Batu, Jalan Ipoh, Sentul, Kampung Baru, Jalan Tun Razak, KLCC, Tun Razak Exchange, Kuchai Lama, Seri Kembangan and Cyberjaya.

Phase 1 operations of the line between and commenced on 16 June 2022. While the Phase 2 which covers the remaining of the line including the underground stretch was opened on 16 March 2023.

The line is numbered 12 and coloured yellow on official transit maps.

The line was developed and owned by MRT Corp but operated as part of the Rapid KL network by Rapid Rail. It also forms part of the Klang Valley Integrated Transit System.

The line, totalling 57.7 km (35 miles 68 chains) in length, includes annexed from the MRT Kajang Line, making it the longest metro line in Malaysia, and one of the longest driverless rapid transit lines in the world. The line includes a underground section. A total of 37 stations, 11 of them underground, were built.

Route

The MRT starts in Kwasa Damansara where it annexed the section from here to Sungai Buloh from the MRT Kajang Line. From Sungai Buloh, the line runs parallel with the KTM Komuter line to Kepong Sentral/Sri Damansara Timur. However, there are a few stations the MRT line between the two which is not served by the KTM.

The MRT then continues towards the towns of Kepong and Jinjang. As of the first phase, the Putrajaya line ends at Kampung Batu. At Jalan Ipoh, the line starts going underground while Jalan Ipoh itself being the only station on the network to be half-sunken/sub-surface. The line carries under the Ipoh Road to Titiwangsa which will interchange with the LRT Ampang/Sri Petaling, KL Monorail and future MRT Circle lines. The line then runs under the Hospital Kuala Lumpur and meets the connecting station to LRT Kelana Jaya line (also underground) at Ampang Park. Persiaran KLCC serves as a second station in the KLCC subdistrict, itself also served by the LRT Kelana Jaya Line. The line continues to Tun Razak Exchange, interchanging with the Kajang line. The Putrajaya Line reunites with the Ampang/Sri Petaling line at Chan Sow Lin.

After thru provisional Bandar Malaysia North and South stations, the MRT Putrajaya line resurfaces at Taman Desa portal, just before Kuchai station. Once again, the line meets with the LRT Sri Petaling line at Sungai Besi, then continuing to serve Serdang. Following this, the line briefly parallels KTM and KLIA Transit (airport express) until Serdang Raya Selatan, and veers off to Universiti Putra Malaysia and the Seri Kembangan subdistrict. The MRT line then enters Sepang constituency, having 3 stops including two in Cyberjaya, before ending at Putrajaya Sentral, where it interchanges with the KLIA Transit. The station may be integrated with the proposed Putrajaya Monorail in the future. Putrajaya Sentral will also be the southernmost station under the Rapid KL rail network.

History

Initial planning and construction

The MRT2 project was initially planned to be between Kuala Lumpur and Port Klang, similar to Shah Alam Line's alignment. However, by October 2014, it was revised to be from Sungai Buloh, Selayang to Pandan.

The project was official approved by the Federal government in March 2015 and allocated RM23 billion in the 2015 Budget and construction was expected to begin by November 2015. However, construction was delayed due to adjustments to the alignment to extend the line to Putrajaya and to provide connectivity to the proposed High Speed Rail project. Construction officially begun in September 2016 with a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the future Putrajaya Sentral MRT station by former Prime Minister Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak.

On 10 October 2017 at around 5pm, an explosion occurred at the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station construction site in Bandar Malaysia. According to the police, it was believed that the explosion happened because of an old unexploded bomb from the Second World War based on their initial investigation. Three Bangladesh workers were seriously injured and two of them lost their legs while another suffered injuries on the hands and legs. One of the workers later succumbed to his injuries and died in the evening of the same day.

On 3 March 2018, A construction worker died while two others survived when a launching gantry at an MRT construction site in Jalan Jinjang (Work Package V203), collapsed at around 11:40pm.

Project re-tender and cost cutting

After the fall of BN led Federal government in May 2018, the new PH led Federal government, citing the mounting national debt and concerns with the direct negotiation tender process, proposed various cost cutting measures to a lists of federal government projects, including the MRT2 project. In October 2018, then Finance Minister, Lim Guan Eng announced the decision to change the project structure as well as terminate the contract from MMC-Gamuda and re-tender the unfinished underground portion of the project by an open tender process, due to the fact the Federal Government and MMC-Gamuda have failed to reach an agreement relating to the underground portion of the construction project. This decision had caused a lot of protests from MMC-Gamuda and workers due to the fact that some 20,000 workers tend to lose their job. Due to budget concerns, and a re-tender, construction costs proposed by MMC-Gamuda is about half what it was previously. The two Bandar Malaysia Stations have also been cancelled and listed as provisional. The cost for construction of the underground portion is now RM13.11 billion. This brought to the entire cost for this project to be RM30.53 billion from the RM39.35 billion previously. This means MMC-Gamuda now secured the contract of the underground section and allowed to continue the construction.

Phase 1

By 3 April 2021, The Construction progress of Phase One section of the MRT Putrajaya Line (Kwasa Damansara – Kampung Batu) is at 97% and was planned to begin operations in August 2021. However, this was postponed multiple times due to the COVID-19 movement control order in Malaysia and that the line requires furthering testing. The MRT Putrajaya Line Phase 1 operations of the MRT Putrajaya Line was official launched by then Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on 16 June 2022 at 3pm, along with 1 month of free rides for all public transportation services under RapidKL including the MRT.

Phase 2

By 23 December 2022, the construction works of MRT Putrajaya Line Phase 2 were completed and the operational readiness phase was in progress. Because the tests could take longer than usual to pass, the opening date of Phase 2 was expected in March 2023, delayed two months from the original January 2023 deadline.

Phase 2 of the MRT Putrajaya Line was officially launched by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the Serdang Depot on 16 March 2023 at 3pm. Free rides for the MRT Putrajaya Line were also announced effective from 16 March 2023 until 31 March 2023.

The total cost of the project was ultimately put at RM56.93 billion.

Station designs

Elevated station concepts

The proposed design for the elevated stations is based on the “Serambi” concept. This concept is focused on the inspiring interaction and communication at a foyer or entrance space of a house such as the entrance space at a traditional '' rumah kampung'' or '' rumah panjang''. The design opted is a simple and timeless design, which is derived from various design concepts, including that of the Japanese ''zen'' concept. Other aspects include open space, natural lighting and ventilation, and natural visual effects via play of lighting and shadows.

Compared to the Kajang Line's elevated station design, the columns have been pushed to the sides of the station, giving the stations an open and airy feel.

Underground station concepts

Each of the underground stations will carry its own individual theme, similar to that of the Kajang Line stations. The proposed designs range from preserving the rustic, reflecting tidal rhythm, promoting well-being, vibrancy, pulse of life, discovering culture, molding forms, inspired by nature to streamlined flow.

List of stations

28 (23 elevated + 1 half-sunken + 4 underground) out of 35 stations (excluding the ones on the MRT Kajang Line) are expected to have feeder bus services.

Kwasa Damansara station, along with the adjoining Sungai Buloh and Kampung Selamat stations were previously built as part of the MRT Kajang Line. These three stations are currently annexed by the Putrajaya Line, thus making Kwasa Damansara the interchange station between the two MRT lines.

Rolling stock

The rolling stock is provided by HAP Consortium which consists of Hyundai Rotem, Apex Communications and POSCO Engineering. The trains are fully automatic with a capacity of 1,200 passengers in a 4-car trainsets formation.

The 4-car trainsets are maintained at 2 purpose-built facilities, Sungai Buloh and Serdang depots, located nearby Kwasa Damansara and the proposed Taman Universiti stations respectively.

The front and back of the trainsets resemble a duck's bill, which is why they are called "Ducky".

Formation

The train consists of four cars, with car 1 facing towards Kwasa Damansara and car 2 facing towards Putrajaya Sentral.

Ridership

Criticism

Inaccessibility of stations and inadequate first and last mile connectivity has been criticized by potential users of the new MRT line - a problem which has already led to lower than expected ridership on other public transport lines in the Klang Valley. For example, the Cyberjaya stations are located far away from the main town centre.

References

Notes

External links

Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRT Corp)



Prasarana Malaysia Berhad (Prasarana)

Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat (SPAD)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya MRT line
Klang Valley
Railway lines opened in 2022
2022 establishments in Malaysia