Malaysia

[UPDATED] Free rides on Putrajaya MRT line until end of March: Anwar

Solution to loss of productivity due to traffic congestion lies in public transportation, notes PM

Updated 1 year ago · Published on 16 Mar 2023 10:32AM

[UPDATED] Free rides on Putrajaya MRT line until end of March: Anwar — The Putrajaya MRT line has 36 stations, of which nine are below ground. – ALIF OMAR/The Vibes pic, March 16, 2023

by Shahrim Tamrin

KUALA LUMPUR – Usage of the Putrajaya MRT line will be free of charge from today until March 31, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today.

Announcing this at the launch of the 57.7-km line this morning, Anwar, who is also finance minister, expressed gratitude to all the stakeholders involved in the megaproject.

In his speech, Anwar said a nation’s productivity can be affected when people face difficulties and stress in something as simple as commuting to their workplaces.

“An interesting study in Bangkok several years ago showed that billions of dollars are lost in terms of productivity just because of extreme (traffic) congestion, and the solution lies in public transportation,” he said at the launch at the Serdang MRT Depot.

The 57.7-km line to Putrajaya starts at Kwasa Damansara and ends at Putrajaya Sentral. It is the second phase of the MRT Project, with the first line ending in Kajang.

Announcing this at the launch of the 57.7-km line this morning, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (centre), who is also finance minister, expresses gratitude to all the stakeholders involved in the megaproject. He adds that a nation’s productivity can be affected when people face difficulties and stress in something as simple as commuting to their workplaces. – ALIF OMAR/The Vibes pic, March 16, 2023

The Putrajaya MRT line has 36 stations, of which nine are below ground.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke, who was also at the launch, said the government had ensured last-mile connectivity with the Putrajaya MRT line with 10 interchange stations along the route for commuters to transfer to Light Rail Transit, Express Rail Link, and Komuter rail systems.

The MRT station at Titiwangsa, meanwhile, is integrated with a bus transportation hub, Loke said in his speech.

“Each station along the Putrajaya MRT line also has MRT feeder bus services managed by Rapid Bas Sdn Bhd, as well as GoKL buses by Kuala Lumpur City Hall for commuters’ ease of travel.”

Transport Minister Anthony Loke (fourth from right), who was also at the launch, says the government had ensured last-mile connectivity with the Putrajaya MRT line with 10 interchange stations along the route for commuters to transfer to Light Rail Transit, Express Rail Link, and Komuter rail systems. – ALIF OMAR/The Vibes pic, March 16, 2023

As for park and ride facilities, he said these are available at 17 stations along the route, making for over 6,000 parking bays.

Other features on trains on the Putrajaya MRT line include Passenger Communication Units that connect directly to the train’s control centre, Loke said.

According to information given to the media by MRT Corp previously, the line has 49 units of electric trains, with each train set comprising four cars to accommodate 1,200 passengers.

The system is fully automatic and driverless, but the trains can also be manually driven if necessary. – The Vibes, March 16, 2023

Additional reporting by Lancelot Theseira