KUALA LUMPUR (March 15): Major public transportation players
in the country have pledged their support towards Mass Rapid Transit Line 3
(MRT3), given the megaproject's beneficial outcomes.
This is after Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong
in his speech said that the government is looking for ways to integrate all the
train lines in the Klang Valley — Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), Light Rail Transit
(LRT), Monorail, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTM) and the East Coast Rail Link
(ECRL).
"MRT3 will also expand the public transport coverage
network in the Klang Valley and will provide access to transit rail for
communities that currently do not or have less access to public transport
services," he said at the MRT3 Circle Line Project media conference on
Wednesday.
Prasarana Malaysia Bhd president and group chief executive
officer (CEO) Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said Prasarana, as the country's rail
services owner-operator, sees the MRT3 helping the public ecosystem in the
country, especially in the Klang Valley.
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| MRT Kajang Line train |
"Because of the pandemic, we faced many challenges
where at its height, Prasarana's ridership before the pandemic was about 1.25
million a day. In the worst months of the crisis, our ridership was less than
300,000. Of course, now it is improving.
"With the MRT3 line, we believe we are confident that
we will be able to achieve the 40% model share set by the government by 2030
and our ridership will increase more than two million a day by the time it is
completed," he said.
Mohd Azharuddin further noted that MRT3 is a complete rail
system in the Klang Valley as it provides connectivity across major rail lines.
"For Prasarana, we operate five of these lines towards
MRT, namely MRT Kajang (MRT 1), MRT Putrajaya (MRT 2), LRT Ampang and Sri Petaling,
LRT Kelana Jaya and also the KL Monorail.
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| MRT3 Info graphic - The Star.com.my |
"Why these lines are important is because they enable
people, the passengers to interchange to go to their destinations faster, and
they enable economic programmes.
"We also support the proposal by MRT3 regarding
ensuring the transit oriented developments (TODs) along the lands surrounding
the stations, especially on affordable housing. In this regard, our view, the
ridership will significantly improve with the completion of MRT3," he
said.
KTM chief operating officer Mohd Zain Md Taha said some of
the reasons why the country's largest railway company supports this development
is because KTM Komuter and electric train services can also expand their
connectivity, especially for the city area and areas that are not served by KTM
Komuter.
"With the integrated concept, the mobility of the
passengers will be increased along with the seamless movement of passengers
throughout their destinations," he said.
As for Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd CEO Datuk Seri Darwis
Abdul Razak, he concurred with the views of Mohd Azharuddin and Mohd Zain.
"We will have four major interchanges for ECRL
stations. We have three with KTM, one in Temerloh, Serendah Baru and Jalan
Kastam respectively. Of course, the important one for the passengers will be in
ITT Gombak where it will be connected with the LRT Kelana Jaya Line," he
added.
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