‘MRT a benchmark for future public transport planning’
KUALA LUMPUR: The Mass Rapid Transit ( MRT) system is a benchmark for all future public transport planning which takes into account the need for connectivity and an improvement of the quality of life of the people.
Land Public Transport Commission ( SPAD) chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said the government had undertaken various initiatives under the National Land Public Transport Master Plan over the last six years to transform the use of public transport, which contributed to the increase in the number of daily passengers to 1.1 million yesterday.
“The year 2016 witnessed the public transport network of Greater KL / Klang Valley which received a significant increase in capacity with the construction of the Light Rail Transit ( LRT) and the opening of Phase 1 of the MRT Sungai Bulong-Kajang (SBK) line covering 12 stations.
“The full implementation of the Phase 2 MRT route on July 17, connecting the route from Semantan to Kajang was able to accommodate 400,000 daily passengers, besides to increase the modal share to 40 per cent in 2030,” he said in a statement here yesterday.
He said the MRT service as a whole had an estimated travel time of 84 minutes (from end to end) with a frequency of 3.5 minutes during peak hours at a distance of 51 kilometres.
“The service integrates seven existing rail stations and seeks to save on user travel time,” he said.
The service offers 14 stations equipped with parking facilities to facilitate users to park their vehicles, as well as 300 feeder buses operating within a range of 5 to 7km from the MRT route.
Mohd Azharuddin said the future projects of MRT Line 2: Sungai Buloh- SerdangPutrajaya and LRT Line 3 ( LRT 3): Bandar Utama- Johan Setia are also expected to provide an opportunity for transit- oriented development (TOD).
“The TOD projects will help the government get a return on big investments that are being channelled to improve the city’s rail services aimed at meeting the long-term growth requirements of Greater KL / Klang Valley,” he said. — Bernama
The full implementation of the Phase 2 MRT route on July 17, connecting the route from Semantan to Kajang was able to accommodate 400,000 daily passengers, besides to increase the modal share to 40 per cent in 2030. Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah, Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chief executive officer