Over 30 BIMP-EAGA delegates take ride on ART
KUCHING: More than 30 representatives of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, PhilippinesEast Asia Growth Area (BIMPEAGA) had the opportunity to ride on the prototype Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) hydrogen vehicle (H2V), last weekend.
Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd, in a statement, said they were the delegates of the 10th BIMP-EAGA Transport Cluster who were in the city for a three-day meeting recently.
“Their ride on the prototype ART H2V, which is currently undergoing the Engineering Run at the Isthmus, was organised by Ministry of Transport Sarawak, Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd and EMGJV Sdn Bhd,” it said.
Sarawak Metro, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), is entrusted to implement, operate and maintain the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) project.
EMGJV is the main contractor for System Package 1 of the KUTS Project.
The zero-emission ART vehicle is the backbone of the KUTS Project – a Sarawak governmentfunded project aimed at modernising the public transport system in Sarawak.
Sarawak Metro said the KUTS Project would be developed in phases, and Phase 1 would see the development of three lines – the Blue Line, the Red Line and the Green Line.
Phase 1 of the KUTS Project is scheduled to start operation in stages, from the fourth quarter of 2025.
The Blue Line, covering a distance of 27.5km, is from Rembus in Kota Samarahan to Kuching city centre; the Red Line (12.3km) is from Kuching Sentral to Pending; and the Green Line (30km) from Pending to Damai Central.
“The ART vehicles will be operated on dedicated lanes and will not share the road with other road users. The lanes will either be at-grade (road level) or elevated.
“The ART vehicles run on rubber tyres and hence the dedicated lanes will be trackless.
“Its operation will be supported by a feeder bus network, which will also use hydrogen-powered vehicles to offer the ‘first mile and last mile’ connectivity for commuters,” said Sarawak Metro.
The move to use hydrogen is in support of the Sarawak government’s aspirations of advancing the hydrogen economy, and also decarbonising public transport in Sarawak.