MRT Putrajaya Line opens tomorrow – we have tried it; this is our expertise and information to KV’s new rail line
After a lot anticipation and a few delays, Klang Valley will lastly have its second MRT line. The MRT Putrajaya Line might be formally launched tomorrow, March 16, by prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the Serdang MRT depot, and trains might be open to public at 3pm.
We’ll deliver you updates from the launch, however right here’s all you might want to know in regards to the MRT Putrajaya Line, or PYL as they name it internally. MRT Corp held a media preview yesterday the place we have been realized all in regards to the new line from them and Fast Rail, sampled the practice and stations, and loved recent views of acquainted locations from above. It’s actually definitely worth the wait.
The MRT Putrajaya Line is a 57.7 km line with 36 stations. It begins at Kwasa Damansara (a brand new township subsequent to Kota Damansara and Sungai Buloh), which has been working since December 2016 as a part of the MRT Kajang Line, and ends at Putrajaya Sentral in Malaysia’s administrative capital.
Tomorrow is the launch of the complete line with the opening of the 38.7 km part Section 2. The primary section of PYL from Kwasa Damansara to Kampung Batu has been working since June 2022, but it surely has seen restricted use as these residing in Kepong/Jinjang and Bandar Sri Damansara couldn’t get to KL CBD instantly with the road. As for these residing within the south of the Klang Valley, lastly.
Of the 57.7 km, 44.2 km is elevated, whereas 13.5 km of the alignment – within the metropolis centre – is underground. There are 9 stations under floor, and they’re from Sentul Barat (alongside Jalan Ipoh) to Chan Sow Lin. The stations between these two are Titiwangsa (an enormous bus/rail hub, Fast KL is eyeing this as a ‘Second KL Sentral’), Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Raja Uda (the place Jalan Tun Razak meets Kg Baru), Ampang Park, Persiaran KLCC, Conlay and Tun Razak Change (TRX).
The brand new MRT line connects many dots in Klang Valley’s rail community. There are a complete of 10 interchange/connecting stations linking PYL with each current practice line in KV, from the Monorail to the ERL.
For starters, the PYL and the MRT Kajang Line meet at Kwasa Damansara and TRX within the metropolis centre. Which means that these within the south can attain PJ/Damansara seamlessly by MRT – as an illustration, our photographer Pat, who lives very close to the Taman Equine station, can take the PYL to TRX and swap to the Kajang Line. From there, it’s not a protracted trip to 1 Utama, one of many extra well-liked locations for automobile launches and roadshows. That’s time and value saved.
Conversely, my residence station is Pusat Bandar Damansara (Kajang Line) and I can now swap to the PYL at TRX and head to Putrajaya for a run. I’ve to do that sometime; it absolutely beats that slog of a drive residence on the MEX, the place I’ve the tendency to microsleep after a morning run. These are simply two examples of precise situations I can consider, off-hand.
The probabilities might be monumental as soon as we consider all of the connections. The opposite interchange stations are at Titiwangsa (KL Monorail, LRT Ampang/Sri Petaling), Chan Sow Lin (LRT Ampang/Sri Petaling) and Sungai Besi (LRT Sri Petaling). Ampang Park (LRT Kelana Jaya Line) is a connecting station and never an interchange station. The distinction is which you could change strains at connecting stations, however you’ll need to faucet in and out once more. No tapping once you swap trains at interchange stations.
The opposite connecting stations are with strains not operated by Fast KL. They’re at Sungai Buloh and Sri Damansara Timur on the identical stretch of highway (KTM Komuter Tg Malim – Port Klang Line), Kampung Batu (KTM Komuter Batu Caves – Pulau Sebang Line) and Putrajaya Sentral (KLIA Transit). The whole lot, all over the place, simply not abruptly!
Earlier than I share the practice/station expertise, let’s speak about Park & Trip and feeder buses, as attending to the MRT station is a crucial a part of the commute. Fast KL says that there are 31 feeder bus routes protecting over 350 km, so there aren’t any scarcity of buses to ferry you to stations. Fares are from RM1 to RM2.40 (cashless solely) and concession card holders get 50% off. If there’s a route that passes your taman, give the buses a strive earlier than dismissing it outright.
If buses aren’t your factor, you’ll be able to at all times drive to the station. The PYL has 17 stations with Park & Trip amenities, with a complete of 6,416 bays. Extra bays are coming as we communicate – as an illustration, a multi-storey carpark adjoining to the Putrajaya Sentral station is at present below building.
The parking cost is RM4.30 per entry per day (RM16.10 most for those who park in a single day), however to get pleasure from this very cheap charge, one should use the identical Contact n Go card to faucet out and in of the MRT. This manner, they will weed out non-MRT customers, which should pay RM3.30 for the primary hour and RM1.10 for each subsequent hour. For those who faucet out and in of the identical station with out truly taking the practice, you’ll pay the usual hourly charges. Don’t strive.
Wish to makan or get groceries within the space earlier than accumulating your automobile? You will have two hours to exit the automobile park after tapping out of the station – these carrying diver watches, make use of your bezel. Bikes pay RM1.10 per day, so in case you have a scooter or kapcai at residence, implausible.
Our media preview session began on the Putrajaya Sentral station, which is related to the ERL’s KLIA Transit station – no lengthy stroll, below one roof, very handy. The ticketing machines are an improve from these on the MRT Kajang Line. They’ve a lot bigger screens, three languages (BM, Mandarin, Tamil) and better of all, the acceptance of debit/bank cards! Yup, simply wave your card to pay for tickets, or reload your TnG card right here.
Additionally, you will see the Visa and Mastercard logos at customer support counters, that are OKU pleasant and include listening to loops. There are additionally OKU bathrooms, tactile paving for the blind and a ‘gapless’ (my phrase, not theirs) and illuminated transition from practice to platform for wheelchairs.
Apart from the route map and total rail community map, stations have a location map to point out you the native space across the station. We took the practice to Chan Sow Lin (monitor goes underground close to Taman Desa), and that underground station has a signboard to information you to the right exit, with every landmark/constructing having a small image subsequent to it. Neat.
Chan Sow Lin is an interchange station with the LRT Ampang/Sri Petaling Line, which is on floor degree simply throughout the namesake highway – as soon as once more, the stroll is absolutely coated by way of a jejantas. Additionally, each female and male bathrooms have flip down child altering tables, which is sweet, however the Chan Sow Lin male rest room had solely two sinks for an enormous room, which felt a bit stark.
Final however not least, the trains. The MRT Putrajaya Line has 49 items of electrical trains and every practice set has 4 vehicles with a capability of 1,200 passengers. It’s a completely automated driverless system, however the practice may be pushed manually if wanted – on the preview, employees, led by Fast Rail COO Ramli Shafie, opened a panel on the head of the practice that exposed all of the controls. One other ‘secret panel’ on the edges of the practice hides a wheelchair for emergencies. Additionally of word are the wheelchair security belts and CCTVs within the practice.
The PYL trains are distinctive. A cute pink face with a ‘duck invoice’ has introduced in regards to the nickname ‘Duckie’; maybe Fast might have painted the invoice yellow to match the doorways and to double down on the duck look! That is in distinction with the MRT Kajang Line’s modern, futuristic look, a distinction that can also be mirrored within the station design – SBK stations look extra atas, PYL stations extra sq. and useful.
It’s extra than simply aesthetics, although. As somebody who likes to face by the doorways to survey the bottom from above (you’d be stunned at how completely different acquainted locations look from a better perspective), I respect the SBK practice’s considerably bigger door home windows. When standing dealing with the traditional home windows, the view out just isn’t good both, obstructed by the body of the highest vents. Anyway, only a few folks do what I do in trains, so this statement is moot.
It didn’t detract from pleasure I had driving the brand new line, and I’m positive that many might be raring to get on it tomorrow. For a lot of metropolis employees, the PYL might be a sport changer that saves a lot money and time (RM50 a month for the My50 journey move throughout the Fast KL community), and the Hospital Kuala Lumpur station will profit senior residents and those that go to the GH recurrently (KPJ Tawakal Hospital can also be close by). The HKL station is provided with airport-style travelators, too.
Operation hours are from 6am to midnight. The frequency for weekday peak hours is each 4 to 6 minutes, whereas it’s seven to 10 minutes throughout off-peak hours. On weekends and public holidays, the interval is seven to fifteen minutes.
As for journey time, Fast KL says that an end-to-end trip from Kwasa Damansara to Putrajaya Sentral will take 84 minutes. We didn’t time our preview journey from Putrajaya to Chan Sow Lin because it was a particular categorical journey with out stops.
For some, the one query is ‘acquired free trial?‘. For that, we’ll have to attend for PMX to make the announcement tomorrow, if any. For now, does the MRT Putrajaya Line open up a brand new commuting route for you? If sure, would you make the swap and roughly how a lot will you save a month by doing so?
Browse the gallery under for photographs of the PYL stations, amenities, practice and in addition views of neighbourhoods and landmarks from the elevated portion of the monitor. A few of you may even spot your property. Additionally take a look at the ‘official product video’ that includes practice customers from all walks of life – workplace woman to health man. We hope that you just loved this relatively completely different form of assessment from those you’re used to on this channel. Yours actually and photographer Pat actually did. Come again tomorrow for the official launch.
GALLERY: MRT Putrajaya Line media preview
