I am a believer that connectivity helps economic growth. (Yes, it helps property prices in secondary areas too. Hint Hint. ) This is the reason why KL – Singapore have lots of air connections and in 2022, there would also be a High Speed Rail (HSR) connection too. Greater KL needs more connectivities and MRT will start to complete the picture. LRTs are already operating at full capacity during peak hours and only MRT would provide bigger capacity. Yes, within just 30 days more, MRT starts!
I just read an update about MRT Line 1 in NST today. MRT Sungai Buloh – Kajang will start on 16th December 2017 for 12 stations between Sungai Buloh and Semantan. The remaining 19 stations between Semantan and Kajang is expected to start operations in July 2017. The Sungai Buloh MRT station is only 5km from my home which meant that I must try it out soon. The fares will range from RM1.10 to RM6.40. For those who’s into cashless, it’s only RM5.50 at maximum. How far is the distance from the first station to the last? 51km across 31 stations. Here are the 31 stations.
It will be operated by Rapid KL and this is what its Chief Executive Offer Datuk Zohari Sulaiman said, “The fare structure has been approved by the government and is based on the nominal flag fall and cascading rates for every four to five kilometres travelled – similar with the fare structure of the LRT and monorail services operated by Rapid Rail, a subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia Berhad.” 50 percent discount on the cash fare would be offered to senior citizens, students, and people with disabilities (OKU) who travel on the MRT and the MRT feeder bus services. This is the current arrangement for Rapid KL LRT, monorail, and bus services. Children below seven travel for free. Note though that currently there is NO integration for MRT with existing LRT and monorail lines. Thus, MRT commuters would pass through the automated fare collection gates using cash tokens or Touch n’ Go cards only. Fare details here.
There are already lots of work being done for MRT Line 2. This was also the reason I told some of my friends that I think MRT Line 2 will start well ahead of the scheduled time-frame. Besides the manpower having more experience, all the equipments can be reused too. Moving them is easier too. I actually asked a few friends about the potential for them to take the MRT. It’s positive enough. They said, they would at least give it a try. In other words non-committal as yet. Perhaps they should just buy homes near these MRT stations, then they would be more inclined to start taking the public transport. Happy following.
written on 16 Nov 2016
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