KUALA LUMPUR: Once Phase 2 of the MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang line and LRT 3 is complete, there will be at least 200 train stations all over Klang Valley.
“This will allow our future generations, especially the fresh graduates and job entrants, to move easily within the city,” said Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani after launching the LRT Ampang Line’s 20th Anniversary at LRT Bukit Jalil here yesterday.
MRT Phase 2 is slated to roll out next July while LRT 3, or the Bandar Utama-Klang line, is expected to start running in 2020.
“This will add up to 200 train stations all over the Klang Valley,” said Johari, adding that currently there were some 70 stations.
The Government’s investments will benefit the future generation, he said, citing the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail project as another such initiative.
“Some of us might not feel the advantage now, but our future generations will,” he said.
Johari also revealed that upon completion, the MRT lines would be run by the Finance Ministry’s subsidiary Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, which also operates the LRT and monorail lines.
Stronger than ever: (from left) Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd CEO Datuk Ir Zohari Sulaiman Johari, Prasarana president and group CEO Datuk Seri Azmi Abd Aziz and Johari celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Ampang line at the Bukit Jalil LRT station.
Due to the ease of connectivity, Johari said areas near LRT stations had become hotspots for home-hunters.
“Today, many of the developments going on have exceeded our imagination.
“Due to the connectivity provided by public transportation, people are now flocking to areas with LRT and MRT, and land prices at these areas have gone up,” he said.
The public transportation industry was also a boon for the services sector, which makes up 54% of the nation’s GDP, said Johari.
Malaysia would be an example among Asean countries as the first in the region to provide such “extensive connectivity” to its people, said Johari.
With ridership of 500,000 daily and growing, Prasarana had been asked to increase the number of its LRT coaches at all major locations during peak hours.
“We will be investing more to increase the number of these coaches,” he said.
[slider id='81590' name='StarProperty' size='full']
