MRT – Did we Learn from Past Mistakes?

I saw the plan for the proposed Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit system and I must say we never learn from past mistakes. What I saw gave me the impression that interconnectivity and commuters’ convenience were not on the planners’ minds when determining the alignment and location of the stations.

The MRT line runs from the existing Sungai Buloh KTM komuter station to the exsiting Kajang KTM station. It passes through Kota Damansara, Bandar Utama, TTDI, Section 17, goes along the Sprint Highway to Damansara Heights, submerges underground somewhere near Parliament, comes back up above ground after Maluri, goes along the Cheras-Kajang Highway passing through Plaza Pheonix, Taman Suntex, Ceupacs, Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, Balakong and Saujana Impian before arriving in Kajang. The underground section of the MRT covers the city centre. The sentence is as long as the MRT line and probably as perplexing.

My complaints – The interchange stations are really not interchange stations.

The MRT line doesn’t intersect with enough LRT/Monorail/KTM stations. What the planners forgot was that a public transportation system is supposed to make travelling easier. What I saw sort of made me not want to bother using the MRT. There is this station (tentatively) named ‘Kota Damansara’ which appears to be in the middle of nowhere. Maybe the satellite image used to map the railway line is out of date; the area is probably fully developed now for all I know. If the satellite image reflects what is on the ground, I say they have wasted their scarce resources on a station which will probably end up like Putra’s Abdullah Hukum station.

• The TTDI station is in a neighbourhood which probably has the highest concentration of German made cars in the country.
• The Section 17 station borders the cemetery and KGPA (a golf course).
• The KL Sentral MRT station is NOT in KL Sentral. In case no one noticed, the KL Sentral monorail station is also NOT in KL Sentral. Don’t these people ever learn? And KL Sentral is supposed to be a transport hub? Maybe someone should tell them what ‘hub’ means.
• The MRT line has two stations in the Bukit Bintang area and neither of them connects with the existing two monorail stations in the BB area!
• The proposed MRT Merdeka station is no where near the monorail Merdeka station.
• Only the lucky residents of Maluri get a connecting STAR-MRT station (I think).

Why am I making so much noise about this interconnectivity issue? Good, efficient transport links are supposed to be links, linking one place to many other places. 
Good efficient transportation system must be commuter friendly. 
Good, efficient transportation system must be able to transport commuters from one point to another point with minimal fuss. Maximum fuss is when a commuter has to walk a mile (probably under the hot sun) to change stations in order to get the train that will take them to their destination. Maximum fuss will discourage people from using the system. The planned MRT system in my humble opinion does not have the characteristics of a good, efficient transport system.

Let’s illustrate; let’s say I live in TTDI and work in KLCC and I decide to leave my Lexus at home and take the MRT to work. I however have to take the MRT from One Utama because the TTDI station doesn’t have Park & Ride facilities (at least what the plan says). So I drive from my home and park my car at 1U. I take the MRT to KL Sentral which is NOT in KL Sentral, walk from the National Museum area (well, that’s where the MRT station is in the plan) across (the wide and busy) Jalan Travers to KL Sentral to get connecting the PUTRA LRT train to KLCC. I do the reverse in the evening. I don’t mind walking from the Putra LRT station in KL Sentral to the KTM station in KL Sentral because they are in the same building (that’s how interchange stations are supposed to be) but walking from the Muzium to KL Sentral to change trains is just not convenient and is such a big turn off. If my fellow TTDIians feel the same way, we will all drive our quarter of a million dollar cars to work everyday and the TTDI station will join the Abdullah Hukum club. Mind you, most TTDIians have been to London and they would have experienced the seamless travel on the tube; giving them the MRT (in the planned form) would not convert them to MRT users.

I think the MRT is a rush job. It was announced not very long ago and in a few months time work on the system will start. Where is the EIA? Was a proper feasibility study done? If it was, where is it? What about tender process for the engineering and construction jobs? Is the proposed alignment the best? Does it serve the needs of the masses or will it only benefit the project promoters? What about high density areas such as Damansara Uptown and SS2; don’t they deserve a station too?

I use the LRT quite frequently and I was hoping the system and network will be improved. Sadly, the planned MRT seems to not offer any hopes of a fully integrated, interconnected and most importantly, a convenient and user friendly transport system. I’m really disappointed.

*I apologise if my choice of example offends any TTDI-ians or TTDI-ians to be or TTDI-ians wannabe. It’s just an example la.
** Graphics "courtesy" of The Star