MEDIA RELEASE
KUCHING
LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT ROUTE
29TH
MARCH, 2018
Ridership Population
Estimates
·
There are 4 major population centres in the
State of Sarawak with the largest being Kuching. Greater Kuching, which includes
the divisions of Samarahan and Serian, is estimated to have a population of
908,400;
o
Kuching: 700,300
people;
o
Samarahan: 109,100
people and
o
Serian: 99,000
people.
Project Ridership Time
Saving Benefits
·
Based on the Kuching Urban Transport Study;
o
It is estimated that travelling by rail
from major developed areas within Kuching district to the city centre can be
achieved within 30 minutes;
o
While travelling from Kota Samarahan to
Kuching by rail will take 50 minutes as compared to travelling by road which
takes 90 minutes during peak hour. (A savings of 40 minutes per trip)
o
3 lines of the total 6 lines have been
identified for the immediate implementation of the rail transit system from the
above-mentioned study. The remaining lines will be implemented at a later
stage.
Project Estimated Construction
Duration
·
The estimated duration for the construction
of these lines are approximately five
(5) years, dependent on the procurement strategy and also allowing for long
lead items such as Rolling Stock (trains) manufacture and delivery. The LRT
lines are expected to be operational by the year 2024.
Project Expected Employment
Impact
·
Each
LRT line is expected to create a total of 20,919 jobs once in full operations;
o
Line 1: 8,679
jobs
o
Line 2: 10,420
jobs
o
Line 3: 1,820
jobs
Line One: Kota
Samarahan to Sungai Batu to Damai
·
This route covers 48% of current travel
demands for Kuching city. The line is approximately 62.4km in length with 28
stations.
·
The line will start at Rembus in Kota
Samarahan, where the depot is proposed and end at Damai via Sungai Batu.
Line Two: Serian to
Senari
·
This route covers 30% of current travel
demand for Kuching city. The line is approximately 82.0km in length with 26
stations.
·
The line will start at Serian via Siburan
and will terminate at Senari.
·
This line will have an interchange station
with Kota Samarahan-Damai option at the Simpang Tiga Roundabout.
Line Three: City
Dispersal Line
·
The line is approximately 10.8km in length
with 13 stations.
·
The proposed city dispersal line will be an
at-grade tram system which can better navigate urban streets, has less
intrusive stops and integrates well into the concept of a pedestrianised urban
landscape.
Ridership Forecast
The
forecasted daily ridership for year 2024 and 2034 are as follows:
Table 1: Forecasted
Daily Ridership for the Proposed Line at Year 2024
Line
|
Description
|
Population
Coverage (3km Corridor)
|
Length
(km)
|
Line
Load (PPHPD*)
|
Ridership
(pax/day)
|
1
|
Kota
Samarahan-Damai
|
751,900
|
62.4
|
5,225
|
70,541
|
2
|
Serian-Senari
|
732,000
|
82.0
|
4,669
|
63,035
|
3
|
City
Dispersal Line
|
72,400
|
10.8
|
2,055
|
11,099
|
PPHPD* Person Per Hour Per Direction
Table 2: Forecasted
Daily Ridership for the Proposed Line at Year 2034
Line
|
Description
|
Population
Coverage (3km Corridor)
|
Length
(km)
|
Line
Load (PPHPD*)
|
Ridership
(pax/day)
|
1
|
Kota
Samarahan-Damai
|
910,600
|
62.4
|
8,115
|
182,579
|
2
|
Serian-Senari
|
883,600
|
82.0
|
7,114
|
160,057
|
3
|
City
Dispersal Line
|
87,400
|
10.8
|
2,762
|
24,859
|
PPHPD* Person Per Hour Per Direction
Benefits
The
Light Rail Transit envisages realising efficient mobility in Kuching; creating
economic opportunities, enabling trade and facilitating access to markets and
services.
At
the same time, it will help transform Kuching into a more dynamic and
competitive city, as well as create more jobs. Besides, the LRT will traverse
and link dense residential areas, businesses, industrial areas, tourist
hotspots and new transit oriented developments (TOD), thus driving the economic
development in Kuching. The TOD along the corridor will be examined and
incorporated in line with the state development plans.
The
development of the LRT is expected to provide benefits in terms of time
savings, monetary savings due to lower annual vehicle operating costs and
creating job opportunities, amongst others. This is summarized in the table
below:-
Table 3: Estimated
Savings on Time (Daily), Vehicle Operating Costs (Annual) and Creation of Job
Opportunities (Annual) at Year 2024
Line
|
Description
|
Estimated
Daily Time Savings (pax/ hour)
|
Estimated
Annual Vehicle Operating Costs Savings (RM Million)
|
Job
Opportunities (pax/year)
|
1
|
Kota
Samarahan-Damai
|
19,427
|
76
|
8,679
|
2
|
Serian-Senari
|
27,488
|
108
|
10,420
|
3
|
City
Dispersal Line
|
767
|
3
|
1,820
|
Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Train
This
cost effective and environmentally friendly technology is new to the rail
industry, and is anticipated to be the first of its kind to be implemented in this
region when incorporated in the Kuching LRT system.
The
train, which will gain its power from hydrogen, produced through water
electrolysis combined with external hydrogen supply, will feature a motor that
is impressive in both energy conversion and energy efficiency. The train is
environmentally friendly as it utilises hydrogen with the by-products of only water
and steam.
Main
features of the train are:-
·
Speed – 70-140 km/h*
·
Driving Range – 40-800 km**
·
Passenger Capacity – 340 pax (3 car
configuration)
Technology
advancements in hydrogen fuel cell are expected to improve the range and
capacity of the trains in the coming years.
The
usage of hydrogen fuel cell trains not only reduces costs and is
environmentally friendly; it is also in line with the Sarawak Government’s
vision to develop a hydrogen economy as part of the State’s green initiative,
thereby generating economic benefits for the people of Sarawak.
*Alstom’s maximum
speed is 140 km/h as compared to CRRC’s maximum speed of 70 km/h.
** Alstom’s driving
range is 800km as compared to CRRC’s driving range of 40km.
Construction Costs &
Estimated Duration
The
indicative construction costs for Line 1, 2 and 3 are summarized below:-
Line
|
Description
|
Length
(km)
|
Total
Construction Cost
(RM
Million)incl rolling stock
|
Costs
per km (RM Million)
|
1
|
Kota
Samarahan-Damai
|
62.4
|
4,489,688,838
Civil – 2,009,530,196
Systems – 2,370,986,259
Land – 109,172,383
|
72.0
Civil – 32.2
Systems – 38
Land – 1.8
|
2
|
Serian-Senari
|
82.0
|
5,448,071,505
Civil – 2,309,166,611
Systems – 2,995,299,894
Land – 143,605,000
|
66.4
Civil – 28.1
Systems– 36.5
Land – 1.8
|
3
|
City
Dispersal Line
|
10.8
|
819,567,678
Civil – 453,153,750
Systems – 347,608,708
Land – 18,805,220
|
76.3
Civil – 42.2
Systems–32.3
Land – 1.8
|
#Land costs are
estimated on per km basis (RM 50 per square meter)
Innovative
construction techniques, coupled with the use of hydrogen fuel cells, make the
LRT project economically viable. Further studies to refine the costs will be
carried out in the next phase.
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