Malaysia
2.3.7.1 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Key information
Population (city)
1.7 million (2012)
Population (greater metropolitan region)
6.3 million (2010 census)
Existing modes of public transport
Bus, light-rail, monorail, airport express
Public transport expansion planned/underway
Light rail extension, high-speed rail in planning
Existing fare media
Stored-value contactless smart card for bus, light-rail
and monorail; contactless bank card for airport express;
recent launch of fare card for visitors which is
acceptable on all public transport modes and Touch n’
Go terminals
Existing fare system integration
Integration available across bus, light-rail and monorail
Fare system integration underway/planned
Integration of airport express with bus, light-rail and
monorail being discussed
Announced plan for development
Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020
Background: The city of Kuala Lumpur, popularly called KL, is the capital of Malaysia and an
alpha world city. It is the most populous city in the country with an estimated population of 1.7
million (2012). The Greater Kuala Lumpur region, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban
agglomeration of 6.3 million (as per the 2010 census). The region comprises Kuala Lumpur,
Putrajaya, Klang, Kajang, Subang Jaya, Selayang, Shah Alam, Ampang Jaya and Sepang.
Kuala Lumpur is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in the country, in terms of
population and economy. It is identified as the critical economic growth centre as over 37 per
cent of the nation’s gross national product is related to Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. The city is
a centre for finance, insurance, real estate and media industries. The largest growth has been
in the south and west of Kuala Lumpur in districts such as Sepang, Petaling Jaya and Putrajaya.
Key players: Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana) is a wholly-owned government
company incorporated by the Ministry of Finance in 1998 to deliver infrastructure projects
approved by the Government of Malaysia. In 2002, it took over the assets and operations of
light-rail transit (LRT) and feeder buses. In 2007, it acquired KL Monorail System Sdn Bhd. In
the Klang Valley, Prasarana operates integrated rail and bus services under the brand RapidKL.
In January 2013, Prasarana underwent major corporate restructuring under the Go Forward
Plan 2.0 (GFP 2.0). The new structure includes the creation of four new entities—Rapid Rail
Sdn Bhd; Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd; Prasarana Integrated Management and Engineering Services Sdn
Bhd (PRIME); and Prasarana Integrated Development Sdn Bhd (PRIDE). The move is expected
to strengthen the company’s presence in the urban transport sector and harness its
commercial diversification potential.
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The City Hall Kuala Lumpur (CHKL) Urban Transport Department is entrusted with wide-ranging
coordination and administrative functions for planning urban transport. The federal
government prepares nationwide transportation plans and policy guidelines, and supervises
overall transport administration and planning.
Private sector involvement in the urban transport sector has expanded from the original role
of bus and taxi transport operations to toll road construction and the implementation,
operation and maintenance of mass transit systems.
Existing public transport system: The current public transportation system consists of bus,
LRT, monorail, express rail link (ERL) and commuter rail. RapidKL has adopted a network
concept based on an integration of the LRT and bus service. It implements a hub-and-network
approach whereby local pickup shuttles carry passengers to the rail, LRT or bus trunk lines.
These then move the passengers to city hubs where city shuttles and rail then transport
passengers to their final destinations.
Buses
Rapid KL has the largest fleet of buses. The private operator Metrobus is a major player in the
city and other private operators in the Klang Valley including Triton, Len Seng, Selangor
Omnibus and SJ Bus.
RapidKL offers 165 bus routes covering six key areas of the Klang Valley. It provides four types
of bus services.
These are indicated in Table 2.3.7.1.1.
Table 2.3.7.1.1: RapidKL bus service types
Type of bus service
Description
Tempatan
Carries passengers from the residential areas to the main routes.
Utama
Carries passengers from the main routes to the city hubs.
Bandar
Carries passengers from the city hubs to their final destinations in the city centre.
Ekspres
Offers a non-stop ride from key points around the Klang Valley to the city centre.
Source: RapidKL
LRT
The Kelana Jaya and Ampang LRT lines connect most major locations in the central Klang
Valley, while the feeder buses serve the areas surrounding the stations. LRT is the most
preferred mode of public transport. Operation time is from 6:00 am to 11:45 pm daily. Train
interval is about three minutes during peak hours and up to eight minutes during non-peak
hours.
The 29-km Kelana Jaya Line runs from the Putra Terminal in Gombak to the Kelana Jaya
Terminal in Petaling Jaya, covering 24 stations. The 15-km Ampang Line runs from Sentul Timur
in Sentul to Ampang.
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Monorail
The KL Monorail spans 8.6 km from Kuala Lumpur Sentral to Titiwangsa, covering 11 stations
along the southeast and northeast regions of Kuala Lumpur. It connects the Sentral station to
major shopping centres such as Bukit Bintang, Imbi and Chow Kit. The operation time is from
6:00 am to 12:00 midnight daily. Train interval is five minutes during peak hours and up to 10
minutes during non-peak hours.
Stesen Sentral, Malaysia’s largest transit hub, provides direct access to six rail systems, major
highways, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Putrajaya (the Federal Government
Administrative Centre), Cyberjaya and key areas within the Multimedia Super Corridor.
National and regional rail service
KTM Intercity offers train service between cities and major towns in Peninsular Malaysia,
Singapore and Thailand. Most of the services operate from Stesen Sentral.
KTM Komuter provides commuter rail service to the surrounding suburban areas. It has two
lines which cover 41 stations. The lines span a longer distance and have less frequent service
compared to the LRT. Line 1 runs from Sentul to Port Klang. Line 2 runs from Rawang to
Seremban. The operation time is from 5:45 am to 12:00 midnight daily. Train interval is 15
minutes during peak hours and 20 minutes during non-peak hours.
Airport express
The ERL is the fastest way to get to the KLIA, which is 57 km from the city centre. The ERL
terminus at Station Sentral functions as a city airport terminal. Train interval is 15 minutes
during peak hours and 20 minutes during non-peak hours. Peak hours are from 5:00 am to
9:00 am and 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm.
There are two ERL services as indicated in Table 2.3.7.1.2.
Table 2.3.7.1.2: Express Rail Service service type
ERL service
Description
KLIA Ekspres
It is a non-stop, direct train service from Stesen Sentral to KLIA. The end-to-end
journey time is 28 minutes. It is Malaysia’s fastest railway system with a 99.98
per cent on-time service performance.
KLIA Transit
It is a transit train which stops at two stations—Putrajaya and Salak Tinggi—
enroute to KLIA. The end-to-end journey time is 36 minutes with stops at Bandar
Tasik Selatan, Putrajaya/Cyberjaya and Salak Tinggi.
Source: Station Sentral website
Fare collection system: US-based Cubic Transportation Systems has delivered the fare
collection system.
Tokens are available at ticket vending machines (TVMs) for single journey integrated rides on
the LRT and monorail.
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The contactless fare card MyRapid has been available since March 1, 2012, for integrated
journeys on LRT and monorail lines. The card is available at all LRT and monorail stations.
Subsequent renewals must be made at the TVMs. Passengers are required to tap the card
when entering and exiting the station. The cards are available as monthly passes and the
number of days remaining is displayed at the reader at exit. Passengers are required to
maintain a minimum purse value of MYR3 to use RapidKL services.
Effective March 2013, the Rapidpass Rail was replaced with MyRapid Rail, which allows rail
travel for 30 days. The MyRapid Rail users are eligible for daily flat rate at the Gombak LRT
station parking.
The fare cards are listed in Table 2.3.7.1.3.
Table 2.3.7.1.3: Public transport monthly passes
Fare card
Description
Rapidpass Tempatan
Valid on all Tempatan bus routes and available for MYR40
Rapidpass Semua
Valid on all Tempatan, Bandar and Utama bus routes (except Ekspres) and
available for MYR100.
Rapidpass Rail
Valid on LRT and monorail. Available for MYR100.
Rapidpass Integrasi
Valid on all Tempatan, Bandar, Utama and Ekspres bus routes as well as on
the LRT and monorail. It is available for MYR150.
Rapidpass Pelajar Bas
Valid on Utama, Bandar and Tempatan buses. It is available for MYR50.
Rapidpass Pelajar Integrasi
Valid on all RapidKL buses (including Ekspres), LRT and monorail. It is available
for MYR100.
Source: RapidKL
Touch ‘n Go (TnG) cards provide discounted fares on RapidKL bus, LRT and monorail services
and are available to passengers with disability registered with the Social Welfare Department/
Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM) under the following categories—sight, hearing,
psychiatric, speech, learning disability, and other physical disabilities. The card is issued free of
charge, but it requires a pre-loaded purse value of MYR5. Subsequent reloads (minimum
MYR10) are possible at all LRT and monorail stations or any other TnG reload counters.
Purse value on a TnG card cannot be transferred to a MyRapid card but it can be used to pay
for services listed on the back of the card.
KTM Komuter
For KTM Komuter service, single journey, return journey and weekly tickets are available.
There is a 50 per cent discount available for senior citizens (with Komuter 1 Malaysia card),
students and the disabled (registered with the JKM). Tickets are available at stations. Senior
citizens can also obtain the Senior Citizen Card for MYR1, which allows a 50 per cent discount
on all trips.
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ERL
ERL standard fare tickets are valid for three months. The standard fare is MYR35 for adult and
MYR15 for child. The KLIA Ekspres Easycard is available for MYR350 and valid for one year. It
offers one free trip for every 10 trips.
KLIA Transit offers weekly and monthly TravelCard for frequent travellers. The TravelCard is
applicable only between stations encoded on the card. Travel to other stations is possible but
chargeable at full fare per trip. There is a 30 per cent discount on standard fares for senior
citizens, the disabled and KADS1M card holders. Discounted fare tickets can only be purchased
at ticket counters with presentation of proof.
In August 2013, ERL launched a new automatic fare collection (AFC) system for ticketing. The
new gates accept the TnG and Visa payWave contactless smart cards instead of the magneticstripe tickets used earlier. There is also an option for mobile ticketing and for online purchases.
UK-based Xchanging and Malaysia-based Longbow Technologies Sdn Bhd have implemented
the system with Malaysia-based Syarikat Pembenaan Yeoh Tiong Lay Sdn Bhd (SPYTL) as
project manager.
The system components include GHL VR300 contactless reader, VeriFone VX510 TCP/IP
capable terminal, YTLE gate systems and controllers, netAccess L-200 network controller,
reconciliation back end server, and EON Bank (now part of Hong Leong Bank) as the acquirer.
The new system replaces the former magnetic stripe paper ticketing system and also includes
new ticketing gates, smart cards, barcode tickets, revamped online ticketing portal, self-service
kiosks and new mobile applications.
In September 2013, Touch ‘n Go provider introduced MYPass, the prepaid and discount flash
card for visitors to pay for products and services wherever the Touch ‘n Go sign is displayed.
This includes KL’s public transport, retail stores, restaurants, theme parks, attractions, etc. The
card can be reloaded from as low as MYR10 up to a maximum of MYR1,500 at convenience
stores, transit stations, petrol stations and selected retail outlets. The MYPass card also has
discount vouchers.
Key issues: Ridership on the public transport system is low and represents a modal share of
about 20 per cent (in neighbouring countries it ranges from 40 per cent to over 70 per cent).
The ridership has suffered due to poor integration, low accessibility, unreliable service, as well
as low gasoline charges, tolls, and parking costs. Rail-based public transport services are far
less accessible than bus services. The 2-km radius coverage of the feeder buses from stations is
not enough to ensure sufficient accessibility.
Future plans: The Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 contains the vision, goals, policies and
proposals to guide the development of Kuala Lumpur. It was approved by the Minister for the
Federal Territory in August 2004.
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CHKL is providing segregated lanes for buses and taxis in the city centre and building
comfortable stop facilities.
To further expand its rail services, Prasarana has embarked on a Line Extension Project (LEP) to
further extend the LRT lines. The project will add 17.7 km to the Ampang Line and 17 km to the
Kelana Jaya Line.
All mass rapid transit and KTM Komuter railway lines will be integrated into the new control
centre that is being developed for the LRT lines.
The Public Land Transport Commission has expressed a need for all public transport operators
to use an integrated one-ticket-for-all solution system that enables online and mobile
ticketing.
Going forward, the Rapidpass Bas and Rapidpass Integrasi fare cards will be converted to
MyRapid cards. There are also plans to implement the recent AFC system on the proposed
Kuala Lumpur–Singapore high-speed rail line.
Recent developments: In September 2013, Touch ‘n Go provider introduced MYPass, the
prepaid and discount flash card for visitors to pay for products and services wherever the
Touch ‘n Go sign is displayed. This includes KL’s public transport, retail stores, restaurants,
theme parks, attractions, etc. The card can be reloaded from as low as MYR10 up to a
maximum of MYR1,500 at convenience stores, transit stations, petrol stations and selected
retail outlets. The MYPass card also has discount vouchers.
Also, in the same month, SPAD announced that it is monitoring the direct and indirect effects
of the recent rise in petrol prices to assess the need for public transport fare increase.
In August 2013, ERL launched a new AFC system for ticketing.
In July 2013, Spain-based information technology solutions provider Indra Sistemas SA (Indra)
secured a EUR28 million contract from Prasarana to design and construct an integrated control
centre for the Ampang and Kelana Jaya LRT lines. The contract provides for a two-year
construction period and a two-year maintenance warranty. Indra will install an advanced
integrated management system, a data centre, communications technology and energy
management systems. This will enable remote monitoring as well as optimisation of rolling
stock and staff schedules.
(1 EUR [Euro] = 1.33 USD; 1 MYR [Malaysian Ringgit] = 0.30 USD)
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