KLANG: The Shah Alam LRT line (LRT3) connecting Klang and Shah Alam residents to the Klang Valley rail network is expected to begin operations by March 1, 2025, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
He said work on the highly anticipated new line with 20 stations from Johan Setia in Klang to Bandar Utama in Petaling Jaya, is progressing well.
“Construction and civil work on the 20 stations are over 80% complete, with most of the remaining work in the installation and testing of the key systems like signaling.“The 22 new three-coach trains for the line are also fully built and are undergoing test runs to ensure their consistent performance after the line’s launch,” he told reporters during a work visit to the Johan Setia LRT Depot here yesterday.
Once operational, the new trains would be able to travel up to 80kmph, enabling up to 18,630 passengers to reach their destinations in a timely manner every hour, said Loke, who added that passengers can switch to the Kelana Jaya LRT at Glenmarie, and to the Kajang MRT at Bandar Utama.
Loke said the line, which was first announced in 2013, would be a key addition to the overall public transport network in the Klang Valley.
Seeing up close: Loke (middle) inspecting a train at the Johan Setia LRT Depot. — Bernama
“The 37km-long line is expected to serve over two million residents in western Klang Valley.
“By providing them increased convenience and accessibility, this will hopefully encourage the increased adoption of public transport among residents in Klang and Shah Alam,” he said.
He added the construction of five provisional stations – Bandar Botanik, Bukit Raja Selatan (between Bandar Baru Klang and Seksyen 7 Shah Alam station), Raja Muda (between Dato Menteri and UiTM Shah Alam station), Temasya (between the Glenmarie and Kerjaya stations) and Tropicana (between BU11 and the Damansara Idaman stations) will resume once Cabinet approval is given.
“I plan to bring it up at a Cabinet meeting soon, and it will be up to the Cabinet to approve as it will add additional costs to the already RM16bil project,” said Loke, who added that safety measures were already in place to ensure that construction of the five additional stations causes no disruption to trains that are already running after the line’s first phase launch covering the main 20 stations.
In 2018, the then-Pakatan Harapan government cancelled six stations on the line, along with other measures, to reduce costs from RM31.65bil to RM16.63bil. It later reinstated five as provisional stations, with the Persiaran Hishamuddin underground station cancelled for good.
The size and number of trains on the line were also cut from 42 sets of six-car trains to 22 sets of three-car trains, along with a reduction in the size of the stations themselves.
