The Light Rail Transit (LRT) route between Sentul Timur and Putra Heights has officially begun operations during the weekend. The integration of the two routes significantly saves on travel time, specifically from Puchong and Bandar Kinrara for those travelling to the areas around Subang, Subang Jaya and USJ.
The direct travel between Putra Heights and Sentul Timur, which is a 37km trip is named as the Sri Petaling Line.
The Sri Petaling route goes through 29 stations including Puchong, Kinrara, Sri Petaling, Bukit Jalil, Sungai Besi, Bandar Tasik Selatan, Cheras, Bandaraya and Sentul. The journey takes 65 minutes from one end to another end.
The fare for the full 37km journey between Sentul Timur and Putra Heights was only RM3.50 using the MyRapid SMART 30 package, or only RM2.40 for those using concession cards, such as senior citizens, students and the disabled.
With the completion of the migration of the LRT signalling system on the Sri Petaling-Ampang route, Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd – the operator of the LRT and monorail services in the Klang Valley and a subsidiary company of Prasarana Malaysia Berhad (Prasarana), could now begin the process of replacing all 30 trains which came into service in 1996 when operating as STAR LRT.
The Sri Petaling Line operates with new trains, whereby 35 of the new 50 six-coach trains bought from CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Company, China, for the Sri Petaling–Ampang route.
The balance of 15 sets of trains are currently being put together at the company’s local facility belonging in Batu Gajah, Perak.
These trains will be delivered to Rapid Rail in stages and all the trains for the LRT Sri Petaling-Ampang route are expected to be fully used early next year.
Source: The Sun Daily
