Gombak integrated transport terminal will be open ‘early’ 2011

TRANSIT took note of three articles:

• Gombak integrated transport terminal will be open early next year (The Star;
• Transport hub for east revived (NST);
• Integrated Transport Terminal project will start in June, says minister (Malay Mail)

which provide information about the status of the proposed Gombak Integrated Transport Terminal (located near Terminal Putra LRT station in Gombak).

Gombak integrated transport terminal will be open early next year (The Star)

KUALA LUMPUR: The Gombak integrated transport terminal (ITT) has been revived and will be open early next year, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.

“Under current plans, this ITT aims to disperse 780 north and east-bound buses that are stationed in the city centre and ease the traffic congestion,” Ong told reporters at a conference after visiting the construction site of the terminal here Tuesday.

[TRANSIT: We presume that the focus will be on shifting the buses operating at the Pekeliling bus terminal near Titiwangsa LRT/Monorail station first, then the East-coast bound buses currently using the Putra Halt near PWTC.]

He said the ITT would be operated and designed and operated to cater for inter-modal needs and have a capacity for 4,000 bus passengers a day.

“It will be disabled-friendly and will be designed for turnaround time of 20 minutes,” he said, adding the terminal would be renamed the East Integrated Terminal (Terminal Bersepadu Timur).

Ong also said the terminal would encourage the public to use ‘park-and-ride’ facilities.

[TRANSIT: Because the terminal is located next to the LRT station]

Construction of the privately funded RM200mil terminal is expected to begin in June after the successful bidder is announced.

The terminal will be built in two phases on a 13.35ha plot of land a stone’s throw away from the Putra LRT terminal in Gombak.

According to NKRA lab leader for urban public transport Ruhaizah Rashid, the first phase, which is expected to take nine months to complete, would house the bus platforms.

The second phase, which would be completed later, would have a double-storey car park and concourse area.

“In the first phase, both arrival and departure terminals will be in the first block. After the second phase is completed, we will separate the arrivals and departures to each block,” Ruhaizah added.

The Gombak ITT was shelved temporarily in 2001 because of financial constraints.

An ITT in Bandar Tasik Selatan is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in November.

TRANSIT Says:

The concept of a Gombak ITT has been mooted since the Kelana Jaya line (then PUTRA) was opened in 1998.

Currently, a large number of buses travel from KL to nearby towns in Pahang and other destinations  in the eastern Peninsula and on the East Coast. These services are actually split, with buses for Pahang towns stopping at the Pekeliling bus station (near Titiwangsa LRT/Monorail), while the intercity buses stopping at the Hentian Putra and Hentian Duta on the west side of the City Centre.

Gombak is also a good location for an integrated terminal because of the access to the LRT.

TRANSIT has heard that the design of the Gombak ITT (planned by Prasarana) will follow a simpler, lower-cost phased-in approach, with an open concept design. This contrasts sharply with the Ministry of Transport’s “all-in-one-macam-airport-terminal” design of the ITT in Bandar Tasik Selatan.

As always, your comments are welcome