TRANSIT took note of this article which updates us on the status of the KTM Komuter extension to Senawang & Sg. Gadut.
As you can imagine, TRANSIT is pleased to see the expansion of KTM Komuter services further south, which will reduce some of the traffic congestion on the KL-Seremban Highway.
The Komuter service will also help serve local trips between Sg. Gadut and Seremban, which in the past required driving.
THE Electric Train Service (ETS) and Komuter service, which was supposed to have started at the Senawang and Sg Gadut train stations in December last year, will now start in May.
Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the commissioning of the rail services was delayed due to bad weather and land acquisition problems.
[TRANSIT: From the images that we saw, there was no way that things could have been ready by December 2010 anyways. But never mind.]
“The stations are as good as ready and track testing is already under way. The engineers are confident the services will be able to start as planned in May,” he said during a visit to both stations.
The south-bound ETS and Komuter service now ends in Seremban.
Modern: The ultra modern Senawang train station will be operational in May. Image courtesy of The Star.
Passengers travelling on board the ETS — which now provides eight return trips from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh and two from Seremban to Ipoh — can get to Ipoh from Seremban in three hours. Both the Senawang and Sg Gadut stations are located along the 98km Seremban-Gemas rail route.
The project is part of the RM3.45bil Seremban-Gemas double tracking and electrification project which is due for completion in December 2012.
Mohamad said once the stations were commissioned, it would help reduce traffic flow and congestion in Seremban.
“There are many residential areas in and around Senawang and many travel to Kuala Lumpur to work. They would not have to drive into Seremban to catch the morning train once the stations start operations,” he said.
[TRANSIT: Agreed – and they would also not have to drive to Seremban for other activities (working, shopping, eating, taking the bus) since the train is available]
Mohamad (right) being briefed on the specifications of the Senawang station during his visit. Image courtesy of The Star.
Among the bigger residential areas in Senawang are Bandar Seremban Selatan, Taman Tuanku Ja’afar, Taman Tuanku Najihah, Seremban Jaya, Senawang Jaya, Forest Heights and Seremban Garden.
Mohamad said once completed, both the stations would be a catalyst for development in the area.
“We will be able to open up more residential areas here. It will be part of our park-and-ride concept where people can live here and work in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
Mohamad also expressed his gratitude to the Transport Ministry for agreeing to upgrade the Senawang stop into a full-fledged station.
The elevated Sg Gadut station is one of the biggest in Negri Sembilan and would serve the people living in housing estates nearby. Image courtesy of The Star.
“It was initially planned to be a halt only. We are thankful for the upgrade as we need a proper station due to the high number of residential areas,” he said.
Mohamad said once Keretapi Tanah Melayu received its six-coach trains in December, more people would be able to travel by rail.
“At present, the trains have three coaches and travelling, particularly during peak hours, can be a little uncomfortable,” he said, adding that the state government would also ask the ministry to increase express services between Sg Gadut and Kuala Lumpur.
Express Komuter services between Seremban and Kuala Lumpur is provided now during peak hours but is often cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
[TRANSIT: Good call. Actually, the trains should probably travel local from Sg. Gadut to Seremban (which would help local travelers) then express onwards – perhaps with a stop at Kajang station in the future once the Sg. Buloh – Kajang MRT is completed]
Asked if the state government would request the Transport Ministry to upgrade the Tiroi/Labu halt located after the Seremban station due to the planned development there, Mohamad said this was being considered.
“I hope this will not be a problem for them as all we need is a proper station.
“The double-tracking and electrification work has been long completed,” he said.
Mohamad said KTM also provided ample parking for those who wished to park their vehicles and board trains at these stations.
“KTM will be able to increase the number of bays as there is sufficient land around both the stations,” he said.
Indian company Ircon Inter-national Limited was awarded the project to build and upgrade the Seremban-Gemas rail stretch which runs through three states — Negri Sembilan (65km), Malacca (32km) and Johor (1.45km).
Once completed, travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Gemas would be reduced from the current three hours to two.
TRANSIT Says:
We are quite happy to hear about the extension of the Komuter service to Sg. Gadut and are pleased that there is a clear intention for better services in Seremban and between Seremban and KL.
4 replies on “KTM Update: Senawang and Sg Gadut stations to start operating in May 2011”
As much as i appreciate what they have done, I would like to note that they didn’t put extra sidings at the stations so that express or freight trains may by-pass the stations.
@Bob Dylan
That is a very good point. We suppose that there might be a few reasons for this, such as:
They didn’t think of it
they did not have enough money
they plan to divert freight trains via the Alor Gajah – Port Klang – Serendah bypass (which still has to be built, of course)
Regards, Moaz for TRANSIT
I think most probably they didn’t have money after the government cronies had squandered tonnes of money from this project.
You’ll wrong…. You know what’s the siding for n stands for? Nope right? Express train also don’t stop at Sg Gadut n Senawang. They’re just passing through the stations n yet there’s 3 lines in Sg Gadut. Still the project continued to Rembau station and after that straight away to Gemas. It’s not just for the xpress/cargo but for the commuter trains instead. Everyday there’s more than 10 xpress/cargo trains passing through the station instead of commuters every half an hour. The main reasons are for the commuter trains and it will running till Gemas in the future. And as for the sidings, it’s not running line, it’s just for keeping the commuter trains at night, cargo trains and engineering machines. If you’ll don’t know what’s the meaning of certain words and functions, don’t try to talk or discuss like you’ll only know and you are the workers of this company. And one more thing, we’re Malaysians, change our mind of thinking. Don’t just point or blame someone even the government if you don’t even know the truth and why they’re doing this and that for. Throw away our negative thinking and try to keep the positive in ours. It’s for our own good too…….
Transit Malaysia 
4 replies on “KTM Update: Senawang and Sg Gadut stations to start operating in May 2011”
As much as i appreciate what they have done, I would like to note that they didn’t put extra sidings at the stations so that express or freight trains may by-pass the stations.
@Bob Dylan
That is a very good point. We suppose that there might be a few reasons for this, such as:
Regards, Moaz for TRANSIT
I think most probably they didn’t have money after the government cronies had squandered tonnes of money from this project.
You’ll wrong…. You know what’s the siding for n stands for? Nope right? Express train also don’t stop at Sg Gadut n Senawang. They’re just passing through the stations n yet there’s 3 lines in Sg Gadut. Still the project continued to Rembau station and after that straight away to Gemas. It’s not just for the xpress/cargo but for the commuter trains instead. Everyday there’s more than 10 xpress/cargo trains passing through the station instead of commuters every half an hour. The main reasons are for the commuter trains and it will running till Gemas in the future. And as for the sidings, it’s not running line, it’s just for keeping the commuter trains at night, cargo trains and engineering machines. If you’ll don’t know what’s the meaning of certain words and functions, don’t try to talk or discuss like you’ll only know and you are the workers of this company. And one more thing, we’re Malaysians, change our mind of thinking. Don’t just point or blame someone even the government if you don’t even know the truth and why they’re doing this and that for. Throw away our negative thinking and try to keep the positive in ours. It’s for our own good too…….