TRANSIT took note of the following information, an international tender for 20 Ampang line trains to service the LRT extension.
THE DESIGN, MANUFACTURE (INCLUDING INSTALLATION OF THE TRAIN BORNE EQUIPMENT), SUPPLY, DELIVERY, TESTING AND COMMISSIONING AND HANDOVER OF ALL COMPLETED TWENTY (20) SETS OF LIGHT RAIL VEHICLES FOR AMPANG (AMG) LINE EXTENSION PROJECT
The scope of work comprises of the design, manufacture (including installation of train borne equipment), supply delivery, testing and commissioning and handover of completed 20 sets of Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) for operation on Ampang (AMG) LRT System in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The new LRVs will operate in conjunction with the existing 30 LRVs and under automatic communication based train control (CBTC). The new LRVs will operate over standard gauge 1435 mm track and will be powered from a 750V DC third rail supply.
TRANSIT Says:
The tender document does not specify the length of the trains but we will assume that they will be the same as the existing 6-carriage LRT trains (with some slight differences visual and structural differences). Will we see trains that comprise a collection of 3 “married-pairs”, like the existing LRT trains, or a complete train of 6-carriages with walk-through gangways?
What TRANSIT would like to see is that whoever is going to produce the trains also produce a half-size mock-up (like this one done for Toronto) of the train, showing preferred seating arrangements, information system, facilities for passengers (security & alarms, communications, etc) and seating for OKU passengers.
TRANSIT would like to ask you, the public, what you would like to see in your new trains.
Things like:
- Walk-through trains (like the Kelana Jaya line and new Komuter EMUs)
- Tripod vertical stanchions (grab poles)
- Hanging straps running through the centre of the train;
- More courtesy seats for the elderly, OKU, pregnant women;
- Wheelchair boarding area with flip-up seats;
- Handrails near the doors like in KJ line trains;
- More standing area near doors;
- More rows of hanging hand grips;
- Indicators for which side the doors will open;
- Automated station stop announcements;
- lighted route maps;
- full rail system maps;
- Security cameras;
- anti-bacterial coatings on stanchions (grab poles) & straps
- Wifi;
- And if they keep the stainless steel bench seats, perhaps something on the stainless steel seats to prevent sliding.
What would you like to see on the new Ampang Line trains? Tell us by responding below. Maybe Prasarana will consider this as public feedback.
Also, with the current fleet of 30 trains, this will mean a total of 50 trains for the Ampang Line, including the 17.7km extension to Putra Heights.
Frequencies on the Ampang Line are high during peak hours on the Sentul Timur – Chan Sow Lin segment, at 3 or 4 minutes during peak hours and 7 minutes during the daytime. Automatic Train Control will help improve those frequencies (we hope) and if that happens, we can see that the new trains will make a big difference.
However, the big issue with the Ampang line is the frequencies on the branch lines, which are as high as 23 minutes between trains on Sundays. We sincerely hope that RapidKL will be able to improve frequencies on the lines so even on the weekend, someone on one of the branches would not have to wait 10 minutes for a train.
One thing that may happen with the extension to Putra Heights, is that the Ampang Line will become the Sentul Timur-Putra Heights line, with the Ampang Line operating as a Branch line (during off-peak hours). The coding of Ampang Line stations reflects this possibility:
Transit Malaysia 