After expressing its intention to develop a multi-tier automated rapid transit (ART) system in Johor Bahru to address traffic congestion in the city, the Johor state government is now preparing to submit a proposal for the proposed project to the federal government for the green light , the Malaysian Post Reports.
According to Lee Ting Han, the state’s executive councilor, the state will review the proposal before forwarding it to the transport and economic ministries. “The state government will submit a proposal to the federal government to set up an advanced ART. It will be discussed and approved at the state level during the weekly Johor Executive Council meeting before being tabled,” he said.
Lee said the state expects an increase in traffic volumes once the Rapid Transit System Link (RTS Link) begins operations in about three years. “The RTS Link is capable of carrying 10,000 passengers per hour per direction, so we predict there will be a high volume of passengers traveling between Johor and Singapore on a daily basis. If each of them takes their own private vehicle, there will be heavy traffic jams in Johor Baru city center. We have to find a way to disperse the crowd and fine art is a good way to do that,” he said.
Lee said the ART system has been successfully implemented in many countries and highlighted the upcoming implementation in Kuching. He said a team from Johor visited Sarawak to study the feasibility and proposal process for the project and that lessons learned from the visit would be incorporated into the state government’s submission to the federal government.
On the proposed routes for the elevated ART system, Lee said the state intends to use the existing route of the Iskandar Malaysia Bus Rapid Transit (IMBRT) project announced in 2018 and use dedicated bus routes to connect key areas. The decision to use the IMBRT route would save costs as partially acquired land along the routes would be used.
“Therefore, we are proposing an increased ART following the IMBRT alignment as land acquisition along the routes has been partial. As soon as we receive the federal approvals, we can start work as quickly as possible because the clock is ticking. If we don’t plan it (properly), we will clog up downtown,” he said.
The ART is classified as a medium-sized urban passenger transit system that allows for higher passenger capacity at lower implementation costs compared to light rail systems and is powered by clean energy sources such as electricity or hydrogen.
Do you want to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.