PutrajayaMonorail:On Stop, might restart?

[Ijud]

The long awaited KL Monorail system will start it's revenue service on the National Day (31st August) of Malaysia. The system that comprises of 11 stations marks the completion of the current intergrated rail network planned for Kuala Lumpur. The system which is fully Made in Malaysia initially utilises 2-car trains which can be upgraded to 8-car trains when the ridership increases in the future. A system identical as KL Monorail is also currently being constucted in the Administrative Capital - Putrajaya but with more futuristic designs of stations and tracks. The system will be extensively underground with 2 lines covering the core island and the mainland. It is scheduled for completion in 2005.

KL Monorail Website (http://www.monorail.com.my)

[jpatokal]

...but one nasty little detail which has been mostly swept under the carpet is that the final stretch from Tun Sambanthan to KL Sentral, which would have made the monorail very useful (connecting to KTMB, KLIA Ekspres, PUTRA), doesn't exist and won't be open until 2006 at the earliest! A little more data in the NST. (http://www.emedia.com.my/Current_News/NST/Friday/National/20030822074647/Article/)

Also, as of last month the sole evidence of Putrajaya's monorail is 50 meters of track stretching out of the KLIA Transit Putrajaya station, ending in mid-air and with no sign of construction. My understanding is that they haven't even finalized the route yet (!) and I'll be very, very surprised if it's up and running in 2005.
A thread on the monorail (http://www.i-putra.com.my/messageboards/thread.cfm?threadId=546&forumID=12&confID=1) (mostly Bahasa).

[Ijud]

Regarding the extension of KL Sentral to the KL Monorail's KL Sentral Station, the Transport Ministry had yesterday confirmed that they had allocated a sum of money to make the extension possible for it and 3 other interchange... but don't worry as there will be a free shuttle service from the monorail station to KL Sentral until the extension had been completed. :p

As for the Putrajaya Monorail... PM Mahathir already confirmed that the system will be ready by 2005 as major underground works actually had finished except the at-grade, the overhead tracks and the suspension bridge is under construction and the project had never been stalled. :cool:

An excerp from New Straits Times (11/8/2003):

Frontline: Monorail system in Putrajaya by next year
by Chong Jin Hun


THE Federal administrative capital of Putrajaya will have another mode of public transport with the completion of a monorail system by the end of next year. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the monorail tracks were being built around Putrajaya and linked several important landmarks like the Putrajaya Convention Centre, Putrajaya Mosque and the Government Administrative Complex in Parcel E.

The RM1.8 billion project has tracks stretching across 18km. It comprises two phases with the first involving the construction of monorail tracks over a 12km stretch.

"Apart from offering convenience to the residents and civil servants here, the monorail system provides an alternative to the Nadi Putra bus and Express Rail Link (ERL) services," he said after flagging off the Jalur Gemilang convoy at Taman Putra Perdana yesterday.

Tengku Adnan said the monorail service was to encourage commuters to use public transport to avoid traffic congestion in Putrajaya.

The convoy, with more than 600 participants, passed through Putrajaya and its surrounding areas like Bangi, Jenderam, Dengkil, Kg Sungai Merab and Cyberjaya.

It was the prelude to the National Day parade to be held in the federal administrative capital on Aug 31.

Also present was Putrajaya Umno Youth division head Khairun Aseh.

Tengku Adnan said about 50,000 people were expected to gather here for the National Day celebration.

[Ijud]

One of the bridge for the Putrajaya Monorail being constructed. Can be seen at the back of it is the Seri Saujana Bridge... one of the nine beautiful bridges being constructed to connect the Core Island and the Mainland of Putrajaya... Malaysia's new administrative capital near KLIA.

[jpatokal]

In Putrajaya for a couple of days earlier this week, and I'll reverse my earlier opinion -- they are building the monorail track after all. Will wonders never cease?

And FWIW, the Shangri-La Putrajaya is possibly the best hotel on the planet when it comes to the bang-for-buck ratio...

[Ijud]

Originally posted by jpatokal
In Putrajaya for a couple of days earlier this week, and I'll reverse my earlier opinion -- they are building the monorail track after all. Will wonders never cease?

And FWIW, the Shangri-La Putrajaya is possibly the best hotel on the planet when it comes to the bang-for-buck ratio...

:p ... you bet wonders will definitely never cease!

:D Why don't you just try the al-cheapo High And Mighty Hostel next time... It's popular among low-budget tourist... for RM 10 you'll get good night sleep and no headache!

[mrtfreak]

putrajaya monorail has delayed its opening until 30% of buildings on core island are occupied. smart move, why wast money operating when no one uses it?

[jpatokal]

The Putrajaya monorail isn't even close to completion though... nothing has been done to eg. the track next to the future ERL interchange during the last year.

It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation, as one of the (many) reasons preventing Putra/Cyberjaya from really taking off is the nearly total lack of public transport.

[mrtfreak]

the putrajaya rail system was initiated as an LRT line. however, mid-way they abandoned the project, and built a monorail instead. the tunnels and underground stations had been built, about 5 i think. so the putrajaya monorail will go underground, hence the construction may be obscured from the public's view. i bet no one knows where the stations are at all.

[jpatokal]

Only parts of the monorail are underground, some parts (like the one near the ERL station) are not and it's painfully obvious that they're incomplete, since on both sides the track ends in midair...!

Some better road maps of Putrajaya have sketches of the monorail layout, but I haven't seen a decent map (with stations marked) anywhere.

[Wisarut]

After visiting Putrajaya and Cyber jaya, I have NEVER found any trace of the construction for Putrajaya Monorail at all .... Even I look around Puitrajaya station, I still detect NOTHING realing to Putrajaya Monorail at all ! Proibably, 2007 is the most optimistic date for opening Putrajaya Monorailto commemorate 50th Year Anniversary ....

Now, Pak Lah has CLAIMED that they are going start the 2nd phase of Cyber jaya Development - now ALL 13 states must
come up their own version of Cyber Jaya.....

[Ijud]

Khun Wisarut,

The routes which have been completeted are all underground spanning across the govt. offices and buildings!! They done the underground tunnels during the construction process of Putrajaya! Some rumors said that Putrajaya has some secret evacuation system (like the north korean) and I hope that the monorail is not part of it!

[mrtfreak]

it would be good if the underground stations and tunnels are made of heavy duty concrete. then in case of a war, they could use the stations and tunnels as underground shelters. people could be housed there in times of emergency like in the sngapore MRT system. wisarut, go to the ERL station. there is a bit of monorail track hanging in the air or try a yahoo search on it.

[Ijud]

Hmmm... ya hor!!! That's why I hate politics :D!!!

[Ijud]

July 31, 2005 12:38 PM

Putrajaya Monorail Project To Resume Soon


PUTRAJAYA, July 31 (Bernama) -- The monorail project in the federal government's administrative centre will resume soon for the convenience of the residents, workers and visitors, said Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique.

He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was expected to announce the details soon.

Speaking to reporters after flagging off 165 vehicles which took part in the Putrajaya Treasure Hunt 2005, Zulhasnan said the areas where the rails, underground tunnels and stations would be built had been identified.

He said project implementor Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd was ready to hand over the facilities to the Transport Ministry for further action.

The first phase of the project would involve constructing an underground and overhead monorail system spanning 8km from the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry in Precinct 3 to the Education Ministry in Parcel E, he said.

Zulhasnan also said Putrajaya Corporation, the local authority, was expanding the public transport system in Putrajaya in stages.

He said it had offered a new tender to Nadi Putra, which operates the bus service, to deploy 53 more buses run on natural gas.

Hopefully, with the monorail in service and deployment of more buses, the transportation problem faced by a large number of the 70,000 residents and workers who commuted within the Putrajaya area daily would be overcome, he said.

-- BERNAMA

[jpatokal]

It's kind of depressing when you punch "putrajaya monorail map" into google and this thread comes up as the first result. :( On my next trip to KL I'll have to finally dig up that Putrajaya map again -- I managed to lose my previous copy -- and record the route for the digital posterity.

[mrtfreak]

OMG! You had a route map? Where'd you get it from eh? :eek: Wow. Thank goodness they've decided to resume the project. It would look like an eye sore with the monorail tracks hanging in the air.

[jpatokal]

OMG! You had a route map? Where'd you get it from eh? :eek: Wow. Thank goodness they've decided to resume the project. It would look like an eye sore with the monorail tracks hanging in the air.
Not a route map as such, just a detailed Putrajaya road map with the monorail route sketched out. I think I picked it up in the bookstore in KL Sentral, but this was several years back...

[mrtfreak]

Ah, I see. There are supposed to be two lines right? Where is the interchange supposed to be located? I mean, for transfer between the two monorail lines. Will they use TNG as well? Lastly, when is it expected to be open, the first phase at least.

[jpatokal]

OMG! You had a route map? Where'd you get it from eh? :eek: Wow. Thank goodness they've decided to resume the project. It would look like an eye sore with the monorail tracks hanging in the air.
So it's been the better part of three months since "monorail works are restarting soon" and I have the displeasure of reporting that, as of today, absolutely nothing has changed -- both ends of the track are still rusting silently in mid-air next to the ERL Putrajaya station. :mad:

[jpatokal]

The Putrajaya Monorail may be moribund, but that didn't stop the intrepid sleuths at TMS from doing a story on it:

http://monorails.org/tMspages/CnstPutra01a.html

Complete with the long-awaited rudimentary alignment map! No loop line after all, just an X, with the existing ERL station at one of the terminals. :confused: No station names or anything else either...

[jpatokal]

The Putrajaya Monorail is still dead, but at least somebody is making a vague promise to possibly reanimate the corpse (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/2/3/nation/20070203162705&sec=nation):

PUTRAJAYA: A fresh bid to get the long-delayed monorail project back on track again will be made under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, Putrajaya Corporation chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman said.

He said the administrative capital needed public transportation system for long term use to avoid future traffic congestion, adding that a fresh bid would be submitted to the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).

Samsudin, however, declined to say when the corporation would submit the new application, saying that it was attempting to implement the park-and-ride concept to enhance public transport and ease parking woes here. ...

Samsudin said basic infrastructure for the 20km monorail system was already in place, adding apart from the train coaches, railway tracks and stations needed to be built for the purpose.
So the line is almost ready to go -- it's just missing the coaches, the tracks and the stations! :confused: :eek: :mad:

[GWR]

Wednesday April 16, 2008
Putrajaya project now an eyesore
By GEETHA KRISHNAN

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/4/16/central/m_1monorail.jpg
http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/4/16/central/m_2bridge.jpg
[All Photos: The Star - Going nowhere: The structure referred to cynically as the “suspended suspension bridge.”]

IT'S BEEN four years since the Putrajaya Monorail project ground to a halt and there may be some light at the end of the tunnel yet.

The Federal Territories Ministry has instructed the Putrajaya Corpo-ration to appoint an independent consultant to conduct a study on the project’s viability.

Sources say if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, then it should be all systems go. Otherwise, the RM400mil project would be scrapped.

“Whatever the outcome, authorities should acknowledge that the basic framework is now an eyesore. Something needs to be done about the rusting steel fittings and ugly concrete pillars with wire protrusions,” one observer said.

Tourists, too, often ask if Putrajaya has another bridge under construction in reference to the elevated track built across the Putrajaya Lake. One dignitary cynically re-ferred to the structure as the “suspended suspension bridge” and as a new tourist attraction.

The elevated track was 90% complete when the project stalled in 2004 because the Government had not approved further funding.

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/4/16/central/m_2bridge2.jpg
[In the balance: The bridge spanning the Putrajaya Lake is almost complete.]

MTrans Monorail Sdn Bhd (MTrans) was appointed to finish the project within 30 months. The plan was to have two monorail lines with a total length of 20km, divided into 13.2km for Line 1 and 6.8km for Line 2.

A total of 26 stations were planned, including stops at the Putra Mosque, Education Ministry, Putrajaya Hospital, the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, Alamanda, Precinct 9 and Precinct 14.

Phase 1 of the project with 9km of track line is ready with a 4km underground tunnel originally designed to have seven stations. The Putra Bridge is a three-tiered bridge with a monorail and service tunnel on the lower deck and a pedestrian walkway on the upper deck.

The stalled project has often been described as the missing link of the public transport system designed for the federal administrative capital.

Seven park-and-ride facilities were designed to complement the monorail service to allow public servants and visitors to travel freely within Putrajaya.

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/4/16/central/m_2pillars.jpg
[Still in place: Wire protrusions and scaffolding can still be seen adorning the ugly concrete pillars.]

The monorail was also designed to integrate with the ERL service.

The Core Island, where the main government offices are located, can only offer parking for 30% of the vehicles travelling to the ministries and lack of space is now a common problem. An efficient internal bus service should be able to address this.

When the monorail idea was mooted, critics said Putrajaya did not require the system as much as Subang, Puchong and other densely populated or fast-growing areas. The population of Putrajaya, at 55,000, did not warrant the service, they argued.

Even if the authorities are adopting a wait-and-see attitude, the public want justification to be made for the spending of public funds.

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/4/16/central/20930281&sec=central

[GWR]

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/4/16/central/20930281&sec=central

See photos in previous post

The second to last paragraph in the report below is an absolutely wonderful example of Malaysian BigWig BS:

May 21, 2008 15:57 PM
Consultant Appointed To Look Into Viability Of Putrajaya Monorail Project

PUTRAJAYA, May 21 (Bernama) -- A fresh bid to get the long-delayed monorail project back on track again is under way with the appointment of a consultant to look into the financial model for the project, Putrajaya Corp chairman, Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, said.

He said the planning of the administrative capital included the public transportation system such as buses and monorail for long-term use to avoid future traffic congestion.

"We are hopeful the government would consider the project and I am always optimistic we are going to get it," he told reporters after an exchange of document ceremony between the corporation and the government of Indonesia at Diplomatic Precint for the purchase of embassy land here Wednesday.

Indonesia is the first buyer of the embassy lot in Precint 4 -- the second Diplomatic Precint to be developed here.

According to Samsudin, the consultant was given three months from April to complete the financial model, which among others, would include the viability of the project.

"We understand the government has other priorities especially as you know we are focusing on food (crisis) at the moment. It is not nice to talk about monorail, but I am optimistic that we are going to get it," he said.

He said basic infrastructure for the 20km monorail system was in place, adding apart from the train coaches, railway tracks and stations needed to be built for the purpose.

The monorail project was supposed to be in operational in 2006 but the RM400 million project was shelved in 2004 as the government had not approved funding for it.

-- BERNAMA
Non-specific link:
http://www.bernama.com.my/

[jpatokal]

See photos in previous post

The second to last paragraph in the report below is an absolutely wonderful example of Malaysian BigWig BS:

He said basic infrastructure for the 20km monorail system was in place, adding apart from the train coaches, railway tracks and stations needed to be built for the purpose.
The funny(?) thing is that the same guy said precisely same thing last year:

February 4th, 2007: PUTRAJAYA: A fresh bid to get the long-delayed monorail project back on track again will be made under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, Putrajaya Corporation chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman said. ...
Samsudin said basic infrastructure for the 20km monorail system was already in place, adding apart from the train coaches, railway tracks and stations needed to be built for the purpose.
In fairness, that's not entirely as absurd as it seems at first glance: the most expensive bits of the project, namely the underground sections in the center of Putrajaya, the suspension bridge over the lake and the transfer station to the ERL are in place. But there's still a long, long way to go for the rest.