KLIA Express Rail Link

[Yappofloyd]

^Thanks for the confirmation and added info. I also came across this article (not sourced) posted by nazrey on SSC;

Plan for 2km tracks from KLIA to new low-cost terminal Published: 2009/09/14

EXPRESS Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERLSB) plans to lay 2km of railway tracks from the KL International Airport (KLIA) to the new permanent low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in Sepang to extend its rail services, its chief says. ERLSB, majority controlled by YTL Corp Bhd, holds a 30-year concession to operate the KLIA Express and KLIA Transit rail services from KL Sentral in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, to KLIA. Chief executive officer Noormah Mohd Noor said the extension of its rail services to the new permanent LCCT will boost passenger traffic by some 15 per cent to 4.2 million from 2011.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), the main contractor for the new permanent LCCT, is targeting to complete the construction by the third quarter of 2011 at a cost of RM2 billion. "We are in talks with MAHB and have submitted a proposal to them a few months ago to extend the rail line. We are fine-tuning the plan and the cost to lay the tracks," Noormah told Business Times.

ERLSB has 12 electric high-speed train sets for the KLIA Express, which runs from KL Sentral to KLIA in 28 minutes, and KLIA Transit, which stops at Bandar Tasek Selatan, Putrajaya and Salak Tinggi before heading to the airport in 35 minutes. The KLIA Express and KLIA Transit carry a combine 3.7 million passengers a year currently.

The new LCCT terminal, which will be located to the west of the main KLIA terminal building with a distance of 1.5km, will be able to accommodate 30 million passengers per annum, with capacity for expansion of up to 45 million passengers a year.

Noormah said the company will launch on September 15 a temporary bus shuttle service from Salak Tinggi to the existing LCCT to promote its KLIA Transit service, while the new permanent LCCT is under construction. "We are doing this to capture the LCCT market, which will be a new growth area for us," she said.

Noormah also said that ERLSB is offering VIP services, group discounts and giving one complimentary trip for every 10 trips bought up front. The company has tied up with Amadeus, the world's biggest processor of travel bookings with a 29.2 per cent market share, to help sell its KLIA Express tickets.

[jpatokal]

KLIA Transit has launched an interesting new service for LCCT passengers: take the KLIA Transit to Salak Tinggi station, then transfer to a connecting shuttle bus to the LCCT. I tried this yesterday from airport to city, and it's not too bad, although the waiting around does make it a little slow: shuttles every 30 min (I waited 15), ~20 min bus journey, ~10 min at station, 29 min to city, so total travel time all the way to KL Sentral averages out to 75 min.

The pricing is reasonable: RM 12.50, vs RM 9 for Skybus. Timewise, 75 min is precisely the same as what Skybus promises, although with KLIA Transit you're immune from traffic jams, not a small consideration. However, I was going to Bandar Tasik Selatan on the southern edge of town, and for this the service is perfect, being quite a bit faster than taking the bus to KL Sentral and the Komuter from there, and a small fraction of the price of a taxi.

The service seemed reasonably popular (12 people on board my shuttle at a non-peak hour), so here's hoping it's sustainable. Official page:
http://www.kliaekspres.com/erlsb/LCC...8/Default.aspx