The Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) was a proposed

light rapid transit A medium-capacity system (MCS), also known as light rapid transit or light metro, is a rail transport system with a capacity greater than light rail, but less than typical heavy-rail rapid transit. MCS’s trains are usually 1-4 cars, or 1 lig ...

(LRT) system network in

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...

as one of the method to ease

traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...

in the city. It was to be constructed using state funds. The proposed LRT lines will connect Kuching to Samarahan and Serian. Chief Minister

Abang Abdul Rahman Johari Abang Openg Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Abang Haji Openg ( Jawi: ابڠ عبد الرحمن جوهري بن ابڠ اوڤيڠ; born 4 August 1950), familiarly known as Abang Jo or Abang Johari, is a Malaysian politician who has served as Premier of ...

promised to build the first Sarawak LRT soon to avoid rising costs, with Chinese companies offering their expertise to collaborate in the construction. The project is funded by the Development Bank of Sarawak (DBOS).

First plan - Light Rapid Transit

The construction of the RM10.8 billion project was expected to commence by 2019 and was scheduled to be operational by 2024. It was proposed that the LRT will use hydrogen fuel cell rolling-stock with a travel speed of 70–140

km/h The kilometre per hour ( SI symbol: km/h; non-standard abbreviations: kph, km/hr) is a unit of speed, expressing the number of kilometres travelled in one hour. History Although the metre was formally defined in 1799, the term "kilometres per ho ...

. The hydrogen fuel cell trains were in line with the state government’s vision to develop a

hydrogen economy The hydrogen economy is using hydrogen to decarbonize economic sectors which are hard to electrify, essentially, the "hard-to-abate" sectors such as cement, steel, long-haul transport etc. In order to phase out fossil fuels and limit climate ch ...

, as part of its green initiative. Aside from hydrogen-powered trains, Kuching will also be the first city in the country to have hydrogen-powered buses.

Planned routes

On 29 March 2018, the Chief Minister released the routes and stations of three of the six lines with 155.2 kilometers of track to be completed in 2024, while the remaining three lines to be implemented at a later stage. A

Government-linked company A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the government ...

(GLC) called Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd has been registered to manage the LRT system.

Samarahan Line (Line 1)

Serian Line (Line 2)

Shelving

However, on 1 September 2018, the Chief Minister announced that the project has been placed on hold, citing that the funds allocated to the project will instead be used to build basic amenities for Sarawak's rural areas. Yibin_ART_System_10_12_11_905000

Second plan - Bus Rapid Transit

In July 2019, the Chief Minister said that the LRT project will be built using

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

(AI) technology which will remove the need for conventional rails and bringing down the cost of the project. By September, the government of Sarawak choose China's Automated Rapid Transit (ART) system than LRT due to its more affordable cost where the state transport minister said it will be ready by 2022. The ART is a type of

guided bus Guided buses are buses capable of being steered by external means, usually on a dedicated track or roll way that excludes other traffic, permitting the maintenance of schedules even during rush hours. Unlike trolleybuses or rubber-tired tra ...

running on batteries. In April 2022,

disclosed to Singaporean English daily,

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...

that the ART system will consist of 52.6km of route and is expected to begin construction in the third quarter of this year, with a projected operational date of 2025.

Operation facts

* Project Proponent: Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd * Line Length (km): Line 1 : 28.1 km (67 % Elevated), Line 2 : 24.5 km (96 % Elevated) * Stations: Line 1 : 13 + 1 (provisional), Line 2 : 12 * Interchange : 1 * Depot: Line 1 : Rembus Line 2 : Batu 12 * Operating Speed: Average 35 km/h, Maximum 70 km/h * Operating Hours: 6.00 am – 12.00 am * Journey Time: Line 1: 38 minutes, Line 2: 40 minutes * System: Hydrogen Powered Automated Rapid Transit (ART) * Features: Trackless, Runs on rubber tyres. Dedicated lane

References

{{Urban Rail Transit in ASEAN Proposed rail infrastructure in Malaysia