Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRT Corp) has announced that the opening of the MRT Putrajaya Line Phase One has been delayed from November to the second quarter of 2022. This means that March would be the earliest we can expect the line to start its service.
The first phase of the MRT Putrajaya Line stretches from the Kwasa Damansara station to the Kampung Batu station for a total of 12 stations, with the former acting as the interchange station between the Kajang Line and the Putrajaya Line. As of October, Phase One was 99.9% completed and it was announced that Phase One was expected to begin operating in November 2021.
Trial operations of the line had started since 29 April this year, with a total of 16 trains in full-service mode daily but without passengers to simulate actual operations. Final Detailed Inspection and System Performance Demonstration have been ongoing during the trial but they have not yet been completed.
While 3000 hours of trial operations data have been gathered, MRT Corp has not been able to take possession of the line from the turnkey contractor because of the two modules requiring refinement. “We need to ensure all primary, secondary and tertiary layers of systems are stable before we take possession of the asset and clear it for operations,” said MRT Corp CEO Mohd Zarif Hashim.
Three Kajang Line stations — Kwasa Damansara, Kampung Selamat, and Sungai Buloh — were temporarily closed on 9 October until the opening of Phase One [PDF] as they will be integrated into the line. With this delay, there’s no word on when these stations will reopen.
Meanwhile, Phase Two, which runs from the Kentonmen station to Putrajaya Sentral station, is 93.52% completed and is expected to begin operations in January 2023.
(Sources: The Edge Markets, MRT Corp [PDF])
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