Kota Damansara-Cheras Line

The Kota Damansara-Cheras Line (coloured as KL-RTS-KCL) is a proposed line of the Kuala Lumpur light rail transit system. It is currently planned as an extension to KL-RTS-KJL and KL-RTS-APL, as they do not cover the areas of Damansara and Cheras.

Alignment and stations

The Kota Damansara-Cheras Line will be running through the north west and south east area of Kuala Lumpur. The proposed stations are to be located in:
* Kota Damansara
* Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur Sentral, Pasar Seni (Interchange with KL-RTS-KJL)
* Masjid Jamek (Interchange with KL-RTS-KJL and KL-RTS-APL)
* Taman Maluri (Interchange with KL-RTS-APL)
* Cheras

Future speculations

More than one million Klang Valley residents will benefit from the much awaited new Kota Damansara-Cheras rail transit line. The Government had earlier said the new line and extensions should be ready by 2012. Sources said with the average construction period taking three to four years, work would have to start by the end of 2008.

The 40km route covers some of the most densely populated areas in the Klang Valley such as Damansara and Cheras as well as the fast growing area of Kota Damansara. It will also serve the heart of the Golden Triangle, the business and financial hub of Kuala Lumpur. Currently, the area is only served by KL-RTS-KML, which is already suffering from overcrowding.

The new line, which sources said would cost between RM4bil and RM5bil and will be mostly elevated, will provide the much needed expansion to the current 56km, 48-station light rail transit network, especially in view of the rising fuel prices and the new emphasis on public transport. The line was announced in October 2006 by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak but little has been heard about it since then.

The alignment, made available to The Star, showed the new line running from Kota Damansara along Persiaran Surian to the Damansara-Puchong Expressway and then heading towards the city centre along the Sprint Expressway, through Bangsar Baru and Jalan Bangsar. It will then run parallel to the existing KL-RTS-KJL to KL Sentral, Pasar Seni and Masjid Jamek before heading to the GoldenTriangle along Jalan Raja Chulan. The route will then pass Pasar Rakyat in Bukit Bintang and then Jalan Tun Razak where it will join Jalan Cheras. It will continue along the road and the Cheras-Kajang Expressway to the Balakong interchange near Cheras Batu 11. Passengers will be able to switch with the existing KL-RTS-KJL at Bangsar, KL Sentral, Pasar Seni and Masjid Jamek; and the KL-RTS-APL at Masjid Jamek and Maluri. There will be around 30 stations along the line, including the interchange stations.

Sources said the route was a "desktop alignment" which would form the basis for the eventual line. The number of stations has also not been finalised. The final alignment and number of stations is unlikely to vary in any major way from the "desktop" plan. As with the other lines, the new line will be owned by Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd and operated by RapidKL.

While the Government has yet to announce when work will begin on the new line, sources pointed to the “positive statements” by Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop. Nor had announced that public transport would be getting more incentives, allocations and assistance in Budget 2009 and future budgets. Sources said the Government was also currently conducting the mid-term review of the 9th Malaysia Plan and there were concerted efforts to get the new line in.

Besides the new line, the Government is also trying to get extensions to the KL-RTS-KJL and KL-RTS-APL started. The extensions will cover Subang Jaya, USJ, Kinrara and Puchong and meet at Putra Heights.

On September 2008, the Chief Executive Officer of SPNB, the asset owner of the Ampang Line and Kelana Jaya Line said that the line may be upgraded to a Mass Rapid Transit system as the line will connect two high density areas of Kuala Lumpur. The company expects a daily ridership of 500,000 in which an MRT system is more suitable than an LRT system. However, a study will be done first before any decision is made. He added that a integrated transport platform will be build with the new line in areas of Damansara or Sungai Buloh similar to the one that is currently built in Bandar Tasik Selatan station [cite news| title= Lokasi Terminal Pengangkutan Bersepadu Utara Sedang Dikenalpasti| url= http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/bm/newsindex.php?id=357100| publisher=Bernama| language=Malay| date=2008-09-04] . The CEO also said that the detailed design stage will begin in 2nd quarter 2009. [cite news|title= New LRT lines may save billions in fuel costs| url= http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/5/nation/22243731&sec=nation| publisher=The Star| author=Royce Cheah]

References