The mega public transport project is a focus of 2018 Transport and Related Services

The local public transport sector is undergoing a major transformation in 2018 when it became one of the key target areas identified by the new government for 'renewing'.

Many of the mega transport initiatives initiated by the government were either postponed or re-evaluated after the Pakatan Harapan took over the country's government from the Barisan Nasional following their historic victory in the 14th General Election in May.

It, among others, includes the Malaysia-Singapore High Speed ​​Rail Project, the East Coast Rail Route (ECRL), and the High-Stream Flow Transit (MRT).

While negotiations among related parties are still ongoing, ECRL is the only mega project whose future is still uncertain, while others have been delayed when Putrajaya said it was short of funding to continue the project according to the proposed date of origin.

Transportation Minister Anthony Loke recently said the ECRL project, the railway linking Port Klang in the Straits of Malacca to Pengkalan Kubor in Kelantan, is still subject to review by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Wait for the review

"There is still no end-to-end word yet, as they are still looking at factors such as costs and other implications.

"For now, we just have to wait for the review," he was quoted as saying in a report.

For MRT 3, the government has yet to identify the right time to start the project due to financial constraints and even the cost of the MRT 2 project has been reduced to RM30.53 billion from RM56.93 billion through a reduction in the number of stations to be built from the original 35 to 33 , as well as costs for the basement.

Review the budget

Based on statistics, the existing MRT Line 1 recorded 146,842 passengers from 450,000 capacity between January and May this year.

Loke said the postponement of the MRT 3 project provided the government a chance to review its budget priorities as it focused on improving bus services and infrastructure development throughout the country.

He said the Transport Ministry did not intend to abolish the MRT intermediary bus service for now, but it plans to integrate it with other bus services, as well as launching a monthly pass next year. Minister of Transport