Long wait for Subang Jaya LRT station

SUBANG JAYA: Although the Transport Ministry has received the proposal from Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd (Prasarana) to extend the LRT line to Subang Jaya, nothing has been finalised.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said Prasarana still needed to look into a few more things.

Upon approval of the plans, a public display of the extension will be held at the Subang Jaya Municipal Council, Petaling Jaya City Council, Shah Alam Municipal Council and the Department of Railways.

Subang Jaya residents will be given three months to voice their opinions during the public display period.

Speaking after a briefing and dialogue session at the 3K Complex, initiated by the Kelana Jaya MCA branch, Ong said Prasarana would have to take into consideration the people's views.

"In the past few months, a presentation was made to me twice. I gave my input and they (Prasarana) will have to include those of the residents, too. They will then finalise the matter. A submission does not mean it is final. I am concerned about the grouses aired by the people," he said.

"I would love to see the area of coverage extended but we must always consider the social impact."

Stressing on the importance of the people's views, Ong said similar dialogue and briefing sessions will be carried out in a few other areas.

He said the objections and views gathered during the public display period must be studied and a hearing on the grouses would be carried out before the plans are finalised.

Prasarana, said Ong, would have to address the concerns raised by residents with regards to noise and privacy, as well as the possible congestion.

More than 300 Subang Jaya residents attended the two-hour briefing on the extension of the Kelana Jaya line by Prasarana group managing director Datuk Idrose Mohamed.

Expected to be completed by 2013, the 17km fully elevated route with 12 stations will begin at Prasarana's depot in Lembah Subang. It will run through KTM Subang Jaya, USJ Summit, Taipan and finally, Putra Heights.

Two stations will be integrated, namely the KTM Subang Jaya and Putra Heights, where a multi-storey park and ride facility will be built. The USJ Summit station will also be provided with a similar facility.

Idrose said the current Ampang LRT Line would also be extended from Sri Petaling to Kinrara, IOI Puchong and to Putra Heights.

Other facilities, such as a disabled friendly feeder bus service, will also be made available within a 5km radius of each station.

Idrose said there would be minimal land acquisition for the LRT extension project as the line would mainly go through TNB, road and river reserves.

During the dialogue session, several residents asked that Bandar Sunway, which houses more than 150,000 households, to be included in the extension.

The suggestion was supported by a college representative and students of colleges located in Bandar Sunway. The representative claimed that students were being fleeced by taxi drivers daily.

Worried residents also asked the authorities to ensure that the LRT route did not go through residential areas and instead commercial and industrial areas.

Concerns such as noise, traffic and the close proximity of the stations, with some located less than 2km apart, were also raised.