The number of overall urban rail commuters in Kuala Lumpur is expected to increase by 28.7%, from an estimated 171 million this year to 220 million in 2020 in view of the expansion of the light rail transit (LRT) lines, according to Frost & Sullivan.
Its consultant for Asia Pacific’s transportation and logistics practice Ralph Yew said the city has experienced a steady increase in urban commuters for public rail transport services since 2005. Yew said the LRT was leading in the most number of passengers followed by KTM Komuter.
“The LRT is expected to see the number of passengers increase from an estimated 115 million this year to 150 million in 2020.
Meanwhile, passengers for KTM Komuter are expected to rise from about 39 million this year to 51 million in 2020,” Yew said.
He said urban rail ridership in Kuala Lumpur is expected to increase steadily in the next 20 years due to the extension of LRT lines connecting the newer suburbs.
The effort to increase rail ridership is an initiative under the Urban Public Transport (UPT) NKRA of the GTP.
