MRT3 plans must manage costs, accessibility and safety

Free Malaysia Today

09-05-2025

The MRT3 project is still in its planning phase, a stage that is both vital and delicate.
This is the time when critical decisions are made to determine the most effective route alignment, connectivity options, and how best to integrate with the current public transportation systems, namely the LRT, MRT1, MRT2, and the KTMB commuter lines.
The challenge, however, is immense.
Planners are juggling between two conflicting objectives: achieving the highest possible ridership, and simultaneously, keeping construction costs within a reasonable range.
These are goals that are often at odds with each other, and based on insights shared by experts, the planning process so far appears to fall short on both fronts.
Questionable station locations
A senior traffic analyst who wished to remain anonymous, has raised red flags about the location of several proposed stations.
One of his primary concerns revolves around stations that are positioned parallel to existing highways.
He argues that placing MRT stations adjacent to major roadways may look efficient on paper, but, in reality, they are often inaccessible to pedestrians, limiting ridership.
According to him, it defeats the very purpose of having a mass rapid transit system.
'If the goal is to draw more people into public transport and reduce car dependency, stations must be placed within easy walking distance of dense population or high-activity zones,' he says.
Planning stations in highway corridors —without proper last-mile connections — risks turning these multimillion-ringgit investments into white elephants.
From the publicly available documents, it appears there are several instances where such poor location choices are being considered, raising further concerns about the decision-making framework being applied at this early stage.
Neglected ground realities
Another voice of experience, Monsieur Herve — a veteran geotechnical expert who has been involved in Kuala Lumpur's rail development since the days of the first LRT tunnel from Pasar Seni to Damai, via Masjid Jamek, KLCC and Ampang Park — cautions that the planning currently underway is ignoring crucial geotechnical considerations.
He highlights the importance of conducting preliminary soil investigations before any alignment is finalised.
While full soil testing along a long corridor may be expensive, Herve suggests that a handful of strategic boreholes, each costing less than RM10,000, could help uncover potential geological obstacles early.
This would be a small price to pay to avoid much larger issues down the line.
Geological formations around Kuala Lumpur are known to be particularly difficult to tunnel through—consisting largely of Hawthornden Schist and Quartz veins, highly fractured and unstable rock layers that have historically posed challenges for civil and structural engineers.
Yet, astonishingly, MRT3's Environmental Impact Assessment reports confirm that no boreholes have been drilled thus far.
This lack of basic groundwork is deeply worrying, as it suggests that cost estimates, construction timelines, and even the feasibility of certain segments of the alignment are being decided without a full understanding of the ground conditions.
Environmental, safety oversights
In addition to soil-related concerns, Monsieur Herve also points out the need to avoid alignment through Class 4 slopes — areas highly prone to landslides and soil instability.
In fact, residents in Setiawangsa have voiced similar concerns about soil stability, referencing the Highland Towers disaster and landslides that frequently happen in that part of the Klang Valley which MRT3 will traverse through.
These pose enormous safety risks and should be avoided, especially in an urban environment where the margin for error is razor-thin.
Another serious omission is the lack of studies on the water table across Kuala Lumpur.
Disturbing underground water flow, especially in a flood-prone city like KL, can lead to severe, long-term consequences.
Altering subterranean hydrology without thorough investigation and mitigation plans could result in worsening urban flooding, sinkholes (as in the case of Jalan Masjid India), or infrastructure damage occurring years after the project is completed.
Conclusion
To summarise, no alignment should be deemed final until thorough ground and environmental investigations have been conducted.
Authorities like Agensi Pengangkutan Awam Darat, which is ultimately responsible for this railway scheme, have to take note.
Local authorities—including Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya, DBKL, MBPJ and MPSJ—responsible for approving building plans, structures, and columns requiring planning permission should take note of potential pitfalls. Ideally, they should have been involved in the planning process from the outset.
Without their participation, any proposed route risks becoming not only more expensive during construction, but also operationally flawed and unsafe.
It is evident that the current MRT3 planning efforts require urgent strengthening.
The incorporation of proper technical studies, stakeholder engagement and feedback, early collaboration with the various local authorities and pragmatic design thinking must happen now, while the project is still in its early phases, before irreversible decisions are made.
Only then can the finance ministry have the comfort of financing the project, and MRT3 deliver on its promise of being a transformative public transport solution for the Klang Valley.
The author can be reached at: [e-mail]
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.