Lee details the KUTS project in winding-up speech

WORKS on Blue Line Package 1 of the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) from Rembus to Riveria is set to commence on Dec 1 this year.

Minister for Transport Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin said the proof-of-concept (POC) exercise for the prototype autonomous rapid transit (ART) vehicle is expected to conclude by the end of this year.

He said other tasks that will be initiated are the commencement of works on Red Line from Kuching Sentral to Pending, which is set to commence in the first quarter of 2024.

“This also includes the Green Line Infrastructure package which is currently at design stage and work is expected to commence by third quarter of 2024; the procurement of 55 feeder buses for re-tender in first quarter of 2024; the hydrogen production plant within Rembus Depot is targeted for tender in Q1 2024 as well as the feeder bus depot in Rembus Depot with the targeted tender by Q2 2024,” he said in his ministerial winding-up speech during the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting today (Nov 27).

Lee said the arrival of the prototype hydrogen ART in Kuching on Aug 4 marked a crucial step in the project’s timeline, followed by a successful two-month engineering run at the Isthmus in September and October this year which covered a total distance of 5,407km encompassing both its Stage 1 Engineering Run in China and Stage 2 at the Isthmus.

On the Engineering Run, inaugurated by the Premier in September, Lee said it has provided trial rides to more than 80 groups of over 2,000 riders.

“This comprises ministers and senior officers from both the Federal and Sarawak governments, as well as stakeholders from the private sector and non-governmental organisations.

“This inclusive approach ensured that diverse perspectives are contributed to the evaluation process,” he said.

He said the trial phase fulfilled its objective of gathering the necessary data especially for evaluating the ART vehicle’s movement guidance system and the hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system.

“The acquired data is a crucial input for the ongoing design phase of the ART vehicle before it progresses to the mass production stage,” said Lee.

The POC exercise commenced on Nov 20 on a dedicated 2.6km stretch of lane along the Kuching-Samarahan Expressway.

Lee said the exercise provided an opportunity to assess the viability of the system in an actual operational environment as it stimulates the testing conditions for the future ART dedicated double lane under the KUTS project’s Blue Line and Transit Signal Priority (TSP).