Sarawak’s first ART line to be completed end of 2025

KOTA SAMARAHAN (Dec 6): The first Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) system line in the state is expected to be ready by the end of 2025, said Sarawak Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin.

He said this first route for ART which is a lidar (light detection and ranging) guided articulated bus system for urban passenger transport, will be called the Blue Line running from Rembus to Riveria over a distance of 27.6 kilometres (km) and it may start operation in early 2026.

Speaking to reporters after inspecting the construction project here today, he said two other routes, the Red Line connecting Kuching Sentral with Pending over 12.3km and the Green Line from Pending to Damai in Santubong is 30km long.

“Construction of all lines involved is under the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) will be completed by the end of 2027 and the three lines will be operational in 2028.

According to him, for the time being, ART is undergoing Proof Of Concept (POC) which began since arriving from China in September and during the period, it has been tried by more than 2,500 passengers.

“Feedback obtained from riders was extremely good and by the end of this month, all feedback received will be submitted to the factory manufacturing the system in China,” he said.

Lee said each line for ART will also be complemented with Transit Signal Priority (TSP) which gives priority to ART train at traffic junctions.

“Even though ART can operate without a driver, we will still be providing one as a safety measure,” he said. – Bernama