KUALA LUMPUR: MRT Corp has projected a drop of 160,000 vehicles entering Kuala Lumpur daily when the Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) line comes into full operation starting July 17.

Its strategic communication and stakeholder relations director Najmuddin Abdullah is optimistic MRT-SBK could reduce the number of vehicles entering the city.

He estimated a drop of about 160,000 vehicles daily if 400,000 people were to use the MRT train service every day.

“One MRT train with four cars can carry 1,200 people comfortably. Imagine the space needed for 1,200 cars on the road.

“However, if these 1,200 users leave their cars at home and take the train, imagine the space that can be emptied on the road,” he told Bernama.

He said since the first phase of the SBK line, covering 21 kilometres from Sungai Buloh to Semantan, came into operation in December last year, nearly two million people have used the service.

Najmuddin said MRT had even built a total of 14 multi-storey and open-air car parks with 8,000 bays at several stations along the 51km-long SBK Line to encourage more people to take the train when commuting into the city.

In addition, he said, there would be a total of 300 feeder buses, each with a capacity of 62 passengers, to shutter people to the nearest station every 10 minutes.

“Rapid Rail, the MRT operator, has forecasted a 10-fold increase in the number of users in coming months, from an average of 15,000 passengers a day to 150,000 passengers once MRT phase two from Semantan to Kajang is launched next week,” he added.

He added the reasonable and affordable fares for the service would be another attraction for commuters to choose to travel on the MRT.

“For instance, a trip from Sungai Buloh to Kajang would only cost RM5.50 by Touch N’ Go and RM6.40 for cash payment and its travel time is about 80 minutes.

“Imagine if you are driving from Sungai Buloh to Kajang, the travel time, the cost of your petrol, tolls, and the stress that you have to go through,” Najmuddin said.

Prime Minister Najib Razak is scheduled to launch the second phase of the SBK line on July 17.

The second phase will consist of 19 new stations, of which seven are located underground.

The 19 new stations are Muzium Negara, Pasar Seni, Bukit Bintang, Tun Razak Exchange Centre, Maluri, Cochrane, Taman Pertama, Taman Midah, Taman Connaught, Taman Mutiara, Suntex, Sri Raya, Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, Batu Sebelas Cheras, Bukit Dukung, Sungai Jernih, Merdeka, Stadium Kajang, and Kajang station.

Each train set serving the SBK line will have four cars, allowing a total capacity of 1,200 passengers per trip with daily ridership estimated at 400,000 passengers. The trains will run at a frequency of 3.5 minutes.