Ampang Line

The Ampang Line is one of two rapid-transit railway lines ("LRT") operated by Rapid Rail in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Other rail-based public transport modes in the Kuala Lumpur area include the KTM Komuter and Express Rail Link.

The line consists of two branch lines, with one major leg of the line is shared:
 * Sentul Timur to Chan Sow Lin (shared stations between the two sub-lines)
 * Chan Sow Lin to Ampang
 * Chan Sow Lin to Sri Petaling

On 28 November 2011, the Ampang Line and the Kelana Jaya Line were integrated with a single ticketing system, allowing commuters to transfer from one line to another at Masjid Jamek station without the need to buy a new ticket.

Further integration with the Monorail Line was achieved on 1 March 2012 when the "paid-up" or restricted areas of the Hang Tuah LRT and monorail stations, and also at the Titiwangsa LRT and monorail stations, were physically linked up, allowing transfers without exiting the system.

Nomenclature
The system has assumed multiple names throughout its service. Initially known as STAR (Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan; Light Rail Transit System), the STAR LRT or the STAR Line, the system was renamed in 2005 to refer to system's two sub-lines: the Sri Petaling and Ampang Lines. In April 2007, the entire system was renamed the Ampang Line as one common line, with no official names given to the sub-lines.

Lines and stations
The Ampang Line consists of two routes with a total length of 27 kilometres that begin at two different stations to the south and east of the city, meeting at an interchange station, continuing through the city centre and ending at the same station at the north. The Ampang Branch Line begins at Ampang, while the Sri Petaling Branch Line begins at  Sri Petaling. Both lines converge at   Chan Sow Lin; the merged line leads to the north, terminating at  Sentul Timur. The Ampang to Sultan Ismail was the first phase of the system to open, on 16 December 1995, with the second stretch from Chan Sow Lin to Sri Petaling operational on 11 July 1998, primarily for accessibility to the National Sports Complex during the 1998 Commonwealth Games via the Bukit Jalil station. The section between Sultan Ismail and Sentul Timur opened on 6 December 1998.

The line between Plaza Rakyat and Sentul Timur is an elevated railway, running along the Gombak River between Bandaraya and Titiwangsa. The Chan Sow Lin-Ampang line is primarily at surface level, using a previously disused railway formation, while the Chan Sow Lin-Plaza Rakyat line and the Sri Petaling-Chan Sow Lin line use a combination of surface-level and elevated tracks. There are no underground sections.

The system includes 25 stations: eleven along the Sentul Timur common line, and seven each along the Ampang Branch Line and the Sri Petaling Branch Line. The service depot and primary train depot is at Ampang. There is a secondary train depot at Sri Petaling.

Unlike previous railway lines in Malaysia, which were built to metre gauge, the Ampang Line was the first railway system in the country to adopt standard gauge. Between Ampang and Plaza Rakyat and between Chan Sow Lin and Salak Selatan, the line uses the trackbed of previously disused lines that were part of the Malayan Railway network (Ampang/Sultan Street branch), closed in the 1960s (between the present Chan Sow Lin station and the present Plaza Rakyat) and the early 1990s (the remaining portion of the line). The Ampang depot stands on the site of the former Ampang railway station.

Ridership on the line has been far below expectations. Built with a capacity of 500,000 passengers per day and a breakeven point of 170,000 passengers per day, in 1998, two years after launch, the line was averaging only 53,000 passengers per day, in part because of fares perceived as too high. In 2002, STAR LRT was taken over by the government-owned Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad. By 2003, the ridership had increased to 110,000, still insufficient for profitability.

Common stations on the Ampang Line
These stations are the common stations that the Ampang Branch Line and Sri Petaling Branch Line share.

Ampang Branch Line stations
Chan Sow Lin is the interchange station between the two routes. The route that runs to Ampang station consists of 7 stations running into East of Klang Valley. Passengers to Ampang should disembark at   Chan Sow Lin.

Sri Petaling Branch Line stations
Chan Sow Lin is the interchange station between the two routes. The route that runs to Ampang station consists of 7 stations running into East of Klang Valley. Passengers to Sri Petaling should disembark at   Chan Sow Lin.

On 29 August 2006, Deputy Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak announced that the southern end of the Sri Petaling Branch Line would be extended from its existing terminus at Sri Petaling station to the suburbs of Puchong and Putra Heights, south-west of Kuala Lumpur. This extension is now under construction.

Interchange with other railway systems
When the STAR line was launched in 1996, the Bandaraya LRT station became the first STAR station to be designated as an interchange station, with a footbridge connecting to the Bank Negara Komuter station, a KTM Komuter regional rail station, a few hundred metres away. With the completion of the Sri Petaling-Chan Sow Lin line, the Bandar Tasik Selatan station was opened as a more integrated interchange between the STAR line and the KTM Komuter network. The line would later include interconnectivity with Kelana Jaya Line, ERL and KL Monorail services. The system currently has a total of five stations linked to other railway systems.

The Ampang Line is the only rail system in the Kuala Lumpur rail transit network that, though it passes through the city centre, does not stop within or near Kuala Lumpur Sentral. This is because KL Sentral, despite its name, is not in fact in the centre of KL.

Rolling stock
The rolling stock of the Ampang Line consists of a fleet of 90 Adtranz standard-gauge trains manufactured by Walkers Limited, an Australian engineering company. The trains consist of electric multiple units, which draw power from the underside of a third rail installed alongside the track. All cars in each train are powered. The trains are manned, with driver cabs occupying the ends of the train.

The trains come in two trainset configurations. The first and most common variation is the six-car trainset, which consists of three sets of two EMUs (2+2+2) and occupies the maximum platform length of the lines' stations. Each of the two EMU sets at the front and rear consist of one driving car and one trailer car, while the two EMUs between are trailer cars. Each two EMU sets are not connected to other EMU sets in the train. The second variation is a four-car trainset, a more obscure configuration that consists of only two EMU sets (2+2) of one driving car and one trailer car at both ends. With only two-thirds the length and number of cars as the six-car variation. The 2+2 trainsets were once used in full in the service until the massive deployment of 2+2+2 trainsets.

Each car has 3 bogies, 2 power bogies and one articulated trailer for the centre bogie. The end cars, numbered 1101 to 1260 have driver cabs. Middle cars numbered 2201 to 2230 have a concealed driver control panel, enabling the car to be moved around the depot independently.

The train interiors are simple and basic. There are no individual seats, only longitudinal bench seating on either side of the train, surfaced in metal, while spaces near the connecting ends of the cars are provided for passengers who use wheelchairs and other assistive devices. There is a large amount of floorspace for standing passengers.

The rolling stock has remained relatively unchanged since its introduction in 1996.

In 2009, together with the display on the proposed Puchong extension of the line, it was announced that the rolling stock fleet would be expanded with 13 new trains.

History and timeline

 * 13 November 1992: Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan Sdn Bhd (Star LRT) incorporated to implement Kuala Lumpur's first LRT project.
 * 22 December 1992: Franchise agreement between the Malaysian government and Star LRT signed for the development, ownership and operation of LRT system.
 * 30 August 1994: Work on the project officially commenced.
 * 16 December 1996: Phase One between Ampang and Sultan Ismail stations begins operations.
 * 11 July 1998: Branch line from Chan Sow Lin station to Sri Petaling station begins operations. This branch forms part of the Sri Petaling Line.
 * 6 December 1998: Extension from Sultan Ismail station to Sentul Timur station begins operations.
 * 1 September 2002: Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana) takes over ownership and operations of Star LRT under the first phase of Kuala Lumpur's public transport restructuring exercise. Prasarana renames the system Starline.
 * November 2004: Operations of Starline transferred to Rapid KL. Ownership of assets remain with Prasarana.
 * 19 July 2005: Rapid KL announces that Starline's two lines will be renamed the Ampang and Sri Petaling Lines. All signage will be changed by 2006.
 * 28 November 2011: Kelana Jaya and Ampang - Sri Petaling Line integrated with a single ticketing system.

Accidents

 * 27 October 2006: A six-coach LRT train which came in from Ampang overshot the end of the elevated tracks at Sentul Timur station, resulting in the front half of the first coach dangling in the air about 25m above the ground.
 * 25 September 2008: Six people injured when a train hits another train near the Bukit Jalil station. It is believed that the first coach suddenly stopped 200 metres from the station before it was rammed by another train on the same track. LRT service was disrupted for the day before resuming the next day.

Extensions
On 29 August 2006, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak announced that the southern end of the Sri Petaling Line, which now ended at Sri Petaling station, would be extended to the suburbs of Puchong and Putra Heights, located to the south-west of Kuala Lumpur. The extension will be part of a 10bil ringgit plan to expand Kuala Lumpur's public transport network.

The expansion plan will also see the western terminus of the Kelana Jaya Line extended to the suburbs of Subang Jaya and UEP Subang Jaya (USJ), all located to the south-west of Kuala Lumpur. The plan also involved the construction of an entirely new line; Kota Damansara-Cheras Line from Kota Damansara to the west of the city, to Cheras which lies to the south-east of Kuala Lumpur.

No details of the alignment of the extensions and the new line nor locations of new stations were revealed. As of August 2008, the operator of the line, Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, was running a land and engineering study on the proposed extension. It is believed that construction will start once the study is complete.

In September 2009, Syarikat Prasarana Negara began a public viewing for the details of the alignment for the Ampang Line and Kelana Jaya Line at various locations. The extension will add 13 new stations and 17.7km of new track. The new terminus will be at Putra Heights where the line will meet the Kelana Jaya Line to provide a suburban interchange.

Construction works on the Kelana Jaya Line and the Ampang Line Extension project escalated at the end of March 2011, with commencement of structural works, subject to approval from state government and local authorities.

From 26 May 2011, public consultation took place on the amendments to the extension plans. The public display began on 27 May and continued for 3 months.

The amendments involved changes made to the alignments between km 15.5 to km 17.0 and the location of the new depot.

Route Maps

 * Route search - Interactive transport guide of Kuala Lumpur public transport system
 * Train Journey Planner & Fare Calculator from thepricechat.com
 * Route Map from malaysiaexpat.com
 * Route Map from ktmb.com.my
 * Route Map from prasarana.com.my
 * Route Map from stesensentral.com