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| Multi Information Display, inside the MRT. |
(This article was originally started on Sunday, 30th July 2017)
As I seldom go to KL, whenever I had the chance to go there, I usually enjoy riding the trains there. Most of the time, I would ride the Komuter, the Kelana Jaya line LRT and the Monorail. Ever since Phase 2 of the Sungai Buloh - Kajang MRT line was opened, I can now go to KL city centre without having to change trains often.
And so, two days ago, on 30th July, I went on a family outing to KL by train along with my mother, my sister and her two children, making it our first MRT ride.
KOMUTER RIDE TO KAJANG
All five of us went to Bangi Komuter Station at about 8:30 a.m, where we have to wait another 25 minutes for the next Komuter train to arrive. Honestly, though, I highly disliked the 45-minute interval between the trains, as it wastes time way too much. Not only that, since this year's Comic Fiesta is going to be held at KL Convention Centre again, I need to take the 6:40 a.m. train to go there in order to avoid waiting in that ridiculously long queue.
Anyway, while my mother, my sister and her two children wait for the next train, I took my time taking photos at the station.
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| KTM Class 92 Komuter train, at Bangi Komuter station. |
Once the train arrived, all five of us left Bangi for Kajang Komuter station.
THE MRT RIDE, TO PASAR SENI STATION
All five of us arrived at Kajang Komuter station at 9:08 a.m. and immediately made our way to the MRT station located above us by taking the lift. As usual, I would spend most of my time taking photos of the station before boarding the MRT train to our main destination: Pasar Seni.
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| Train tracks, at Kajang Komuter/MRT Station. |
Once finished, I rejoined them and boarded the MRT train to Pasar Seni station.
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| Kajang MRT Station's turnstiles. |
Once inside the train, which is a Siemens Inspiro trainset, I can say that it looks and feels spacious, much like the Komuter I rode earlier. There are a number of seats, but these are mostly reserved for the needy (old folk, handicapped people, pregnant mothers). The windows and glass used for the doors are quite large, hence contributing to the spacious feel to it. Finally, this train is driverless and fully automated, much like the Kelana Jaya Line LRT; and its waiting time intervals are much shorter than the Komuter.
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| The MRT's interior. |
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| The MRT train, a Siemens Inspiro trainset, travelling to Kajang. |
Inside the train, I spend most of my time separated from the group by taking photos and even recording a number of short videos of the ride, and continued doing the same upon arriving at Pasar Seni station, which is located underground. Not only that, I can even see places I've never been before and I also loved the amazing view from above while riding the MRT (so much so, that I forgot to take photos of them!).
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| Approaching Merdeka underground station. |
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| At Pasar Seni underground MRT station. |
FROM PASAR SENI TO MASJID JAMEK: KELANA JAYA LINE LRT RIDE
All five of us arrived at Pasar Seni station, were my sister brought my mother to the Bus Hub's Concession counter to purchase and register a MyRAPID Touch N' Go card. Meanwhile, I spend my time taking photos again, as usual.
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| Entrance to Pasar Seni MRT underground station. |
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| At RapidKL's Bus Hub, Pasar Seni. |
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| Old KL Railway Station. |
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| At Pasar Seni LRT station (Kelana Jaya Line). The Dayabumi complex and post office can be seen here. |
Soon after that, we left the Bus Hub for Sunway Putra Mall, where we took the Kelana Jaya Line LRT to Masjid Jamek station first. Although I didn't take any photos of the train's interior, I can say that it is currently packed with commuters. Not only that, the 2-car Bombardier Innovia Metro 200's interior feels less spacious than the MRT I rode earlier. Oddly enough, this one feels slightly faster than the MRT, when both trains are set to a maximum operating speed of 80km/h.
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| The platform at Masjid Jamek station. |
TO SUNWAY PUTRA MALL: AMPANG LINE LRT RIDE
All five of us left Masjid Jamek's Kelana Jaya Line station to the Ampang Line station of the same name, although ths one is located above ground. Here, I took photos of the mosque located there, the station itself, and the train we were about to board.
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| Masjid Jamek KL, with Sultan Abdul Samad building at the background. |
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| Ampang Line LRT's CSR Zhuzhou 'AMY' trainset, arriving at Masjid Jamek Station. |
That day was also the first for me and my mother to ride the Ampang Line LRT. However, the trainset used is a CSR Zhuzhou 'AMY' instead of the Adtranz trainset. All five of us boarded the train and head straight to PWTC LRT station, where we stopped for our lunch break and some clothes shopping at Sunway Putra Mall.
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| Inside the Ampang Line's new LRT trainset. |
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| Umbrellas, at Sunway Putra Mall. |
LEAVING KL: MONORAIL RIDE
All five of us left Sunway Putra Mall and took the Ampang Line LRT to Titiwangsa station, where we walked to Titiwangsa Monorail station to ride the monorail. There, I took a few photos and recorded a video of the ALWEG-type monorail arriving at the station before boarding it.
Unlike the previous trains we've rode, this one is somewhat bumpy, like riding a bus! Good reason for that, because this monorail is a straddle-beam type, where the train uses tyres. Not only that, it was also slower, to the point that my nephew even commented on how slow it is!
Anyway, despite its slow and bumpy ride, I still managed to take a few photos from inside the train before arriving at our destination: Bukit Bintang.
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| The view of the monorail operator's cockpit, from the passenger's point of view. |
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| KL Tower, taken from inside the monorail. Photo looks dark due to the monorail's tinted windows. |
GOING HOME ON THE MRT: TO KAJANG STATION
All five of us arrived at Bukit Bintang at 1:28 p.m, where we walked to Bukit Bintang's MRT station located underground. As I have never been here before, I took my time taking three photos of this famous location which have appeared numerous times on Malaysian TV shows and films.
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| The famous McDonald's restaurant at Bukit Bintang. |
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| One of the entrances to Bukit Bintang MRT underground station, located beside Lot 10. |
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| Bukit Bintang Monorail station. |
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| Turnstiles, at Bukit Bintang MRT station. |
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| Overhead signboard, showing where Platform 1 is. |
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| At Platform 1, Bukit Bintang station. |
While on our way to Kajang station, once the train was about to reach Taman Pertama station, I looked outside and it was raining. It was until the train has reached Bandar Tun Hussein Onn station that the rain stopped. Once again, I took photos and recorded the last video recording of the day, where the train started from Stadium Kajang station to Kajang station.
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| The abandoned Cheras Velodrome. It was here that it started to rain. |
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| The rainy and wet conditions outside of the train. |
ARRIVAL AT KAJANG
All five of us arrived at Kajang MRT station at 2:18 p.m, where we once again walked to the Komuter station located below it. Here, I took the last photos for the day while waiting for the Komuter train to arrive at the station, which was made worse by the absence of a timetable!
Anyway, once the Komuter train arrived, all five of us boarded it to Bangi Komuter station, where we finally went home to take a rest.
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| Awaiting departure for Kajang station. |
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| Arrival, at Kajang MRT station. |
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| At Kajang Komuter station. As written before, there is no timetable here. |
More photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/XAIrEQp3XtbhRzga2
Videos can be watched here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUOZv5_ELmmcpwEWV28301GYcrLFPaVJs
RemainUnknown522 Out.
