A SEMINAR on the challenges in delivering the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) Project was held at The Royale Chulan Damansara on 22 August 2017.

The seminar was organised by Gabungan Jurutera Perunding Bumiputera Malaysia (GJPBM) in collaboration with Malaysia Rapid Transit Corporation (MRT Corp) to serve as a platform for rail industry players to acquire knowledge on the challenges faced during the construction of the Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) Line.

Datuk Dr. Ir. Abdul Latif Mohd Som, chairman of GJPBM and MRT Corp’s board member, gave a welcome note to start the seminar.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri then delivered a speech and proceeded to officiate the seminar.

A keynote address by Professor Dr Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah from Universiti Sains Malaysia and a Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat (SPAD) Member of Commission followed after.

Er Poh Seng Tiok of MRT Corp’s Planning and Design was the first speaker and he presented the overall planning and concept in line-wide design and alignment. He began with frameworks for planning and design followed by railway scheme design, public inspection, value management, design improvements and ended with the adoption of innovations and digital engineering advancement for the second MRT line, the Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) Line.

Puan Amira Razad Mohd Mustafa of MMC-Gamuda, the project delivery partner for the SBK and SSP lines, then spoke on the topic of structures and infrastructures, focussing on safety sustainability and standardisation. Among the areas she touched on were safety features of the SBK Line, sustainability of structural components and standardisation of station theme, pier and span length.

This session was moderated by Mr Marcus Karakashian, MRT Corp Director of the MRT SBK Line.

The afternoon session began with a talk on architecture by Puan Aniza Abu Bakar of MMC-Gamuda.  She presented station optimisation through standardised line wide typology and application for site specific stations. According to her, the challenges faced for MRT elevated stations were in the areas of site context, planning and design, constructability and operational.

This was followed by a presentation from MRT Corp Planning and Design’s Ir Muhamad Zulqarnain Ismail on building control, railway protection zone regulation and compliance. He highlighted on incidents, regulations, instrumentation and monitoring.

The seminar closed with a talk on transit systems by Mr Thilagaraja Punusamy of Electrical and Mechanical Systems, MRT Corp who explained on the systems required for a modern transit system.  Among the systems required are the electric train, signalling and train control, power supply and distribution and telecommunications and interface and integration of railway systems.