THE Penang government is mulling a proposal to introduce the Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) system to tackle the state’s worsening traffic woes.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said Chinese train manufacturer China Railway Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC) met him last week to present the system.

“CRRC is interested in projects in Penang.

“We will study the proposal. We are not rejecting anything. We will study if such a system is suitable for Penang,” he said during a question-and-answer session at the state government’s public forum on the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) at Dewan Sri Pinang.

ART is a railless urban passenger transport system described as a crossover between a train, bus and tram. It looks like a rubber-tyred tram, but has the flexibility to move around like a bus.

“It is directed by a sensor system installed along the corridor or road on both sides. It is a rail system without rail,” said Chow.

“It can be dedicated, or shared with other modes of transport. If it’s dedicated, then other vehicles will not use the ART lane.

“It must come with other measures, like when you approach an intersection, traffic lights must be programmed to give priority to the ART train. Other vehicles will have to wait, while the ART train doesn’t have to stop.

“It will be more efficient than normal buses, which have to stop at traffic lights.”

This new mode of transport was developed by Chinese train manufacturer CRRC’s Zhuzhou Institute Co Ltd. CRRC is the world’s largest supplier of rail transit equipment.

Chow spoke briefly about the ART system and meeting CRRC representatives after PTMP critic Dr Lim Mah Hui, a representative of Penang Forum, brought up the ART train during his presentation at the public forum.

Lim argued that it is better for the state government to focus on public transport instead of building more roads to resolve the state’s traffic problems. ART was one of the alternatives he suggested, besides bus rapid transit (BRT).

“The representatives from CRRC showed me the same slides and video on ART as the ones used by Penang Forum,” said Chow.

He said the ART train in China runs on highways with eight to 10 lanes.

“We don’t have such wide highways in Penang.”

PTMP project delivery partner SRS Consortium’s project director, Szeto Wai Loong, said the presentations on the ART train only showed its concept.

He said there is a need to study its speed, foundation requirement, settlement criteria and specifications.

“We wouldn’t be able to differentiate the cost of implementing the ART system and the cost of running light rail transit (LRT).

“With LRT, we can benchmark it against the ones in Kuala Lumpur.”

Szeto also addressed questions on why the elevated LRT connecting Bayan Lepas and George Town is favoured in PTMP.

He cited an old plan to extend the Sunway BRT line in Petaling Jaya into the Federal Highway.

“The government didn’t go ahead with it because running it on an elevated lane would be too costly. And, it might be good for only a few years.

“Later, they would still have to switch to a real rail solution. The people would be inconvenienced again, and the cost of building a rail system would be even higher.”

He added that the lifespan of rail systems like LRT is longer, and that only maintenance is required.

“You only change the rolling stock. The main infrastructure of LRT doesn’t need to be changed.” – September 30, 2018.