The Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) project in Sarawak, Malaysia, has reached another important milestone with the installation of its final girder on a 400-m-long bridge crossing Sungai Kuap.

As this final girder is now in place, work will focus on completing the bridge in time for the pilot operation of the autonomous rapid transit (ART) service, scheduled for the end of this year.

The bridge will connect the dedicated ART lane for the 27.6-km Blue Line, which runs from Rembus in Kota Samarahan to Hikmah Exchange in Kuching, helping to provide reliable and seamless connectivity for commuters in the future.

The Blue Line – currently under construction in two works packages – includes 15 stations and is part of Phase 1 of the KUTS project.

Package 1 of the Blue Line runs from the Rembus ART depot to the Northbank-Ibraco ART station in the Northbank area. The works are being carried out by a joint venture between Ibraco Construction Sdn Bhd and China Railway Engineering Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd (ICJV).

Phase 1 of the KUTS project also includes two other lines: the 12.3-km Red Line from Kuching Sentral to Pending, and the 10.5-km Green Line from Pending to the Yayasan Sarawak roundabout in Petra Jaya.

According to Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd, the implementer, operator and maintainer of the KUTS project, this development is a key step towards enhancing urban transit infrastructure in Kuching. It aims to deliver a modern, efficient public transportation system to benefit the city and its surrounding areas.

The backbone of the KUTS project is the introduction of zero-emission ART hydrogen vehicles. They will travel on rubber tyres, and hence the dedicated lanes will be trackless, said Sarawak Metro, adding that the lanes will mostly be at grade (road level) while certain sections of the alignment will be elevated.

The ART operation will be supported by a network of feeder buses, which will also comprise hydrogen-powered vehicles to offer ‘first-mile and last-mile’ connectivity for commuters, Sarawak Metro further highlighted. The move to use hydrogen is in line with the Sarawak government’s aspirations to advance the hydrogen economy and decarbonise public transport across the state.

All images: Sarawak Metro