Have you tried out the MRT Putrajaya Line? If you haven’t, today and tomorrow will be the best time to do so as free rides will be ending on March 31. The PYL free rides, which Rapid calls PFR15, was announced by prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when he officially launched Klang Valley’s new rail line on March 16.
How to go about it? Commuters can enjoy PFR15 by getting a token from any LRT, MRT, Monorail and BRT counter (all those operated by Rapid KL basically) and the token can be used at any station (in or out) that involves the MRT Putrajaya Line for a one-way journey.
Better still, use your Touch n Go or concession cards can tap in and out of the gates as normal. Customers can also enjoy a flat rate at all LRT and MRT Park & Ride facilities during the PFR15 period. However, make sure that you tap in to Park & Ride with the card as the one you’re using for the trains. PYL feeder buses are also FOC till March 31. By the way, the free rides are for all users, whether Malaysians or foreigners.
What’s the catch? There’s none actually. The MRT Putrajaya Line (PYL) is part of the Rapid KL network and not a standalone line, and if you tap in at another line and exit at a PYL station, your entire journey is FOC.
According to Rapid, as long as your train journey involves a PYL station or interchange station, it will be free. The interchange stations listed are Kwasa Damansara, Kampung Selamat, Sungai Buloh, Titiwangsa, Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), Chan Sow Lin and Sungai Besi.
Here’s a live example. I had to go to the China visa application centre at Hampshire offices this morning (Jalan Mayang Sari, off Jalan Ampang), so I got on the MRT Kajang Line from my home station of Pusat Bandar Damansara. I got down at the TRX interchange station to switch to the PYL line (no tap out needed, just changing platforms), making a short hop over to the Ampang Park station. The journey from PBD to Ampang Park was free, even though the bulk of my trip was on the Kajang Line. The same applies to LRT, Monorail and BRT users.
However – and this is very important for rail tourists – you must tap out at a PYL station before returning to where you came from. Let’s say your destination is Putrajaya Sentral. Once you reach that terminus, tap out and tap in again – if you just sit on the train and wait for it to move again, or just hang out at the platform, you will not get the free ride.
To recap, the MRT Putrajaya Line is a 57.7 km line with 36 stations. It starts at Kwasa Damansara (a new township next to Kota Damansara and Sungai Buloh), which has been operating since December 2016 as part of the MRT Kajang Line, and ends at Putrajaya Sentral in Malaysia’s administrative capital.
March 16 was the launch of the full PYL line with the opening of the 38.7 km section Phase 2. The first phase of PYL from Kwasa Damansara to Kampung Batu (along Jalan Ipoh) has been running since June 2022. Of the 57.7 km, 44.2 km is elevated, while 13.5 km of the alignment – in the city centre – is underground.
There are a total of 10 interchange/connecting stations linking PYL with every existing train line in KV, from the KL Monorail to the KLIA Transit. The PYL meets the MRT Kajang Line at Kwasa Damansara and TRX. The other interchange stations are at Titiwangsa (KL Monorail, LRT Ampang/Sri Petaling), Chan Sow Lin (LRT Ampang/Sri Petaling) and Sungai Besi (LRT Sri Petaling).
Ampang Park (LRT Kelana Jaya Line) is a connecting station and not an interchange station. The difference is that you can change lines at connecting stations, but you’ll have to tap out and in again. No tapping when you switch trains at interchange stations.
The other connecting stations are with lines not operated by Rapid KL. They are at Sungai Buloh and Sri Damansara Timur on the same stretch of road (KTM Komuter Tg Malim – Port Klang Line), Kampung Batu (KTM Komuter Batu Caves – Pulau Sebang Line) and Putrajaya Sentral (KLIA Transit).
Getting to the MRT station is an important part of the commute, and there are 31 feeder bus routes covering over 350 km. Fares are from RM1 to RM2.40 (cashless only) and concession card holders get 50% off.
If buses aren’t your thing, 17 stations have Park & Ride facilities, with a total of 6,416 parking bays. The charge is RM4.30 per entry per day. To enjoy this very reasonable rate, one must use the same Touch n Go card to tap in and out of the MRT – this is to weed out non-MRT users. Motorcycles pay RM1.10 per day.
We’ve already detailed our MRT Putrajaya Line experience, which you can read in full here. Browse the gallery below for shots of the stations, facilities, train and also views of neighbourhoods and landmarks from the elevated portion of the track. The ‘official product video’ is also attached below. Again, the tomorrow is the final day of free rides, so take the opportunity to try it out or recce your new workday commute.
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