It is wonderful to hear that the planned LRT and KTM Komuter projects in the Klang Valley are a small step closer to being realised. Most important here is the fact that the Ministry of Transport and the Cabinet Committee on Public Transportation are taking things very seriously.

The government has put in a lot of effort to close all the gaps and complete the missing links in the expressway and road system throughout the country. It is important that the government now work on putting the same effort into completing the missing links and closing the gaps in the rail infrastructure as well.

The planned extensions of the Kelana Jaya LRT line to Subang Jaya and USJ and the Ampang line from Seri Petaling to Bukit Jalil will be very useful in getting more people onto public transit. The lines may cost a lot of money and be very complicated to construct, but they will make a difference.

More important are the Kota Damansara-Cheras (Plaza Pheonix) LRT line and the KTM Komuter Sentul-Batu Caves extension. The reason why these lines are important is because they are urban lines, rather than suburban extensions.

These two lines will help to further complete the network of rail lines around the inner Klang Valley, and bring rapid transit service closer to more and more people.

The Klang Valley will benefit from the LRT and KTM Komuter line extensions and the new LRT line. However, many more lines are needed to make the network more complete. The lesson of the Kelana Jaya line (which is now 140 percent over capacity) must also be learned. All future LRT lines need to have enough room for 6-8 carriage LRT trains.

The recent proposal by the menteri mesar of Selangor to create an outer ring line for the Klang Valley has some merit, but the real need is in the inner Klang Valley.

Aside from the recently approved lines, there is a need for at least four more lines in Kuala Lumpur just to make the rail transit network more complete. These would take the form of an inner ring LRT line around Kuala Lumpur city (perhaps following Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Duta), a middle ring LRT line running at the border (following the MRR II highway) and at least two more radial LRT lines to bring people in and out of the city.

The government also needs to invest in improving the KTM Komuter service to build up the rail-transit network. KTM Komuter should be operating at five-minute intervals and KTMB should also consider balancing a 'limited-stop' Komuter service with 'local' Komuter service.

Currently only 38 of the three-carriage EMU (electric multiple unit) trains are operating, out of a fleet of about 60 trains. KTM Komuter needs to double or triple the size of its EMU train fleet to offer better service. Perhaps future Komuter trains can be a mix of 3-carriage and 4-carriage EMUs.

Aside from improving the KTM Komuter and LRT rail services, other rapid transit services can be introduced to the existing road space. The government needs to take this very important step forward and pay no heed to the idea that giving lanes over to public transportation will lead to traffic congestion.

The first step would be to heed the call for more bus lanes around the Klang Valley, and provide better enforcement of those bus lanes. Following this, bus-rapid transit or rapid tram services can be implemented on major roads like Jalan Puchong, Jalan Klang Lama, Jalan Kepong, and Persiaran Kewajipan.

With these improvements in rapid-transit in the Klang Valley, more and more people will use public transit for more of their journeys.