Kuching Urban Transportation System

The proposed construction of a RM10.8 billion Kuching LRT project was expected to commence by 2019 and was scheduled to be operational by 2024.^[8] It was proposed that the LRT will use hydrogen fuel cell rolling-stock with a travel speed of 70–140km/h.^[9]

The hydrogen fuel cell trains were in line with the state government’s vision to develop a hydrogen economy, as part of its green initiative. Aside from hydrogen-powered trains, Kuching will also be the first city in the country to have hydrogen-powered buses.^[10]

On 29 March 2018, the Chief Minister of Sarawak released the routes and stations of three of the six lines with 155.2 kilometers of track^[11] to be completed in 2024, while the remaining three lines to be implemented at a later stage.^[8] A Government-linked company (GLC) called Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd^[12] has been registered to manage the LRT system.^[11]

Proposed route for the Kuching Urban Transportation System in 2018.^[13]
Blue: Samarahan Line
Red: Serian Line

Station Code	Working Name	Position	Local government	Interchange / Notes
SR1	Batu 12/JPJ	Elevated	MPPadawan	Batu 12 Depot
SR2	Kota Padawan			Near to 10th Mile Bazaar
SR3	Penrissen		MPKS	Near to SMK Wira Penrissen
SR4	Kota Sentosa		MPPadawan	Near to Sentosa Parade
SR5	Kuching Sentral		MBKS	Connected with bus terminal
SR6	Kuching International Airport			Connected to airport terminal
SR7	Pelita Height			Near to RH Plaza
SR8	Tun Jugah			Near to Emporium
SR9				Near to Swinburne University
IS1	Simpang Tiga			Near to Wisma Persekutuan Public Carpark, Interchange station with  1  Samarahan Line
SR10	Jalan Tun Razak			Near to Chung Hua Middle School No.3
SR11	Pending			Near to Puspakom
SR12	Bintawa			Near to Bintawa Industrial Estate
SR13	Isthmus	At-grade	DBKU	Near to Borneo Convention Centre Kuching

However, on 1 September 2018, the Chief Minister of Sarawak announced that the project has been placed on hold, citing that the funds allocated to the project will instead be used to build basic amenities for Sarawak's rural areas.^[14]

In July 2019, the Chief Minister of Sarawak said that the LRT project will be built using artificial intelligence (AI) technology which will remove the need for conventional rails and bringing down the cost of the project.^[15]

In September 2019, the government of Sarawak ultimately decided to go with China's Automated Rapid Transit (ART) system than LRT due to its more affordable cost where the state transport minister said it will be ready by 2022.^[16][17] The ART is a type of guided bus running on batteries. In April 2022, Premier Abang Abdul Rahman Johari Abang Openg disclosed to the Singaporean English daily newspaper, The Straits Times that the ART system will likely consist of 52.6 km of route and is expected to begin construction in the third quarter of the same year, with a projected operational date of 2025.^[18]

In August 2023, the state received its first hydrogen-powered ART vehicle prototype and went through an engineering run for two months until September, where it then went through a proof-of-concept testing in November.^[19] As of April 2024, the overall progress of Phase 1 of the Kuching Urban Transportation System is now at 20.65% which includes consultation works, studies and physical works.^[20]

On 16 December 2022, the Premier of Sarawak released the Phase 1 integrated transit map of the KUTS project with a 69.9-kilometer route consisting of 3 initial rail lines and a total of 31 stations (with 5 provisional stations) to be completed in stages, with Phase 1 of the Blue Line scheduled to be completed in 2025 while the remaining lines are to be constructed at a later date.^[21] Currently, the Green Line has since increased the number of stations from 10 to 14 stations bringing the total number of stations across the Kuching Urban Transportation System to 35 stations.^[22] However, they are under halt station status and it is currently unknown whether these will be built alongside the opening of the Green Line in 2027.

1. Bold text denotes that the particular landmark is near the area proposed to be a train depot station.

Station Code	Working Name	Local government	Notes / Interchange
SR05	Kuching Sentral	MBKS	Connected with bus terminal, future Interchange station with a future line
SR06	Kuching International Airport		Connected to airport terminal
SR07	Pelita Height		Near to RH Plaza
SR08	Tun Jugah		Near to Emporium
SR09	Swinburne		Near to Swinburne University
SR10  SM10	Simpang Tiga		Walking distance to Wisma Persekutuan, Kenyalang Park Post Office, Interchange station with the  SM10  Blue Line
SR11	Jalan Tun Razak		Near to Chung Hua Middle School No.3
SR12  DM01	Pending		Near to Puspakom, Interchange station with the  DM01  Green Line

• Project Proponent: Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd
• Line Length (km): Line 1 : 28.1 km (67% Elevated), Line 2 : 24.5 km (96% Elevated)
• Stations: Line 1 : 13 + 1 (provisional), Line 2 : 12
• Interchange : 1
• Depot: Line 1 : Rembus Line 2 : Batu 12
• Operating Speed: Average 35 km/h, Maximum 70 km/h
• Operating Hours: 6.00 am – 12.00 am
• Journey Time: Line 1: 38 minutes, Line 2: 40 minutes
• System: Hydrogen Powered Automated Rapid Transit (ART)
• Features: Trackless, Runs on rubber tyres. Dedicated lane

• BRT Kuching
• Klang Valley Integrated Transit System
• Bi-articulated bus
• Iskandar Malaysia Bus Rapid Transit
• Sarawak Railway Line
• Kota Kinabalu Line