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KUCHING, Aug 5: Sarawak’s first hydrogen-powered Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) prototype vehicle from China has arrived at Senari Port here at 6am today.
According to a report by Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas), the ART’s arrival was witnessed by Deputy Sarawak Secretary (Economic Development and Planning) Datu Dr Muhammad Abdullah Zaidel and Sarawak Metro chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Husain.
It was previously reported that the vehicle left its manufacturing base in Zhuzhou, Central China’s Hunan last Friday (July 14) for Kuching.
The ART is a hybrid vehicle – a cross between a train, a bus and a tram – powered by hydrogen fuel cells, uses rubber tyres and runs on virtual tracks on dedicated lanes.
It has three coaches with each able to accommodate up to 100 passengers at any one time.
It was also reported that the newly-arrived ART prototype vehicle will undergo a two-month engineering run at The Isthmus in September and October to prepare for the proof-of-concept (POC) trial run along a short stretch of the Blue Line on Kuching-Samarahan Expressway in November.
For the record, the Blue Line is part of the ongoing Phase 1 of the Kuching Urban Transport Sarawak (KUTS) project which involves the construction of a 27.6km stretch connecting the Rembus in Kota Samarahan to Hikmah Exchange in Kuching city centre, as well as the development of a 12.3km Red Line (from Kuching Sentral to Pending) and the 30km Green Line (from Pending to Damai Central).
The ART operations under Phase 1 are scheduled to commence in stages from the fourth quarter of 2025 up to the fourth quarter of 2027.
Last night (Aug 4), Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said students of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) would be given a special pass to use the transport. — DayakDaily
