KUCHING: The Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) Project achieved a significant milestone with the pre-commissioning and physical inspection of its first Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) hydrogen vehicle in Yibin, Sichuan Province, China on Monday (Sept 9).
Sarawak Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin officiated the pre-commissioning ceremony at the CRRC manufacturing facility in Yibin, Sichuan Province, China where he also participated in the physical inspection and test ride of the ART vehicle.
“This unit, or ‘golden train’, will be the first of two ART hydrogen vehicles to be delivered to Kuching by the end of the year.
“38 total units of ART hydrogen vehicles set to arrive in stages in Kuching starting this year, five will be delivered fully assembled while the balance are set to arrive as semi-assembled units over the next couple of years,” he said.
He was pleased with the progress of the manufacturing process and pointed out that with each milestone achieved in the KUTS Project, Sarawak has received more attention than before.
“Our ART project has attracted the attention not only of some of the other states in Malaysia, but also the interest of our regional neighbours, especially when we were able to showcase the ART hydrogen vehicle during last year’s proof of concept (POC) exercise and engineering run.
“I believe the whole world is paying attention to what we are doing in transforming the public transport system, especially our efforts in using clean energy, in this case green hydrogen,” he said.
He said this during a meeting with the top management team of CRRC in conjunction with the pre-commissioning event at the facility.
Besides, he also highlighted that sustainainability objectives were high on the list of priorities for the KUTS Project and as such efforts were also being made to explore all the advances in hydrogen technology, especially towards reducing the cost of production of green hydrogen for our public transport needs.
“I believe the whole world is looking at the issue of reducing the cost of production of clean energy such as green hydrogen and if we are able to find the best solutions, the hydrogen economy will have an even brighter future,” he said.
He said that compared to the prototype ART vehicle used for the POC exercise, the new ART vehicles have incorporated several upgrades; capable of climbing slopes of up to 10 per cent and can be used in various road environments, with a maximum speed of up to 80km per hour.
“The ART hydrogen vehicles now adopt a lighter weight design, significantly reducing the weight by 2.5 tonnes, making them more energy-efficient,” he said.
He also said that the ART hydrogen vehicles will feature dedicated spaces for luggage, wheelchairs, and foldable bicycles, enhancing their user-friendliness.
Present were Deputy Minister of Transport Sarawak Datuk Dr Jerip Susil, Ministry of Transport Sarawak permanent secretary Datuk Wong Hee Sieng, Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board Sarawak director Cornelia Wong Chui, Padawan Municipal Council chairman Tan Kai, Bintulu Development Authority senior planning manager Fatehi Marzuki, Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Mazli Mustaffa, EPR Mobilus Global Rail JV Sdn Bhd chief executive oficer Chan Chee Kian, Yibin Municipal Government Standing Committee member Tao Xuezhou, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute Inc deputy general manager Chen Jian, and Hunan CRRC Intelligent Transport Technology Co Ltd general manager Peng Zhonghong.
