A partial view of Kuala Lumpur Sentral at dusk, with the KL Central Business District in the background

Kuala Lumpur Sentral (KL Sentral) or Sentral Kuala Lumpur is a transit-oriented development that houses the main railway station of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Opened on April 16, 2001, it was built to take over the role of the old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, a colonial-era landmark that remains open for commuter trains only. KL Sentral is the largest train station in Southeast Asia.

KL Sentral was designed as an intermodal transportation hub. Most of Kuala Lumpur's rail-based public transportation serve KL Sentral while many intercity trains serving Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore start here. Parts of the area such as the railway stations has been constructed while other parts such as shopping malls, offices and apartments are currently under construction and is expected to be fully developed by 2015^[1].

[edit] Overview

KL Sentral refers to the entire 290,000 square metres of development built on the former Keretapi Tanah Melayu marshalling yard in Brickfields. The development includes the transportation hub, hotels, office towers, condominiums and shopping malls and is expected to be completed in 2015.^[1]

KL Sentral has been divided into 14 land parcels, each representing a different function. Some of these lots have been fully constructed and are already in use, while others are either in the process of being built, or are still awaiting development, according to the phased programme.

KL Sentral is being developed by a consortium made up of Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB), Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) and Pembinaan Redzai Sdn Bhd.

[edit] History

In 1994, with the objective to enhance Kuala Lumpur city’s public transportation, the Government of Malaysia awarded a contract to a consortium to transform 72 acres (290,000 m²) at Kuala Lumpur’s old railway marshalling yard into a modern transit hub within a self-contained urban development.

The consortium, led by Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) appointed renowned architect Kisho Kurokawa and Associates, who also designed the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) among many prominent structures around the world, to design the master plan for the entire development. To ensure that the components planned are market driven and conform to market demand Jones Lang Wootton was commissioned in 1995 to work on the master plan for the entire development and was able to advise on market driven components and ensure that each component complemented each other – co-existing in harmony.

KL Sentral’s recent achievement of being awarded Malaysia’s first Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) cybercentre launched the development into a new privileged status, allowing it to amplify its world-class physical and information infrastructure and further complement the MSC hub, Cyberjaya, by providing another option for companies that want to reap the benefits of MSC status and be closer to their customers.

[edit] Development Zones

KL Sentral is a huge place with mixed developments. The area is divided into several plots of land, each with a specific purpose. All development should complete by 2015.^[1]

[edit] Office zones

The southern end of Kuala Lumpur Sentral has seen substantial additions of several commercial and civic buildings since 2001.

Office zones in KL Sentral account for more than 50% of the total land. The developer aims that KL Sentral will ultimately be the business and financial hub of Kuala Lumpur.

[edit] Lot A: CIMB Headquarters

Lot A will be the new headquarters for CIMB Group. The company has acquired the land in July 2008 and construction is expected to begin in Q4 2007 and complete in 2011. It is unknown how many floors there will be but it should have around 600,000 sq ft (56,000 m²) of office space available.^[2]

[edit] Lot M: Plaza Sentral

Lot M or Plaza Sentral is a completed office complex in the west of KL Sentral. The complex were completed in two stages.

• Phase I was completed in June 2001, comprising three blocks and total gross floor area of 785,000 sq ft (72,900 m²). Offering prestigious office suites, Plaza Sentral was sold and quickly taken up by multinationals and Malaysian companies alike, eager to take advantage of the global connectivity and conveniences of working in KL Sentral. Its take-up rate is reaching 100%.

• Phase II was launched in September 2003 due to the escalating demand for premium office space. It has since been fully taken up. Comprising two towers - 18-storey and 26-storey - made up of four blocks and a total gross floor area of 879,381 sq ft (81,697.2 m²), the building was completed in 2006. Among the prominent tenants include British Telecom and Maxis Communications.

• Sentral Tower, a unique purpose-built 30-storey office tower was sold to Lembaga Tabung Haji for RM161.46mil in March 2004.

[edit] Lot J: Sooka Sentral & 4 Office Towers

Lot J is a proposed development lot for four 35-storey office towers of identical architecture.

Lot J was sold to United Engineers (M) Bhd (UEM) in May 2005 and plans for four towers in the lot is drawn. Tower A is being built by UEM for its corporate headquarters on the prime piece of land with a gross floor area of 1,300,000 sq ft (121,000 m²). Tower B will an office tower for Malaysian Industrial Development Authority. Tower C is a tower built by Quill Realty Sdn Bhd and sold to Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM) for their corporate headquarters. Finally, Tower D is an office building built by Quill. The construction of the office towers is expected to complete in Q1 2009.^[3]

A much-anticipated development on Lot J is the 180,000 sq ft (17,000 m²) six-storey lifestyle centre which will house a fitness and spa centre, business centre, food court, restaurants and alfresco dining facilities. This development, called Sooka Sentral, opened its doors in December 2007. One of the few shops that are opened is the club Centro^[4]

[edit] Lot N: 1 Sentral Tower

1 Sentral Tower is an office tower, offering a gross floor area of 453,000 sq ft (42,100 m²). The construction on the building was completed in 2007. It houses companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, MRCB and General Electric.

[edit] Others

Lot B have been proposed to be developed as financial precincts of KL Sentral. No construction has taken place.

Lot F is planned for future office block. Currently, the base is used for a furniture exhibition mall and Food and Beverage (F&B) centre.

[edit] Entertainment zones

Lot E will be a hub for entertainment and convention centre in making KL Sentral an entertainment hub of Kuala Lumpur. The deck of the this development has been completed.

[edit] Lot G: Nu Sentral

Lot G, located in the south of KL Sentral will consist of 1,200,000 sq ft (111,000 m²) shopping complex, 600,000 sq ft (56,000 m²) office block, 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m²) serviced apartments, and a 546,000 sq ft (50,700 m²) three-star hotel. Nu Sentral, as it will be called, will offer an integrated connection with the KL Monorail Sentral station and it will be the station of the new Kota Damansara-Cheras Line. Development works commenced in 2H2008 and is expected to complete in 2012. The land was previously used as a parking lot and a cut through for pedestrians heading from Brickfields and the KL Sentral Monorail station to KL Sentral proper. For some time there was an open-air market on the land but was closed down in preparation for construction.

On January 22, 2008 ,MRCB has set up a joint venture company with Pelaburan Hartanah Bumiputera Bhd (PHBB) named Jewel Surprises Sdn Bhd to develop the area. The new company will hold a lease on the plot of land for 99 years. It is unknown when the construction of the area will begin. ^[5]

[edit] Transportation zone

[edit] Lot H : Stesen Sentral

Stesen Sentral (also referred as KL Sentral)
The concourse of Stesen Sentral.
Station statistics
Address	Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Lines	Rawang-Seremban and Sentul-Port Klang Line (KTM Komuter) (2001 to present) North-South Line (KTM Intercity) (2001 to present) Kelana Jaya Line (RapidKL) KLIA Transit and KLIA Ekspres (Express Rail Link) (2002 to present)
Connections	Bus hub, monorail station, food and retail outlets, and KTM maintenance depot.
Platforms	2 island platforms (KTM Komuter) 1 island platform (KTM Intercity) 2 side platforms (Kelana Jaya Line) 1 island platform (KLIA Ekspres) 1 island platform (KLIA Transit)
Tracks	4 (KTM Komuter) 2 (KTM Intercity) 2 (Kelana Jaya Line) 2 (KLIA Ekspres) 2 (KLIA Transit)
Parking	Available, pay
Baggage check	KLIA Ekspres only
Other information
Opened	2001 (KTM Komuter, KTM Intercity and the Kelana Jaya Line) 2002 (Express Rail Link)
Accessible
Code	KLSENTRA (KTM Komuter)
Owned by	Keretapi Tanah Melayu, Rapid KL and ERL Private Limited

KL Sentral and surroundings

Stesen Sentral (English: Central Station) is the name of Lot H, which is designated the transportation hub within its KL Sentral development project, although both the public and connected transit lines generally refers to the station itself as "KL Sentral".

Stesen Sentral, designed to house six rail networks was completed in December 2000 and the rail, retail and food and beverage operations commenced in April 2001. Situated on 9.3 acres (38,000 m²), the main building has a gross floor area of half a million sq ft and the specifications were based on passenger projections till the year 2020, which is when Malaysia aspires to be a fully developed nation.

In 2008, Stesen Sentral is registered traffic of over 100,000 passengers daily, which translates into 36.5 million people a year.

[edit] Rail services

The following services serve Stesen Sentral:

• Express Rail Link (ERL): high-speed airport train
  • KLIA Ekspres: high-speed direct train to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)
  • KLIA Transit: high-speed commuter train service to KLIA

• KTM Komuter: Klang Valley electric commuter train service
  • Sentul-Port Klang Line
  • Rawang-Seremban Line with the Rawang-Kuala Kubu Bharu Shuttle Route

• KTM intercity trains: intercity trains
  • Intercity trains that connects from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok and Singapore.

• RapidKL Rail
  • Kelana Jaya Line: Kelana Jaya-Terminal Putra light rail transit (LRT) service

KL Monorail's KL Sentral station is across busy Jalan Tun Sambanthan, a 140 m walk away by covered walkway.

Stesen Sentral is divided into separate sections for different rail services:

• Level One of Transit Concourse for urban public transit services like the KTM Komuter, KLIA Transit and the Kelana Jaya Line light rail transit.
• Level Two of Transit Concourse for KTM intercity trains.
• KL City Air Terminal (KL CAT) on Level One for the KLIA Ekspres, the high-speed rail service to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) (see section below).

Stesen Sentral also has retail and food outlets and a food court. Hidden from public view, Stesen Sentral also houses KTM's maintenance depot beneath the complex. There is a facility for purchasing and reloading the Touch 'n Go card in this station.

Stesen Sentral will be able to accommodate 50 million passengers a year and up to 100 million by 2020 (KL Sentral website).

[edit] Lot G : Nu Sentral

It is expected that Lot G will serve Kota Damansara-Cheras Line and provide integration with KL Monorail station and other lines in Stesen Sentral.

[edit] KL City Air Terminal

Located within Stesen Sentral, the KL City Air Terminal (KL CAT) is virtually an extension of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It is recognised by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as a city destination, with the code XKL. It was officially opened together with the KLIA Ekspres rail line on 14 April 2002.

Besides being the departure and arrival point for the KLIA Ekspres, KL CAT also has luggage check-in services. Currently, only passengers flying Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates Airline and Royal Brunei Airlines can check in their luggage at KL CAT. The minimum check-in time is two hours before flight departure time. On 13 July 2007, Express Rail Link Sendirian Berhad, the operator of KLIA Ekspres, announced that from 23 July 2007 onwards, passengers flying on all 43 airlines serving the Kuala Lumpur International Airport will be able to check in their luggage at KL CAT should the airline offer city check in service.

There are plans to offer check-out service but this is not yet available.

[edit] Hotels and residential zones

[edit] Lot C : St Regis Hotel

Lot C will house the St Regis Hotel. The site is currently under construction and it is expected to complete by 2014. The hotel will feature 200 guest rooms and 200 whole ownership St Regis branded Residence.^[6]

[edit] Lot D : 60-story Residential Tower

Lot D will consist a single 60-story residential tower overlooking the Lake Gardens and the city. It will be jointly developed by MRCB, Capitaland and Quail Group. It is currently pending approval from the city hall. ^[7]

[edit] Lot I : Hilton KL & Le Méridien Hotels

Lot I consists of two skyscraper hotels occupied by Hilton Kuala Lumpur & Le Méridien, owned by Daito Asia Development Sdn. Bhd. and Daisho Asia Development Sdn. Bhd. respectively. The hotels opened for business in September and October 2004 respectively.

[edit] Lot K and L : Suasana Sentral and Suasana Sentral Loft

Lot K is the location of a serviced apartment, Suasana Sentral. Suasana Sentral consists of two blocks, or 400 units of apartments. It was completed in 2002 and is fully sold and occupied, with about 40% of the buyers coming from the international community.

The second phase of condominiums on Lot L, Suasana Sentral Loft was launched in early 2005 and began occupancy in early 2008. The 37 and 38-storey apartment towers have a total of 600 units. All have been sold.

[edit] Others

In December 2006, a joint venture company acquired Lot D and will develop residential and serviced apartments with supporting retail amenities. This luxury development will face the National Museum, Lake Gardens as well as KL City Centre. Construction is expected to commence by early 2008 and to be completed in 2010.

In June 2007, a joint venture company purchased Lot C for the development of a 6-star hotel, 6-star residences and prime offices. Work on the 1,400,000 sq ft (130,000 m²) development is expected to commence in 2008.

[edit] Other developments

[edit] KL Sentral Monorail station

KL Sentral
The KL Sentral monorail station is some distance away from the transportation hub. Provisions are in place to move the stop directly adjacent to the main station inside a newly constructed shopping mall.
Station statistics
Address	Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Lines	Kuala Lumpur Monorail (2003 to present)
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	1
Parking	None
Other information
Opened	2003
Owned by	KL Infrastructure Group Limited (KL Infra)

The Kuala Lumpur Monorail station is not directly connected to the Kuala Lumpur Sentral transport hub, despite its proximity to the building, passengers must walk a 140 meter path across a parking lot (Lot G, above). It is located along Jalan Tun Sambanthan in Brickfields. The station is a terminating stop in the KL Monorail line. Plans call for moving the monorail station closer to the main station by integrating it into the main shopping center at Lot G. The station utillises the Spanish solution, having one rail line with a platforms on each sides, for passengers embarking and disembarking the train separately.

[edit] KL Sentral as a bus hub

KL Sentral has also been made a city bus hub by rapidKL under its bus network revamp. It is the bus hub for city shuttle (BANDAR) bus routes and trunk (UTAMA) bus routes.

Buses to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Main and Low Cost Carrier Terminals (LCCT) operate from KL Sentral, while other bus operators go near KL Sentral along Jalan Tun Sambanthan.

rapidKL buses:

• City Shuttle: B112
• Trunk buses: U60, U63, U64, U65, U66, U67, U68, U69, U70, U71, U72, U73, U74, U75, U76, U80, U81, U82, U83, U84, U85, U87, U88
• Express buses: E1, E4

Other KL buses:

• Metrobus
• SJ Bus

Please see Buses in Kuala Lumpur for details.

Airport coaches:

Airport Coach runs coaches between KL Sentral and the main terminal building of Kuala Lumpur International Airport. These coaches used to depart from Hentian Duta and Chan Sow Lin LRT station. Skybus and Aerobus both operate between KL Sentral and Kuala Lumpur International Airport's low cost carrier terminal. A new SkyVans bring passengers from KL Sentral to selected hotels in Kuala Lumpur.

[edit] See also

• KLIA Ekspres
• KLIA Transit
• Keretapi Tanah Melayu
• Kelana Jaya Line
• KL Monorail
• Public transport in Kuala Lumpur
• Transportation in Kuala Lumpur

[edit] Neighbouring stations

[edit] References

• Starspace: Building exclusive wonders, The Star, August 25, 2007.

[edit] External links

• KL Sentral
• KL CAT
• KL Sentral Train station

Coordinates: 3°08′02″N 101°41′10″E / 3.134°N 101.686°E / 3.134; 101.686