Sustainability has been an ongoing topic for years, and it will continue to be in the future. As the world strives for a greener form of living, many will try to point fingers at potential causes of disaster that they are currently facing.
In the face of that, the Sarawak government has put in effort to create greener roads for its people. The plan started off in the capital city of Kuching.
With joint efforts from the Ministry of Transport (MOT) Sarawak and Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), the state began promoting the use of hydrogen in public transportation.
As Sarawak aspires to become a developed and high-income State by 2030, a reliable transport system is vital in mobilizing greater productivity and economic growth.
Sarawak Metro is implementing the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) project to minimize traffic congestion on the city’s roads while spurring productivity and economic growth.
Sarawak Metro was formed for this big project. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SEDC.
Here are three highlights from Sarawak’s step-up move:
1. Hydrogen-powered Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART)
This is a zero-emission and trackless tram that is outfitted with rubber tires to run on tar instead of rails as required by trains. These can run autonomously on virtual routes directed by road markings, which means it is actually driverless.
There will be three lines — Red, Blue, and Green.
The Chinese-made ART vehicle measures 30.2 meters in length, 2.65 meters in width, and 3.7 meters in height. It can reach speeds of up to 70 km/h and has a 300-passenger capacity with a revised seating layout.
Fun fact: The first ART is named ‘Bulan’ which is Moon in the Malay language.
2. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses
This red bus that lingers around the streets of Kuching started to serve the residents of the city since 2021.
Benefits of the bus include shorter fueling time, longer range of travel, and zero emissions.
The bus can travel up to 300km in one refill, and has high-speed LTE WiFi and GPS for Live tracking.
The app for the bus is called H2 Sarawak and it provides live diagnostics on fuel level, speed, and vital systems notifications that can be monitored remotely.
3. Petros Multi-fuel Station
The first build of Petroleum Sarawak (Petros) station at Darul Hana in Petrajaya, Kuching made a debut with its multi-fuel design.
It is designed to be fully converted to electric charging and hydrogen refueling once there is an increase in the use of battery and fuel cell vehicles.
The slot that stands out the most would be the blue Hydrogen refill. It’s the first in Sarawak, and possibly in the whole country.
The Petros multi-fuel stations are expected to minimize labor and will be driven by ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) systems, including automatic sensors, big data analytics, and cashless payments through the SarawakPay platform.
Which of these advancements are you most excited for?
