How To Read & Interpret Rail Route Map (Tutorial)

Have you ever wondered how to choose suitable route to reach your desired destination? Do you feel difficult to find suitable rail station nearby your current location?
Basically, traveling around Klang Valley using rail transport is easy if you know how to plan your journey carefully. We will provide you a simple tutorial on using rail route map to plan your journey.

Generally, in Klang Valley, there are three rail lines under supervision of Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana) which are Kelana Jaya Line (KLJ), Ampang Line (AMG) and Monorail Line. The other rail lines are managed by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) and ERL.

Standard look of rail route Map

Here is the rail route map in Klang Valley looks like:

Source : Here

Or sometimes it looks like this:

 

Source: SPAD

The copy of the map is available in pamphlets form which can be obtained from any ticket counter in rail station.Or you can simply download it from RapidKL's website. For those who possess smartphones, rail route map in Klang Valley is available in RapidKL Mobile Apps.

Station Naming & Notation

As you can see on the map, there are more than 60 rail stations across Klang Valley with five lines

(AMG, KLJ, Monorail, KTM & ERL). Each rail line is categorized by different color for easy viewing:

 
































Each station is named based on its location in Kuala Lumpur. For example, Sri Rampai station currently located in Sri Rampai, Kuala Lumpur. Prior to travel, make sure that you know where you are so that you can choose nearest rail station. You can always use Google Maps or other  navigation tools (Moovit, Waze etc.) to reach nearest station.

Park And Ride?

To those who are traveling with cars and decided to switch to LRT, do not worry, most of rail stations are equipped with park & ride (PNR) facilities. You can park your vehicle there conveniently. In rail route map, you can see the "P" sign beside rail station, indicating that the station has PNR facility.

 

Station Interchanges

Sometimes, you desired destination is not located on the same rail line. You have to switch rail line in order to get to your destination. In route map, you can see various interchange stations such as KL Sentral, Masjid Jamek, Hang Tuah, Bandar Tasik Selatan and Titiwangsa.

 

Various Station Interchanges 

However, some of the interchanges require you to walk because both stations are not built in the same building like the one I showed you previously. In map, you can see dotted lines sign between two stations:

 

 

Interchanges #2 Walking

Do not worry, most walking paths (pedestrian) between them are covered, with lighting and escalators.

What Do We Know About Our Passenger Information System? (Rail Station)

This post purpose is to provide a brief review on what are the passenger information system that found at rail stations. For case study, one of the rail stations was chosen which is Taman Bahagia station

 This station serves as starter for us to explore another stations. Pictures below shows PIS on the platform of the station:

 Signage That Tells Passengers Inside The Train The Current Station

A clear signage that states station name is important especially for passengers that are still inside the train. Sometimes when they are preoccupied with their electronic gadgets, friends or reading inside the train, they cannot realize which station that the train stops. Thus they will promptly look outside of the train window to check which station that the train stops.

This signage guides passengers to the correct platform

This signage is important so that passengers will not head to the wrong destination. Signage above shows an example that the train that arrive on this platform will be heading towards Kelana Jaya station (end of the line). So, passengers that intend to travel to any station between this station to Kelana Jaya station should use this platform.

Rail Route Map Besides Elevator On Platform

 A rail route map helps passenger to plan briefly their travel distance. For passengers that are prior to board the train, they can determine how many stations that the train will pass through before reaching their desired destination. For passengers that are just get off from the train, this information can help them to find any suitable interchanges for their next journey. Some rail stations are connected with other rail operator (interchange) which is represented by their respective logos.

 LED Display Information

This information shows the expected arrival time of the next train for waiting passengers. It is in real-time so that passengers can easily know when the next train arrives and starts queuing at the platform. Besides that, the display also shows how many coach that the next arriving train will be (whether it is 2-coach or 4-coach) so that waiting passengers can queue at suitable platform according to types of train.

Now lets move on to observed PIS on concourse area:

Trip Fares

Usually, trip fares information are displayed nearby the ticketing counter or inside ticketing kiosk. This information enables passengers to prepare suitable changes before purchasing the ticket. For regular passenger, this information helps them to memorize the fares.

Route Map & Operation Time

Usually, this kind of information are put at the entrance of the station. It shows the complete rail route map (schematic) under supervision of RapidKL around Klang Valley. The purpose of the information is the same as single route map on the platform. The operation time tells passengers when the train starts working and their ending time.

Service Status

This information shows the static status of all three rail lines under supervision of SPNB. Usually this information is set up at ticket gate so that passengers can re-think of boarding the train if "NORMAL SERVICE" status does not appear on the board. Station staffs will update this information as quick as possible.

Direction To Other Places.

This signage also usually set up at the entrance of the rail station. Generally, it shows the direction to  point of interest (POI) and facilities  nearby rail station.

Simple advertisement but meaningful...should we apply this at our lrt or monorail station???

When I was in suzhou, china I saw this advertisement which really attract me to take a pictures and think about it. The first questions in my mind is should we apply this to our country?