A three-month public inspection begins for the revised LRT Mutiara Line plan, featuring a new cross-sea link between Penang Island and Seberang Perai.
GEORGE TOWN: The public can now review and comment on the revised plan for the LRT Mutiara Line extension linking Penang Island and the mainland.
Malaysia Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) announced a three-month Public Inspection exercise for the Revised Railway Scheme.
The inspection period runs from February 24 to May 24, 2026. It allows the public to examine updates to the alignment, station locations, and other project details.
A key update is the inclusion of a cross-sea rail connection between the island and Seberang Perai. This approximately six-kilometre link will connect KOMTAR and Penang Sentral.
The end-to-end journey across the channel is expected to take about eight minutes. Penang Sentral will serve as the main mainland gateway and a multimodal hub.
The hub integrates ferry, KTMB rail, and bus services. The revised scheme also provides for approximately 1,000 additional parking bays at Penang Sentral.
From this hub, passengers can travel directly to KOMTAR, the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone, and Penang International Airport. The revisions follow the scaling down of the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) development.
The PSR was reduced from three islands to one, leading to the omission of 3.15 kilometres of alignment and three stations. MRT Corp will retain 1.5 kilometres of the alignment in that area.
Station A1 (PSR A) has been reclassified as a provisional station to support future development. Other updates include new stations at Penang Sentral and Bagan Luar, the latter also provisional.
A secondary depot at Tapak Pesta in Sungai Dua will be added for train stabling. The LRT Mutiara Line commenced construction in 2025 and is slated to begin operations in December 2031.
The full line will span approximately 29.67 kilometres with 20 stations and two provisional stations. Public Inspection booths will be set up at KOMTAR, Penang Sentral, and KTM Station Butterworth.
Project materials are also accessible online at www.mymrt.com.my.
 The Sun Malaysia
