Elevating Urban Rails and Metros

In the world of mega infrastructures, building rail and metro systems is a class of its own, with challenges and complexities that are not faced in other projects. What’s more, building through existing urban cities or brownfields adds layers of complications that will test even the most seasoned builders.

Right Construction Partner from the Start

From highways to bridges to rail and metro, Gamuda has a track record in delivering multifaceted mega projects worldwide. Our rail and metro journey began in Taiwan in 2002 with the Kaohsiung MRT Metropolitan Orange Line, followed by our first local project, the Ipoh-Padang Besar Electrified Double Track Project (EDTP), and we continue to be the preferred partner today with our most recent Xizhi Donghu MRT win.

It was the Klang Valley MRT Kajang and Putrajaya Lines that further solidified the Group’s reputation as a strong rail and infrastructure partner.

“We have substantial capabilities in design, planning, civil and structural (C&S) fields due to the various infrastructures that we had delivered. Being the turnkey contractor for the nation’s first metro required systems works expertise, which was new to us at the time, and we wanted to build on that. To complement our team, we brought in experts for knowledge transfer,” said Encik Adil Putra bin Ahmad, Executive Director of Gamuda Engineering.

“Knowledge is evolving, so we constantly develop our capabilities, and we know even more now than what we learned from the experts then. Our team has also evolved with diverse expertise to handle the multidisciplinary aspects of railways.”

It is also important for us to select the right partners, contractors and suppliers in achieving the best results for the different scopes of work. We transitioned from relying on external experts to having our own in-house experts, who in turn trained many others and built the supply chain.

Importance of a Turnkey Contractor

Besides C&S works, a railway involves many sub-systems, including rolling stock, track works, integrated control and supervisory systems (ICSS), power, communications, fare collection and at the heart, the signalling systems.

“Each sub-system has its function, but they must integrate seamlessly for a safe and reliable transportation system,” explained En. Adil. “The construction of C&S and systems testing and commissioning are perhaps the most challenging phases as the C&S works must be able to fit the systems precisely and all railway subsystems must integrate and function together perfectly.”

As a project delivery partner and turnkey contractor, Gamuda was responsible for all phases, from design to installation to testing and commissioning. This required us to manage numerous partners and stakeholders from end to end, to ensure that work progressed smoothly.

“The MRT Putrajaya Line team (which now consists of its own systems integration team, set up during the MRT Kajang Line) managed more than 200 consultants, contractors and suppliers at a time. Meticulous planning and effective management during the early stages enabled us to deliver significant time and cost savings for the client.”

Excellence in Elevated Works

While Gamuda is already established in the international tunnelling space (introducing industry- and world-first innovations like the Variable Density and autonomous tunnel boring machines), our excellence goes beyond underground to include elevated works – more visible to the public eye.

Stakeholder engagement is an equally important factor for success. We take the lead in community and residential awareness, business partnerships, media relations, regional localisation, educational and career outreach, safety programmes, environmental conservation, urban and infrastructure development, and socio-economic initiatives.

This is crucial to getting buy-in and delivering our projects successfully and on time; all the more when it comes to building through densely populated areas. During the rollout of the large-scale KVMRT project across greater Kuala Lumpur, we set new benchmarks in stakeholder engagement.

“One takeaway is that people can accept disruptions if they are kept informed. When we needed to close a road, we made sure the public was aware by sending out notices, communicated face to face, on social media and in print media.”

Read about the unique challenges we navigated during the construction of the Pavilion KL-Bukit Bintang, Jalan Ipoh and Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) stations.

Digital and Sustainable Engineering

Digital engineering gives Gamuda an edge in its projects. Building Information Modelling Augmented Reality (BIMAR) allows us to simulate and analyse  designs in 3D to identify any clashes (like if a door clashes with a pipe) and rectify errors before construction even begins. BIMAR also increases employee safety and enhances productivity in other areas. Our BIM Academy was set up to upskill employees and subcontractors to design and automate our projects using the software. 

“Moving forward, all our workload will be Cloud-based. We can manage multiple tasks simultaneously and get the analytics we want in real-time to manage risks more efficiently and react quickly,” explained En. Adil. 

 Gamuda continues to take on diverse challenges while raising the bar on industry innovation, with rail and metro adding to its hallmark triumphs. Its projects continue to deliver multiplier impact through connectivity, economic growth and modernisation.