A MAJOR expansion of Kuala Lumpur's urban rail network is underway as the Malaysian government pursues its master plan to tackle the growth in car journeys and congestion by quadrupling public transport's market share by 2020.

PLANS to build a northeast-southwest metro line across Kuala Lumpur took a significant step forward last month with the announcement that Malaysian companies IJM and Ahmed Zaki Resources (AZRB) have been selected as the main civil works contractors for two elevated sections of the line.