Looking back at the development of the once new KTMB Batu Gajah station, there appears to be poor planning or political interference, more likely the latter in cahoots with vested interests.
As I have repeatedly pointed out, the location sucks and KTMB owes a duty to correct the inconvenience caused to local residents. They were more concerned about it being near their Railway Complex which includes a railway workshop (moved from Sentul, KL) and a new railway college.
There is no doubt about the convenience of travelling by rail (Europe is a good example) and it was a wonder why we did not emphasize on it earlier. But due to poor planning, the station was built a few years before actual use. There is a sign put up by Majuperak with proposed development for shops and offices. Just imagine, after about 10 years, shops have yet to be built. I went round to the back of the station where SSF started a project full of promise. What I saw was a real disappointment: the project has been renamed Desa Sentral but appears to lack interest because there were only a small number of extra bungalows built since the launch. So, like the 'chicken and egg' situation, either the bus and taxi services have yet to come in because of the lack of population or the people are waiting for better bus and taxi services before they decide to buy or rent properties and the developers are waiting for purchasers before they can build!
Meanwhile, there are major changes come July 1, coinciding with the move from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands, Singapore. The shuttle train services between KL-Ipoh and Ipoh-KL will be discontinued and the people forced to take the new Electric Train Service, faster but at higher fares, or the trains (more coaches) on a longer journey from Singapore to Butterworth (with more stops). The times of travel point towards lesser intervals ie. at the expense of convenience. I am expecting public complaints about this.
There was a bunting within the station which caught my attention: railway staff are being attended to by A Cut Above, the academy of hair stylists founded and made famous by Winnie Loo, our most well known Ipoh-born hair stylist rumoured to have been specially flown before to Brunei on His Majesty's service!
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