PERCEIVED ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF KLUANG RAILWAY STATION: A STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v24i43.2106Keywords:
Economic impacts, railway station, stakeholder perception, secondary city, KluangAbstract
Railway station upgrades are widely promoted as drivers of local economic development, yet stakeholders’ perceptions of these impacts remain insufficiently examined in secondary city contexts. This paper investigates whether stakeholders perceive positive economic impacts from the Kluang Railway Station in Johor, Malaysia, and whether perceptions differ between train users and economic operators. Six economic indicators were measured: visitor increase, customer flow, business attraction, employment opportunities, property value increase and local competitiveness. Based on the survey data from respondents within a 400-meter station catchment area, the study employs Binomial tests to show the statistical significance of stakeholder agreement and Chi-Square tests to identify whether perceived benefits differ between train users and economic operators. The results show that positive responses significantly exceed fifty percent for all six indicators, with rates ranging from eighty to ninety percent. The highest rates are observed for visitor increase and business attraction, while property value increase shows the lowest rate at eighty percent. The Chi-Square tests reveal no significant differences between train users and economic operators across any indicator, indicating strong stakeholders’ alignment. The paper concludes that the railway station is perceived as generating substantial economic benefits by all stakeholder groups, with no perception gap between business operators and transport users.
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