AYER HITAM (Nov 9): The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has expressed its disappointment due to the shutdown of the Kelana Jaya Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line for seven days starting on Wednesday (Nov 9) morning, and has asked Prasarana Malaysia Bhd to update the public periodically to provide information.

Caretaker Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said he was very disappointed, felt sorry and apologised to the public for the inconvenience caused from the shutdown of the Kelana Jaya LRT Line for seven days.

However, he is firm with his decision that safety must come first for the rail transport line.

"Although Prasarana is not under the Ministry of Transport as it is under the Ministry of Finance, but we, as the regulator of the transport industry, must ensure that safety of the users comes first.

"I have been receiving information from Prasarana, and I have been telling them that whatever you want to do, please inform the public. Whatever decisions that you want to do, the public must be informed," said Wee, when met at the Majlis Ramah Mesra Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob with the people of the Ayer Hitam Parliament at Kompleks Balai Orang Ramai, Taman Suria, here on Wednesday.

Wee said Prasarana has been trying to identify the source of the problem that caused the breakdown in the signalling and contact system that could not identify where the trains are. This is very dangerous as the failure of the system could result in train collisions if the LRT continues to be allowed to operate.

"I do not want us to have another train collision accident ever again," said Wee.

He said experts from Istanbul and Toronto, and Thales — the technology owner of the automatic train control system — are being flown in.

Rapid KL, the Prasarana subsidiary that operates the public transport system in the Klang Valley, has shut down 16 stations along the Kelana Jaya LRT Line for a week from Wednesday. The decision was made after the stations were shut down on Tuesday after an automatic train control (ATC) system malfunction was detected.

The Kelana Jaya LRT Line was also affected by the same problem on Monday, which disrupted regular service.

Earlier on Wednesday, Prasarana president and group chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah acknowledged that the system had reached the end of its lifespan, adding that the sum of RM150 million for the first phase of upgrades had been approved.

“The Kelana Jaya LRT Line has been operating for nearly 25 years. It is an ageing system that needs all its parts, trains and systems replaced. It is about time that we change it and we have plans to change it,” he said during a press conference on Wednesday morning.

He added that the group is preparing to add new trains in July 2023.

“We want to be as transparent as possible. We wish to express our utmost apologies to passengers. We will provide the media with status updates daily. We will try to finish the work within seven days and resume services as soon as possible,” he said.

Read also:
Rapid KL suspends service at 16 LRT stations from Kelana Jaya to Ampang Park for a week
Rapid KL tells passengers to utilise free feeder bus service to ease congestion
Prasarana seeks immediate solution to Kelana Jaya LRT Line disruption