The Star: Kelana Jaya LRT gets three more trains, cuts waiting times
KUALA LUMPUR: The waiting times at the Kelana Jaya LRT line has been reduced to 3.8 minutes during peak hours with the introduction of three new trains under the KLAV27 (Kuala Lumpur Additional Vehicle) project, says Anthony Loke.
The Transport Minister said the three trains are part of 27 trains worth RM1.72bil acquired for the Kelana Jaya LRT line under KLAV27.
“Under this project, Prasarana Malaysia Bhd and its sister company Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd have gradually acquired 27 new trains beginning September 2020.
“A total of 11 trains have been acquired so far and the rate of train arrivals have improved to less than four minutes during the peak hours between 7am and 9am, and, 5pm and 7pm.
“The other 16 trains in the project will be acquired gradually from September 2023 to December 2024,” he said at the launch of KLAV27 at the Pasar Seni LRT station here yesterday.
Loke said the three new trains bring the total number of trains along the Kelana Jaya LRT line to 44 from 38.
He added that the ministry and LRT operator aims to bring down the waiting time during peak hours for the Kelana Jaya line to three minutes by end-October.
“The LRT Kelana Jaya line is the busiest line under Rapid Rail with an average of 250,000 passengers a day,” he said.
He added that having a good maintenance culture was critical to ensure that trains operated well without breaking down.
Loke also said that the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) Mid-Term Review aims to get more people to use public transportation.
“We aim to achieve a 40% shift towards public transportation use in the Klang Valley from the current 20%. We want to improve so that people will feel confident using it instead of their private vehicles,” he said.
The 12MP also aims to improve bus services by increasing the number of buses from 766 to 1,000 in the Klang Valley.