The Railwaymen’s Union of Malaya will picket in front of the Land Transport Department (Spad)’s headquarters this Thursday following Spad’s decision to continue the planned closure of the Gua Musang-Gemas route.
Its president Abdul Razak Md Hassan (left) said that this is because the closure, for about two years starting Friday, “victimises” 300 Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) staff as well as east coast passengers.
“This has implications on 300 KTMB workers in that sector and hundreds of thousands of passengers, causing a loss of revenue of at least RM100,000,” he said in a statement.
He said that the closure will see relocation of staff to depots while passengers will be affected, especially during the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri festive season at the end of July.
About 500,000 passengers used the Senandung Wau Express and Senandung Timuran Express, which goes through the 322kilometre stretch from Gemas to Gua Musang, most in the festive season.
He said the union also rejected Spad’s explanation that the route must be shut down for repair works following a derailment in 2012.
“We agree that safety should not be compromised...but there are alternatives which allow Gemas-Gua Musang route to continue to run,” he said.
‘Do it in stages’
He said only certain parts of the sector need to be upgraded and that this can be done in stages.
He said the Gemas-Gua Musang route can be rerouted to make way for the works during certain hours, or what is called “line block” in railway terms.
“For areas which are identified, the trains can be slowed down, or what we call ‘dead slow’, like what was done in the construction of the double tracks...,” he said.
He also questioned the timing of the closure, as the derailment happened in 2012, and nothing was done before.
He added that repair work on tracks have been done from the 1980s without the need for route shutdown.
As such, he said, the Transport Ministry should return operational autonomy to KTMB without the need to consult Spad.
The government has allocated RM400 million for the project.
Its president Abdul Razak Md Hassan (left) said that this is because the closure, for about two years starting Friday, “victimises” 300 Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) staff as well as east coast passengers.“This has implications on 300 KTMB workers in that sector and hundreds of thousands of passengers, causing a loss of revenue of at least RM100,000,” he said in a statement.
He said that the closure will see relocation of staff to depots while passengers will be affected, especially during the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri festive season at the end of July.
About 500,000 passengers used the Senandung Wau Express and Senandung Timuran Express, which goes through the 322kilometre stretch from Gemas to Gua Musang, most in the festive season.
He said the union also rejected Spad’s explanation that the route must be shut down for repair works following a derailment in 2012.
“We agree that safety should not be compromised...but there are alternatives which allow Gemas-Gua Musang route to continue to run,” he said.
‘Do it in stages’
He said only certain parts of the sector need to be upgraded and that this can be done in stages.
He said the Gemas-Gua Musang route can be rerouted to make way for the works during certain hours, or what is called “line block” in railway terms.
“For areas which are identified, the trains can be slowed down, or what we call ‘dead slow’, like what was done in the construction of the double tracks...,” he said.
He also questioned the timing of the closure, as the derailment happened in 2012, and nothing was done before.
He added that repair work on tracks have been done from the 1980s without the need for route shutdown.
As such, he said, the Transport Ministry should return operational autonomy to KTMB without the need to consult Spad.
The government has allocated RM400 million for the project.
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