PETALING JAYA: A former Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) official has urged rail operator Prasarana to come up with long-term solutions against the recurring disruptions to its LRT services.
Sixteen stations along the Kelana Jaya LRT line were shut down yesterday. This was after the same rail line was affected by an automatic train control (ATC) system fault which disrupted regular service on Monday.
Numerous passengers took to social media to voice their frustration during both disruptions and Wan Agyl Hassan, former SPAD group operations head of policy and planning, said it was “crazy to see” the rail service’s users repeatedly facing the same problem.
“Prasarana needs to be more responsible,” he said. “This issue has become the new norm. We cannot afford to keep facing this problem as it has not only caused a public outcry but also a loss in productivity.
“The government has spent so much money on rail transport. Unfortunately, Prasarana doesn’t seem to be able to manage it and meet the most basic user expectation – reliability.”
In a media statement last night, Rapid Rail – the Prasarana subsidiary which manages and operates the LRT network and the KL Monorail – said its engineering and technical team was still identifying the root cause of the service disruption on the Kelana Jaya line.
It said the services between the Kelana Jaya station and Ampang Park station were halted for safety purposes at 3.03pm after an ATC system malfunction was detected.
It said the status of the Kelana Jaya line would be regularly updated on its social media, but it did not disclose whether the line would be operational today.
Prasarana has scheduled a press conference for 10.30am today about the recent disruptions.
When asked to comment on the disruptions, Public Transport Users Association president Ajit Johl said the incidents had “shaken the trust” of LRT passengers.
He called on Prasarana to improve its safety checks and audits and to publicise the audits.
Ajit also repeated a proposal he had made earlier for the establishment of a public transport tribunal to ensure the availability of a platform for users to report disruptions and potentially be compensated for the inconvenience.
“While we understand that things can go wrong, having two disruptions in a week is not acceptable,” he said.
“The public needs to know if these disruptions are due to maintenance issues and if they are, whether it has to do with a lack of funding.
“I, for one, will not be taking the LRT tomorrow.” - FMT
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