Kajang MRT Line to have women-only carriage, says Loke

 

Transport minister Loke Siew Fook said the dedicated carriage for women will pose a challenge to implement.

PETALING JAYA: The Kajang MRT Line will have a designated women’s carriage, following a similar concept introduced earlier for the KTM Komuter, transport minister Loke Siew Fook said.

He added that the initiative was to create a comfortable environment for women while travelling, alleviating concerns of harassment and discomfort when coaches are congested.

NST Online said women may feel uncomfortable when the coaches are congested and may be afraid of being harassed. “We understand that feeling,” he said.

Loke said the “women-only” carriage will be fraught with challenges, as the LRT and MRT are both fast transit services, compared with the longer distance, intercity service KTM offers.

“MRT and LRT lines each have four carriages while KTM Komuter has six. One of them will be utilised as a women’s coach.

“There will be operational challenges for the MRT, with four coaches and one dedicated to women passengers.

“As it is a transit, the movement of users is quite fast and it is hard to control. But we will try to do it as this is a service that interests women passengers,” he said.

KTM Komuter introduced its “women only” carriage on April 28, 2010. - FMT