Thursday February 7, 2008

KTMB spends RM200mil on new intercity and commuter trains

By CHOONG MEK ZHIN and NURBAITI HAMDAN

KUALA LUMPUR: Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) announced the purchase of extra coaches for intercity trains and commuter trains costing RM200mil in an effort to upgrade its services.

“This move will temporarily relieve the problem of the lack of trains running right now,” said KTMB managing director Datuk Mohd Salleh Abdullah at a press conference after handing out goodie bags to passengers at the Intercity KTM platform in KL Sentral here yesterday in conjunction with Chinese New Year.

“Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak recently chaired a Cabinet meeting and it allocated RM40mil for the 20 new intercity trains,” said Mohd Salleh.

Festive treat: Mohd Salleh handing out goodie bags to passengers as the train made a stop at the KL Sentral Intercity platform in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday.

The 20 new trains will consist of passenger and power-generating coaches that will boost the number of intercity trains available.

“We are preparing the tender and the new trains can be expected within two and a half years,” he said, adding that the Government had approved the plan.

In addition, KTMB will purchase eight units of commuter trains for RM160mil.

With these new commuter trains, passengers will be guaranteed more seats, as there will be four coaches on each train, as compared to the three currently.

Apart from the additional trains, Malaysians can also expect to see electric trains travelling outside Kuala Lumpur boundaries for the first time next year.

Travel between Ipoh and KL Sentral, with stops at all major towns in between, will only take two hours and twenty minutes.

“The trains are expected to run in 2009. There will be five trains with six coaches each,” said Mohd Salleh, adding that the electric trains will cost RM260mil.

On a related matter, he said KTMB had proposed to the Government that it create a bypass line for freight trains travelling through KL Sentral.

“The trains carry dangerous goods such as oil. We do not want anything bad to happen,” he said.

KTMB is also upgrading the current single track to a double line between Seremban and Sungai Gadut and this will be ready by 2011.

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