Back on track: Commuters boarding an LRT train on the Kelana Jaya line at KL Sentral station after it reopened. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Following the recent service disruption involving the Kelana Jaya LRT line, Rapid KL has announced compensation for users of the My50 travel pass, tokens and Touch ‘n Go.
Touch ‘n Go and token users will not be charged from now until Nov 20, provided the journey begins and ends only on the Kelana Jaya LRT line.
My50 users are given an additional seven days’ free travel, applicable for renewal from Nov 20 until Dec 20.
Those whose My50 pass is expiring between yesterday and Nov 20 can continue using their pass without any additional charges, but a minimum RM5 balance credit is required.
Meanwhile, commuters heaved a sigh of relief with the earlier resumption of service as they no longer had to endure long traffic jams, especially during peak hours, and higher commute costs.
Checks at LRT stations during peak hours showed big crowds boarding the trains with the assistance of auxiliary police.
Users were seen queuing to get on board from pictures shared via social media, with the restart of services from 6am.
Twitter user Manya_Patel said: “With LRT Kelana Jaya line back today, I am back taking the train to the office.”
Another user @uaenalily was grateful that she no longer needed to take the bus.
“Alhamdulilah. I can no longer take the bus because I cannot adapt to the traffic jams. If I take the bus it takes one hour and 30 minutes to reach home compared with taking the train, which takes only 40 minutes. It is too tiring and exhausting,” she said.
@natrah237 said: “I can save my money now and don’t have to walk from Kerinchi to Abdullah Hukum station.”
While @mrsndira said, “Alhamdulillah, I don’t have to pay RM15 parking a day for my car.”
Other social media users praised the technical team for expediting repairs and their unceasing effort to ensure the resumption of services.
Commuter @Mys_Saza said: “Thank you to the technical team who have been working around the clock to ensure the safety and well-being of passengers.’’
Another user, @frhfarzana, hoped that the Rapid KL staff would be rewarded for their efforts.
“Thank you Rapid KL, especially staff and engineers. Hopefully the upper management rewards you guys,” she said.
Facebook user Chan Fun Chiat expressed his gratitude to all bus drivers who had worked overtime to transport commuters around the city.
“Thank you to the LRT shuttle bus drivers. You had to endure a long journey inside the bus during peak hours, had to slip through narrow double-parked roads, never-ending and repeated questions from passengers – yet still so patient with us. Most grateful you ensured we reached our destinations safely.”
Azrie Hazry also praised bus drivers for working tirelessly these past few days.
“Thank you to rapidbus-feeder bus MRT drivers – Smart Selangor Bus – Rapid Penang – Maraliner, LRT 1, LRT 2, LRT 3, LRT 4 and LRT 5 ferrying us back and forth daily day and night. Your contributions will be remembered.”
A total of 16 stations along the Kelana Jaya LRT line were closed and their operations suspended from Nov 9-15 after the LRT Automatic Train Control (ATC) system malfunctioned.
These stations were Kelana Jaya, Taman Bahagia, Taman Paramount, Asia Jaya, Taman Jaya, Universiti, Kerinchi, Bangsar, Abdullah Hukum, KL Sentral, Pasar Seni, Masjid Jamek, Dang Wangi, Kampung Baru, KLCC and Ampang Park.
But after swift intervention, with experts coming in from Singapore and technical experts from Thales Group – the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) – in Canada, services resumed two days earlier than expected.
On Sunday, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong announced that the Kelana Jaya LRT line would be reopened after intensive tests were conducted involving 38 trains from Gombak to Putra Heights.
He said the overnight tests supervised by the rail enforcement division, rail planning division and the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) observed that the critical safety systems were working without any instability.
He added that Apad had also verified the stability of the ATC system and declared that the line was safe to resume for full operations.
