Power outage leaves LRT, ERL passengers stranded

PETALING JAYA: Passengers on the Putra Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Express Rail Link (ERL) trains were left stranded Friday evening due to power disruptions following heavy rains and thunderstorms. 

Delays were reported on the LRT’s Ampang Line between the Bandar Tasik Selatan and Sri Petaling stations. 

RapidKL on its Twitter page said rescue teams had been deployed to evacuate around 220 passengers at Sungai Besi and Bukit Jalil stations after they had been left stranded on board the trains. 

Commuter K. Parkaran, 62, told The Star Online that he and around 200 others were stuck waiting for the train services at the Sri Petaling station to resume for over two hours. 

He said that the poor weather around Kuala Lumpur had further made it harder for commuters to find alternative methods of getting around. 

Parkaran also said that he had been in a train when the power disruption first hit. 

He said the train had made an unexpected stop and remained stationary for about 20 minutes before moving slowly back to the station. 

He also commented on the atmosphere in the station and said that although people were upset, they remained calm. 

Rapid KL said that buses were also being deployed to LRT stations to assist passengers. 

As of 9.15pm, all services on board the Ampang line had resumed. 

"We apologise to all our customers for the inconvenience due to the unexpected incident," tweeted Rapid KL. 

Meanwhile, commuters using the ERL train services were also affected by power disruptions. 

The train’s management informed the public through its Twitter account, @KLIAekspres, that all services would be temporarily suspended. 

KLIA Ekspres said that the unusually “violent” weather had caused some trees to fall on the tracks, damaging the power lines. As a result, all trains were temporarily suspended. 

“At this point, we advice passengers to find alternative transport. Further updates will be provided later,” tweeted the company, adding that it would be providing train shuttle service between Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) and Putrajaya stations.