KTM banks on double tracking

THE next phase of the public transportation upgrade in Malaysia has kicked off with KTM Bhd launching its electric train service between Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh. But the biggest challenge for the railway operator is to prove that the electrified double tracking project will not be a white elephant.

KTM, which will undertake a restructuring to return to profitability, is counting on the double tracking project to deliver earnings, and to do so, it is making sure the tracks are well utilised. “This is a good investment by the Government,’’ says KTM president Dr Aminuddin Adnan.