Nawawi: KTMB needs to increase fare to break even

KUALA LUMPUR: Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) can only break even if it is allowed to increase the KTM Komuter fare by 2 sen per km, its chairman said.

Datuk Nawawi Ahmad said the country’s main rail operator suffered RM50mil losses every year not because of low ridership but due to cheap ticket prices set by the Land Public Transport Commission.

“We have about 52 million passengers using KTM annually, so it’s not the issue of ticket sales,” he said after launching the ETS official mascot and Selfie With Captain EJ contest at KL Sentral here yesterday.

He said the operating cost per km – which was on the rise every year – was higher than the fare per km it charged customers.

In a bid to get a financial shot in the arm, KTMB had recently sold its stake in Sentul Raya for RM252.42mil to YTL Land & Development Bhd.

“We’re in a situation where we need a financial boost in order to increase the quality of our services, and we don’t want to burden the Government,” Nawawi said.

While struggling with its financial woes, KTMB also had to edge out competition from other train operators.

Nawawi said KTMB lost some 15,000 passengers daily whenever the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) rolled out discounts for the public.

“We have 140,000 passengers every day but when LRT offers discounts for routes that are similar to ours, we lose customers,” he said.

In order to remain competitive, he said KTMB would enhance its services by improving train frequency and punctuality during peak hours.

Last Friday, phase one of the Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) MRT line was opened to the public with free rides being offered up to Jan 16, allowing commuters to travel up to Sg Buloh – a route also plied by KTM Komuter.

The Sungai Buloh KTM Komuter station is the only station connected to the MRT at the moment.