KUALA LUMPUR: There are still more than 29,000 tickets for the Electric Train Service (ETS) available for travellers during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festive season, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The Transport Minister said that 29,479 tickets for a total of 32 ETS trips were still available as of April 28.
"Out of the total of 159,840 tickets for a total of 32 ETS trips between April 23 and May 8, 82% of them have been sold," he said after distributing Hari Raya goody bags to KTMB passengers at KL Sentral here on Friday (April 29).
Also present was KTMB chief executive officer Mohd Rani Hisham Samsudin.
Dr Wee added that 659 tickets were still available for the additional ETS tickets from KL Sentral to Padang Besar.
He also said more than 59,000 tickets under the KTM Intercity services were still up for grabs, such as the Ekpres Rakyat Timuran, Ekpres Selatan and Shutter Timuran.
Dr Wee also called on passengers to arrive early for their trains, as congestion and crowding are expected during the festive period.
Dr Wee said all tickets for the special Keluarga Malaysia train service from KL Sentral to Tumpat have been snapped up.
"KTMB added 180 extra seats to meet the high demand and they have been sold off as well.
"For the Tumpat-KL Sentral route on May 7, there are still 246 superior seats left."
On April 14, KTM announced the special Ekspres Khas Keluarga Malaysia train service to the East Coast and extra ETS services for the upcoming festive celebrations.
The Keluarga Malaysia train service was slated to depart from KL Sentral at 11pm on Friday (April 29) and reach Tumpat in Kelantan at 3.53pm on Saturday (April 30), making pitstops at 17 stations along the way, such as Bandar Tasik Selatan, Kajang, Nilai, Seremban, Pulau Sebang, Mentakab, Jerantut, Gua Musang and Pasir Mas.
The return trip is on May 7, departing from Tumpat at 10.50pm and reaching KL Sentral at 3.04pm the next day.
Dr Wee congratulated KTMB for making this special Keluarga Malaysia train service a success, as the traffic heading to the East Coast has been high.
"With these train services, traffic jams on the roads will be less, making the journey more comfortable for those who go back to their hometown," he said.
Dr Wee noted that various coaches are provided on this special train service, where passengers can comfortably eat, pray and relax with their family and friends throughout the journey.
Mohd Rani noted that all KTMB trains would continue to observe the stipulated standard operating procedures (SOP), as all passengers will still need to mask up when taking the public transport.
