PETALING JAYA: Another round of comprehensive testing will be carried out on the Kelana Jaya LRT line on Saturday (Nov 12), this time during normal service hours, says Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The testing involves running 24 trains along the entire network of 37 stations, with trains entering and exiting the affected sector from Kelana Jaya to Ampang Park.
The trains will run as normal and will take on passengers, but only along the unaffected stations.
Passengers will be asked to disembark at either Damai or Lembah Subang before trains enter the 16-station stretch between Kelana Jaya and Ampang Park that had signalling system instability since Nov 5.
ALSO READ: Wee: No compromise on LRT users’ safety
"The trains will pass through the 16 closed stations using the normal SOP," said Dr Wee at a press conference here on Friday (Nov 11).
He said normal SOP for the fully automated line was that trains should stop at the right spot at the platform, with doors staying open for the prescribed period before closing.
ALSO READ: Probe into LRT signal disturbance goes full swing
Train should also depart for the next station while maintaining the prescribed speed and distance to the train in front.
Crucially, the exact location of these trains must remain visible to personnel in the LRT operations and control centre.
"The testing will be supervised by the experts from the Thales Group of Canada, who manufactured the signalling system, who will then certify the system is fit for use after tests show satisfactory results," said Dr Wee, who added that final certification will come from the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad).
ALSO READ: LRT commuters vent frustrations at week-long LRT suspension
He added that if the Kelana Jaya line is ready to fully reopen, an announcement will be made at 6pm the day before so that commuters can make preparations.
He said during the first day of testing on Wednesday (Nov 9), the system demonstrated good stability.
"On the second day (Nov 10), 24 trains were tested across all 37 stations – and again, no instability were detected," said Dr Wee, who was accompanied by ministry secretary-general Datuk Isham Ishak, Prasarana Malaysia group CEO Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah and Rapid Rail CEO Amir Hamdan.
ALSO READ: Rail experts to inspect Kelana Jaya LRT Line, says Dr Wee
Rapid Rail and Rapid Bus are subsidiaries of Prasarana, with both services collectively branded as Rapid KL in the Klang Valley.
Testing of the system after service hours on Thursday night showed highly encouraging results, with no anomalies detected.
A total of 16 stations along the Kelana Jaya line have been closed with operations suspended from Nov 9 until 15, after a malfunction in the LRT automatic train control (ATC) system.
The LRT station affected are 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.
