LRT on right track for return

PETALING JAYA: Testing work of the train automation system of the Kelana Jaya LRT line is going well and the Transport Ministry is “cautiously optimistic” about restoring the service.

Its caretaker minister, Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, said it was still way too early to say when the line could be fully opened for passenger service after Rapid Rail decided in the wee hours of Wednesday to suspend services from Kelana Jaya to Ampang Park – or 16 of the 37 stations in the network – for a week.

The suspension was done to facilitate troubleshooting factors behind the intermittent disruptions to train signalling and communications since last Saturday.

“After the first day of testing on Wednesday, the system showed good stability. On the second day, 24 trains were tested across all the 37 stations, and again, no instability was detected,” Dr Wee told a press conference at the Rapid Rail headquarters here yesterday.

He was accompanied by ministry secretary-general Datuk Isham Ishak, Prasarana Malaysia group CEO Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah and Rapid Rail CEO Amir Hamdan.

Rapid Rail and Rapid Bus are subsidiaries of Prasarana, with both services collectively branded as Rapid KL in the Klang Valley.

The comprehensive testing, which showed encouraging results, involved running 24 trains along the entire network of 37 stations, with trains entering and exiting the troubled sector – from Kelana Jaya to Ampang Park – after service hours.

Today, the testing will take place during passenger service hours but passengers will be asked to disembark at either Damai or Lembah Subang while the empty trains pass and stop at each of the 16 shuttered stations.

The trains on Malaysia’s first fully automated train line will have to stop at the right spot at the platform, with doors staying open for a prescribed period.

The trains also have to maintain the speed and distance from the train in front of them.

The exact location of the stops and other parameters such as braking and speed must remain visible to personnel manning the LRT operations and control centre.

“The testing will be supervised by experts from the signalling system manufacturers, Thales Group of Canada, who will then certify the system fit for service,” Dr Wee said.

The final certification will then come from the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad).

He said that when the Kelana Jaya line was ready to be fully reopened, an announcement would be made at 6pm the preceding day.

He also said the government had appointed Montreal-based WSP Global to look at all angles of the major disruption.

WSP was in fact hired by Prasarana earlier to conduct the ongoing study on reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS) of the network following the head-on collision between two LRT trains on the line – one of them driven manually – on May 24, 2021.

On the possibility that sabotage may be a factor, Dr Wee said all possibilities would be considered, although the probe is currently focused on the integrity of the signalling and communications system.

“We have asked Prasarana to consider all possibilities. No assumption is being made. Thales Group has also brought in its equipment from Canada to perform tests,” he added.

In a related development, the ministry is calling on ehailing companies to help commuters who have been affected by the partial shutdown of the Kelana Jaya LRT line.

“We are prepared to grant ‘instant approvals’ for these companies to hire more drivers,” said Dr Wee, who added that some form of compensation will be given to holders of unlimited travel passes.