Dr Wee: Kelana Jaya LRT Line back in operation from 6am Nov 14

PETALING JAYA: The Kelana Jaya LRT Line will be stopping at all its 37 stations starting 6am Monday (Nov 14) following the five-day-shutdown involving 16 stations from Kelana Jaya to Ampang Park that began last week.

In a statement on Facebook Sunday (Nov 13) evening, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said he had taken a test ride on the line as part of the comprehensive testing that evaluated all parameters, in particular, signalling stability as the train enters and departs the stretch from Kelana Jaya to Ampang Park.

ALSO READ: PM: Kelana Jaya LRT Line expected to resume operations earlier than scheduled

"I have been briefed by the Rapid Rail management on intensive tests conducted that involved 38 trains, all the way from Gombak to Putra Heights to ensure the Kelana Jaya line is totally safe and ready for full reopening.

"The overnight tests were supervised by the Rail Enforcement Division, the Rail Planning Division, the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad), which observed that the critical safety systems were working, without any form of instability seen. I am very satisfied with the analyses of the tests conducted.

"Apad has also verified the stability of the automatic train control (ATC) system and declared that the line is safe for full operations," he said.

ALSO READ: Dr Wee: More tests on Kelana Jaya LRT Line to ensure it can reopen safely before Nov 15

Rapid Rail as well as the technical team from Thales Group, the original equipment manufacturer for the signalling system, will continue to keep a close watch on the system.

Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, the parent company behind Rapid Rail and Rapid Bus, has also been asked to be on standby to deploy bridging buses should disruption happens again.

"I would like to thank all the Rapid Rail engineers, and everyone involved in working non-stop over the past few days in order to rectify the system.

“This includes all personnel of Rapid Bus, Smart Selangor, and Mara Liner, frontline staff at the stations, the KL City Hall, and all support staff who have lent a helping hand to ensure commuter journeys can proceed," said Dr Wee.

ALSO READ: LRT on right track for return

The Transport Minister also applauded efforts by some city folks to lend a helping hand by using their private vehicles as free shuttles to help stranded passengers.

On the issue of compensation for affected travellers, it is understood that Prasarana will add seven days more to the validity of affected MyRapid travel pass users.

On social media, many users expressed sighs of relief at being able to use this busy urban rail line once again.

Lots of positive comments flooded the Facebook page of Rapid KL, with users expressing a sense of relief.

Even city folk who do not use Rapid's services, such as those who use their own cars to get to work, gave their thumbs up to the restoration of services.

"Driving has been stressful the past few days," said Sherina K, who drives from Setapak to KLCC daily.

Her views are echoed by Haniff Ghazali, who is involved in the rail industry himself.

"This (news) is perfect. No more massive jams in KL next week," he said.

At its pre-pandemic peak, the Kelana Jaya Line moves up to 330,000 commuters on any given working day, with the figure now hovering around 200,000 per day.

This is still a significant number, as some passengers resorted to driving during the latest extended service stoppage, which started on Wednesday (Nov 9), thus worsening the city's traffic congestion.