SEPANG: Weary travellers passing through KLIA’s Terminal 1 will have to bear with the temporary bridging bus services for another few months, as Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) confirmed that the much-awaited aerotrain will only be back in the second quarter of 2025.
MAHB managing director Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani told a press briefing here yesterday that the aerotrain service is expected to resume once the full testing is completed, with the overall completion of the project now at 85%.
“It is in the testing and commissioning phase, which is currently at a 25% progress rate. All tests should be completed by April.
“The best case is that we can immediately get the operation certificate following this.
“The Q2 timeline is also set in case further tests need to be carried out. We are very confident that it will be operational by Q2 this year,” he said, adding that the total cost of the aerotrain project stands at RM456mil as per the original contract signed.
Mohd Izani said there will be three aerotrain sets in total – two operational sets with another serving as a back-up.
Each set consists of three cars and can transport 270 passengers in one trip.
When asked why the operational date was now pushed to Q2, Mohd Izani stressed the need to follow the specific technical requirements of the aerotrain.
“We follow the process strictly. It’s important for us to follow rigid testing to ensure passenger safety,” he said.
The aerotrain is currently undergoing 80 critical tests ranging from dynamic tests to interface tests to system integration tests.
Almost up and running: The aerotrain during a test run at KLIA Terminal 1. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
The final test is the fault free run, which requires the first aerotrain to run for over 2,000km without any failure, and for the other two aerotrains to run for 1,000km without any failures.
“These evaluations are conducted to ensure all safety, operational and performance features meet stringent regulatory requirements,” he said.
Mohd Izani said these will be supervised by the Land Public Transport Agency to ensure compliance and confirmation of the system’s readiness for approval and commencement of full operations.
He also gave assurance that passenger movements will not be affected for delegations travelling for Asean programmes this year.
“We have made preparations to facilitate this. All the lounges have also been upgraded for better delegate movements.
“There should be no impact on Asean 2025 or Visit Malaysia 2026,” he added.
Last week, Transport Minister Anthony Loke expressed disappointment over the delay in the delivery of the aerotrain project after finding out it would not be operational by Jan 31.
On June 18 last year, MAHB said the Aerotrain Replacement Project was slated to be completed by Jan 31 this year, three months ahead of its original expected completion date.
The airport operator said this expedited timeline was finalised through a contract signed on June 14 last year between Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn Bhd (MA Sepang), Alstom Transport Systems (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and IJMC-Pestech JV, a joint venture between IJM Construction Sdn Bhd and Pestech Technology Sdn Bhd.
MA Sepang is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MAHB.
The aerotrain has faced frequent scrutiny due to several breakdowns in recent years.
On Feb 27, 2023, a train halted mid-way at the stretch between the KLIA Main Terminal Building and the Satellite Building.
A second train was immediately deployed to fetch stranded passengers but it also experienced technical difficulties, resulting in passengers having to walk towards the Satellite Building.
On March 1, 2023, another breakdown left 114 passengers stranded and having to walk almost 500m to the Satellite Building, causing 10 passengers to miss their flights.
