PETALING JAYA: With the Ampang LRT line set to resume normal operations this week following last week’s derailment, the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) is urging regulatory authorities and operators to prioritise safety above all.
“IEM advocates for the continuous upskilling of local rail engineers in advanced predictive maintenance technologies,” said IEM president Yau Chau Fong in a statement following the derailment at the Ampang LRT on May 28.
“IEM calls for regular, independent safety audits led by external rail engineering professionals completely separate from operational management.”
In an update yesterday, Prasarana said journeys between Putra Heights and Sentul Timur will return to normal today, while journeys between Ampang and Sentul Timur are still subject to one transfer at the Stesen Chan Sow Lin station that adds five minutes to the journey.
Yuslizar Daud, former head of the now-defunct Land Public Transport Commission, said the reluctance to recover the full cost of operating railways here will ultimately lead to gradual erosion of asset integrity and reliability.
“Whilst the heavily subsidised fares (such as under the My50) are encouraging more people to use public transport, the system will be stretched to the limit due to the additional loads.
“This will directly strain assets and require maintenance at a much higher frequency, which translates into higher maintenance costs.
“The reduced fares deplete income for railway operators significantly, leaving them struggling to break even.
“The fare is regulated by the government, ostensibly for political reasons, but such an arrangement leaves practically no leeway for operators to juggle costs of maintenance and parts, among others,” said Yuslizar, who has also served as director of asset operations at Malaysia Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd.
“You (government) can penalise the operators or even sack the appointed railway people, but is the government also innocent in this case?” he said when referring to the mindset that public transport services must be both cheap and reliable, without taking into account the full cost of providing such services.
Even before the Chan Sow Lin derailment, Prasarana has come under intense public criticism following several high-profile service disruptions on MRT, LRT and KL Monorail lines throughout April and May.
In the National Land Public Transport Masterplan dating back to Sept 2012, the government envisioned having at least 40% of journeys within urban centres to be made using a combination of buses and trains by 2020.
The timeline has been shifted to 2030 under the National Transport Policy 2019-2030, with the current modal share hovering around 20%.
“Of the various factors affecting the growth of ridership, this target is under threat by the spate of disruptions in Prasarana-led operations, along with the long-standing rehabilitation of KTMB’s double tracks in Klang Valley and its other operational issues,” said Yuslizar.
