PETALING JAYA: Commuters eager to board the long-awaited Shah Alam LRT line may have to wait a little longer, with no sign yet of passenger service despite earlier assurances that the line would open this month.
The 37.8km route, which connects Bandar Utama to Johan Setia in Klang, has already seen its completion date pushed back several times due to challenges involving final-stage system integration and commissioning, among other issues.
In February, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the line, formerly known as LRT3, was expected to begin operations in June, if not earlier.
According to a railway industry source who is familiar with the project, the driverless train system has yet to meet stipulated performance standards, including maintaining six-minute train frequencies during peak hours and completing the full end-to-end journey within 60 minutes.
The source said persistent issues include unstable software and poor coordination and integration between different operating systems.
“This in itself causes problems with the final testing process.”
A robust signalling and communications system is non-negotiable for a fully automated rail line such as the Shah Alam LRT, which will be Malaysia’s fourth driverless line after the Kelana Jaya, Kajang and Putrajaya lines, the source added.
In a related development, three stations on the route have been renamed.
SS7 station is now known as Subang, Pasar Jawa has been renamed Jambatan Kota, while Taman Selatan is now Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah.
The source said the changes involved more than replacing station signage, as updates are also required for onboard announcements, passenger information display systems, route maps, and signalling and communications software.
However, the source said the name changes were not responsible for the delayed opening.
Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, the project’s owner, remains keen to launch the line by the end of the month, with round-the-clock testing still underway, he added.
The Star has reached out to Prasarana for comment.
