johor baru: Electric Train Service (ETS) passengers were transferred to shuttle buses after a fatal tanker crash spilled flammable liquid and damaged overhead power lines on KTM Bhd’s (KTMB) rail line between Kulai and Kempas Baru in Johor.
Around 8pm on Wednesday, a tanker carrying acetone skidded on a bridge along Simpang Kampung Seri Maju directly above the rail line.
The impact broke off a massive concrete parapet, which dangled over the railway’s overhead power lines and triggered a power trip that halted ETS and Shuttle Selatan services. The hazardous chemical also leaked from the tanker onto the high-voltage lines and the tracks below.
In a statement yesterday, KTMB said shuttle buses had been deployed from JB Sentral and Kempas Baru stations to Kulai station to assist affected passengers.
Affected passengers who chose not to continue their journey were given a full refund.
As of yesterday evening, all northbound ETS services from JB Sentral remained affected.
For the Shuttle Selatan service, only the Kulai-Kempas Baru-Kulai route remained suspended.
Restoration works to remove the dislodged concrete parapet required a 120-tonne crane, which was deployed yesterday morning to clear the debris.
The railway line was reopened at 7.30pm yesterday.
Meanwhile, authorities confirmed that the 42-year-old tanker driver died at the scene after becoming trapped in his overturned vehicle.
Bandar Baru Kulai Fire and Rescue Station chief Muhammad Fauzi Awang said the department’s operation centre was alerted to the incident at 8.14pm.
“Our team arrived at the scene located about 9km away from the station at 8.28pm,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Acetone is a volatile, highly flammable solvent widely used to manufacture plastics, fibres and resins.
“We used special equipment to extricate the body of the 42-year-old male driver, who was declared dead at the site by a medical team from the Health Ministry,” added Muhammad Fauzi.
He said the operation, led by Senior Fire Officer II Mohd Asri Yousri alongside 11 firemen from the Bandar Baru Kulai and Skudai stations, ended at 11pm.
