KTMB buys 38 new trains

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KTMB president Dr Aminuddin Adnan, who is aware of the various problems faced by commuters, said they have bought 38 new six-car train sets (SCS) after an allocation of RM1.8bil was pumped in through the National Key Result Area project.

“The first set of SCS is scheduled to arrive at Port Klang on Sept 25.

“Another five more sets will be delivered between November and December, while the remaining 32 are scheduled to be delivered in stages from January to June 2012,” he told StarMetro during an interview recently.

Sleek: A picture of the new six-car train set put up by KTM at KL Sentral for public display.

He said the first batch of SCS would be sent for commissioning and testing by the manufacturer, CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co Ltd, and monitored closely by Land Public Transport Commis-sion.

“The tests will include how it responds to our signalling system, functions of braking and door systems as well as realiability of the train,” said Dr Aminuddin, adding that about 95,000 commuters were using the KTM Komuter trains daily.

“To ease congestion, we are using two sets of the Electric Train Services.

“The new trains will enable us to accommodate 150,000 to 200,000 passengers daily,” said Dr Aminuddin, adding that the first batch would only be operational from January 2012 onwards.

KTMB has set up an exhibit on details of the new Komuter at KL Sentral for public display.

Spacious: A picture of the interior of the new six-car train set.

Called My Komuter, the train has a design speed of 140km per hour and an operating speed of 120km per hour.

Newly-added features of My Komuter include LCD info screens, LED destination indicator, two coaches for women, priority seating zone, dynamic route map, intercom and CCTV.

KTMB now has 53 stations with the addition of two new ones in Sungai Gadut and Senawang to take passengers from Batu Caves to Sungai Gadut and Tanjung Malim to Port Klang.

KTM Komuter started its services with 64 Electric Multiple Units. On Aug 3, 1995, the first KTM Komuter train began taking passengers from Kuala Lumpur to Rawang. Free trips were offered until Aug 11, 1995.

It began operating commercially between these two destinations and then extended to Salak South on September 1995.

From then on, it gained popularity among commuters, who do not want to be caught in traffic congestion.

It was reported that KTM Komuter contributed RM84.63mil to group revenue in 2006, higher than KTM Intercity’s profit of 70.94mil in the same year.

According to the Transport Ministry’s 2008 statistics, the ridership for the KTM Komuter is about 36.557 million passengers per annum.

However, over the years, its services had deteriorated considerably due to poor maintenance.

Limited spare parts has also resulted in most coaches being left in the depots, thus affecting frequency of service.

Lack of funds and expensive spare parts have also led to the deterioration of service.