KUALA LUMPUR: Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERL), the operator of KLIA Ekpres and Transit high-speed train services, expects a 50 per cent additional capacity with the purchase of six new trains.
Executive chairman Tan Sri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh said the trains, purchased from China-based Changchun Railway Vehicles Co Ltd (CRC), would add to its existing fleet of 12 trains.
"This is a natural cost of doing business because we are seeing a pick-up in demand since klia2 started operating," he told a press conference after signing an acquisition agreement here today.
Total ridership on the ERL stood at 6.4 million last year and the company expects the number to grow to nine million this year.
The signing by Mohd Nadzmi and CRC Chairman Wang Run was witnessed by Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
Mohd Nadzmi said the trains would be delivered in phases beginning May 2016 until November 2016.
Two of the trains will be allocated for KLIA Ekspres and the remaining four for KLIA Transit. Each train set will have four cars and operate at a cruising speed of 160 kilometres an hour.
"Through a bidding process, CRC was selected to supply the train in view of its excellent track record, experience and proven ability to provide trains that meet our requirements and specifications.
"Most importantly, the trains will be compatible with ERL's current rail system," he said.
Asked on the possible extension of the ERL service from KLIA to Melaka, he said, without elaborating, the company was "always ready" for it.
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