KUALA LUMPUR – Prasarana Malaysia Bhd has taken immediate steps to beef up its standard operating procedures relating to safety, operations, manpower and rail maintenance on the Kelana Jaya Light Rail Transit Line, which runs without a driver.
Acting president and chief executive Datin Norlia Noah in a statement today said the move is in line with the five short-term improvements to be implemented within three months, as contained in a report by the committee that investigated the May 24 LRT crash.
“These measures are in addition to the existing SOPs and international guidelines.
“We are thoroughly reviewing the structure, processes, safety compliance, access control to the tracks, protocols for communications and so on to implement all the recommendations for the short term.”
She said the SOPs have been tightened to prevent communication disruptions between operations control centres (OCCs) and manually driven trains.
The stepped-up SOPs, which took effect on May 30, include a requirement for two hostlers aboard all trains on the Kelana Jaya line being manually driven in the tunnel between the Pasar Seni and Damai stations, she said.
She said OCCs and hostlers must ensure that trains are driven in the right direction, without any ambiguity.
The company has also created “Manual Route Reservation (Automatic Train Protection) Buffer Zones” for trains that have lost contact with the OCC to stop at a further distance.
“The speed of manually driven trains has been limited to only 20kph, and a safety bulletin will be issued regularly to reiterate safety aspects and SOPs to all Prasarana employees,” said Norlia.
The firm has boosted its “Mini ERP Exercise” every Sunday night, with an emphasis on the scenario of “rescuing trains that have lost communication, and manually driven trains”, she said.
She added that a training programme will be coordinated in the future, with the collaboration of authorities such as police, the Fire and Rescue Department, and Civil Defence Force.
Apart from extending cooperation to bodies including the Finance and Transport Ministries, and Land Public Transport Agency, she said, Prasarana will focus on providing appropriate support and assistance to the passengers involved in the crash last month.
Apart from immediate goodwill payments, the company has also provided financial assistance to cover medical costs, follow-up treatment and other related expenses, she said.
On behalf of the Prasarana board and staff, Norlia apologised to all Malaysians, and the affected passengers, in particular, over the accident, and said her team accepts the findings of the preliminary investigation report. – Bernama, June 11, 2021
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