Five min intervals at rush hour? LRT users furious at inefficiencies

KUALA LUMPUR – LRT commuters are none too happy over the extended queues and wait times this morning as many took to social media to vex.

Twitter users were quick to call out RapidKL for the inconveniences which saw many disgruntled commuters forming long queues, and backed up until the exit of some of the stations.

Sharing a photo of the long lines at the Pasar Seni LRT station, Twitter user @RMuzmar called on RapidKL to provide a rebate for customers to compensate them for their troubles. 

Tagging the RapidKL customer support account on Twitter, @AskRapidKL, another user by the name of @mohdazrai78 posted a photo of commuters at the same station being barred by security personnel from using escalators up to the gantry area, captioning the photo: “This is stupid”. 

In response to both tweets, RapidKL said that “passenger movement control is done to ensure the safety of passengers during peak hours”. 

Several minutes later at 9.07am, @mohdazrai78 shared another photo at the Pasar Seni LRT station. 

Meanwhile, user @dino_omar lambasted RapidKL over “inefficient” train frequency in a tweet, saying: “With crowds like this in the mornings, your frequency is every five minutes? You have got to do better than that.” 

RapidKL responded by saying the complaint has been shared with its team for their attention and assured that it will continue to monitor the current situation. 

Commuters at stations, including the Masjid Jamek LRT interchange station, also appear to be facing difficulties as user @zooxhanzx shared an image of a packed station. 

The photo was shared in response to another commuter, @SyedJymalZahiid, who alleged that the MRT frequency during morning rush hour was six minutes, instead of the usual four.

He also claimed that broken escalators – which have been in disuse for months – have yet to be fixed. 

Besides struggling with cramped spaces, some commuters also had to bear uncomfortable heat as user @muhdalikz informed RapidKL that the air-conditioning system in one of the MRT carriages was not working. 

“We are all like dry aged salmon here,” he quipped. 

Just two days ago, it was reported that a train on the Kelana Jaya LRT line was having technical issues at the KL Sentral station, causing delays in travel times. 

A video shared on social media had also depicted smoke coming off a train carriage parked at the station. 

Earlier this month, RapidKL said damaged escalators will be fixed once the spare parts are delivered. – The Vibes, September 12, 2022