KUALA LUMPUR – After nearly a week of service disruption, the affected stations along the Kelana Jaya LRT line have been reopened to commuters at 6am today.
At the KL Sentral, Pasar Seni and Masjid Jamek stations – three of the busiest spots – commuters were moving along swiftly with trains arriving at three-minute intervals.
The trains were packed during the morning rush hour while the auxiliary police at the stations were on hand for crowd control.
An auxiliary policeman told The Vibes that it is usually more crowded in the mornings, and possibly not many people are aware that train services have resumed.
“We have officers at each station for crowd control today,” he said.
Meanwhile, a commuter who wants to be known as Rachel, 31, said it had been a stressful week as she had to endure hours standing in line for buses before she finally managed to get home from work three hours later.
“The service disruption was abrubt last week. But today, the train service is better than the days before the service disruption.
“There are police controlling the crowds, and trains are coming by every three to four minutes.”
The LRT at the Kelana Jaya line were filled to the brim as the morning rush ensued, with trains packed with commuters. pic.twitter.com/HCvpmOq9Nx
— TheVibes.com (@thevibesnews) November 14, 2022
For Fatin Azira, 26, the temporary suspension of the 16 stations was tough as she had to depend on e-hailing services to get to work.
“I am from Shah Alam so I had to book Grab service daily during the LRT service suspension. And since everyone was booking around the same time, the fee hike was quite significant.”
She added that she found out about the service resumption via social media.
“I got to know about it (service resumption) from an announcement by (caretaker transport minister Datuk Seri) Wee Ka Siong yesterday. Since we will be getting free rides for a few days, I decided to take the LRT to work this morning.”
As for 34-year-old Derwin who works in business process outsourcing, she was excited when she heard that the trains were up and running again as her trip to work took twice as long during the service disruption.
The auxiliary police are seen controlling the morning crowd here, in Pasar Seni station. pic.twitter.com/Y2sAuVFQZv
— TheVibes.com (@thevibesnews) November 14, 2022
In a statement yesterday, CEO Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said the resumption of the rail line – two days earlier than scheduled – was made possible following the approval by the Land Public Transport Agency.
He added that despite full-service resumption, Prasarana will continue to monitor the rail system to ensure it remains stable and safe for commuters.
On Wednesday, Rapid Rail announced that 16 stations between Kelana Jaya and Ampang Park were to be shut down for a week due to purported technical issues, following two days of service disruption.
On the same day, Azharuddin said the exact cause of the issue has yet to be pinpointed, and that the automated riding system crisis on the Kelana Jaya line could be the first of its kind in the world.
The following day, caretaker transport minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong confirmed that the LRT’s Operations Control Centre and representatives from the rail system’s original equipment manufacturer Thales Group have been running tests on the suspended commuter service.
In addition, operator Rapid Rail yesterday announced that compensation for Kelana Jaya Line will be provided to My50, Touch N’ Go and token users from today to November 20.
Para pelanggan yg dihormati, rentetan dari pengumuman Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd tentang pembukaan semula operasi LRT Laluan Kelana Jaya yg bermula esok, Isnin 14 November, kami sertakan visual rumusan pampasan yg akan diberikan kpd pengguna laluan yg terjejas sepanjang tempoh penutupan. pic.twitter.com/NdEeq2CRtL
— Ask Rapid KL (@AskRapidKL) November 13, 2022
For those who subscribe to the My50 package, they will be offered an additional seven days of free travel when they renew their passes, with the renewal applicable between November 21 and December 20.
For those whose My50 pass is set to expire between today and November 20, they can continue using their pass without any additional charges, although a minimum RM5 stored credit value is required.
Users with Touch ‘n Go cards or tokens can ride on the Kelana Jaya Line from today to November 20 without any charges, provided that their travel starts and ends on the same line.
Those who utilise tokens, however, must get a special one-way token from any of the available customer service centres at the stations. – The Vibes, November 14, 2022
