KUALA LUMPUR – If you are depending on the Light Rail Transit (LRT) or Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) to travel during the morning rush hour, a minute or two makes a world of a difference between arriving on time or late to work.
Rail passengers vented their frustration when they were forced to endure extended waiting times and packed crowds due to a minimal delay in train frequencies during the morning rush spell.
Taking to social media to air their grievances, many voiced their disappointment with the service, claiming that such issues should have been solved a long time ago as the problems have repeatedly been brought up but to no avail.
RapidKL had at 6am posted on its Twitter account the frequency schedule for trains during the high traffic periods between 7am and 9am.
1/2 14 Jun 2022: Selamat pagi. Kemaskini kekerapan waktu puncak hari ini (7.00 pagi hingga 9.00 pagi):
— Ask Rapid KL (@AskRapidKL) June 13, 2022
Laluan Kelana Jaya: 5 minit
Laluan Ampang/Sri Petaling: 3 minit *DPP/6 minit Bukan DPP
Laluan Monorel: 10 minit
Laluan Kajang : 6 minit
*DPP (CBD) - Daerah Pusat Perniagaan
The updated schedule saw the LRT Kelana Jaya line set to have a train arrive every five minutes, while MRT routes would have an arrival every 10 minutes.
According to RapidKL’s website, the circuits are supposed to have a frequency of every four and eight minutes respectively for each transit.
However, users of the social media platform were quick to allege that the arrival of trains did not align with the announced frequency, causing the waiting time of throngs of people to be extended.
Posting a photo of the expected time of arrival for the next MRT at the Kwasa Sentral platform, user @keppyyomar questioned why the sign said the following train would be arriving in nine minutes instead of six.
6 ke 9? Kwasa sentral pic.twitter.com/4Fgq3cPuU1
— Ju Ji Fei (@keppyyomar) June 13, 2022
In response, RapidKL had said that a train was experiencing “technical difficulties” and had to be removed from service, assuring that the frequency would return to normal soon.
Similarly, passenger @nadiazawarii_ also voiced her confusion as the running display notifying the expected arrival of the next LRT Kelana Jaya line train said eight minutes instead of five.
Em hello? 5 minit??? pic.twitter.com/N3Xylij2Nd
— Nadia Zawari (@nadiazawarii_) June 14, 2022
Meanwhile, user @Bh3maN lamented how many people were forced to wait for the subsequent train, as the ones that arrived were packed due to the high volume of people and limited frequency.
Sigh - 3 trains have come and gone. Only 2-3 ppl manage to get on at any one time. pic.twitter.com/JJKcrQX2q5
— Magpie (@Bh3maN) June 14, 2022
In a heated tweet, user @nrjwznl lambasted the train service for not considering the massive number of people waiting for trains when it had set the frequency.
Ko tengok ni, berapa ramai tengah menunggu. Bongok nak mampus setiap 5minit kepala bapak kau laaaaaa waknat!! Dah tunggu lama tak dapat masuk train sebab train pack. Kena tunggu lagi 5minit! pic.twitter.com/qIH8dxGrE5
— njwznl.YL (@nrjwznl) June 14, 2022
Commuters @fadzlirazali4 and @ftnnssr also chimed in with photos of long queues at the Masjid Jamek and Pasar Seni train stations, respectively.
berselirat dah beratur ni. kalau boleh peak hour ni guna je la 4 koc train. frequency dah kurang, capacity kena la increase ??♂️??♂️??♂️ pic.twitter.com/PxNdaMqe6P
— fadzlirazali (@fadzlirazali4) June 14, 2022
LRT pasar seni - 8.50am today ? pic.twitter.com/IF3ADFautt
— Fatin (@ftnnssr) June 14, 2022
“I have complained hundreds of times about (the) poor public transportation system in Malaysia. I am too tired,” user @mathanamuhilan said, expressing the vexation and resignation felt by many as he shared photos of the scene at the Pasar Seni train station this morning.
I have complained hundreds of times about poor public transportation system in Malaysia. I am too tired. Just look at scene right now in Pasar Seni.@transitmy @khalidkarim pic.twitter.com/Wr25fRqzhR
— Mathana Muhilan (@mathanamuhilan) June 14, 2022
Last month, passengers on the line were left fuming after a service disruption caused them to be stranded at stations.
Subsequently, Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Amir Hamdan had said in a press conference that the disruption was caused by a stalled train that had a brake calliper hydraulic leakage problem.
The following weekend, RapidKL had said in a statement that the Traction Power Substations at the Taman Jaya and Universiti stations had experienced a temporary power supply issue at 8.36am.
It added that initial investigations revealed that the incident was caused by a disconnected circuit breaker which led to the loss of electricity supply and the train’s halt. – The Vibes, June 14, 2022
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