KUALA LUMPUR: There will be no LRT services for the Ampang Line on July 7 and 8, effectively the second and third day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
The services will be temporarily suspended to enable upgrading and migration of the train signalling system.
Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer, Ahmad Nizam Mohamed Amin said the temporary suspension is necessary for it to upgrade and migrate the current signalling system to the automated Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) system for higher efficiency and enhanced safety.
“We decided to conduct this exercise on these days to minimise the impact and inconveniences to our commuters,” he said.
During the temporary service suspension, free shuttle bus services will be provided between 6am to midnight to ferry customers along the stations of the Ampang LRT Line and Sri Petaling LRT Line to the Rapid KL Pasar Seni bus hub.
Meanwhile, commuters will be able to travel seamlessly between Putra Heights and Sentul Timur LRT stations onboard the new six-car LRT trains effective July 17 onwards.
The new trains would replace the existing fleet of Ampang LRT line cars that have been in service for almost 20 years.
“With the successful upgrading and migration of the signalling system, customers travelling from Putra Heights to Kuala Lumpur no longer need to switch trains at the Sri Petaling LRT station.
“However, pending the full deployment of the new trains in December 2016, alternate trains would make a turnaround at Bandar Tasik Selatan during the morning and evening peak hous between 7am and 9am and 5pm and 7pm to cater for the peak hour crowd,” said Ahmad Nizam.
Upon completion, the Rapid Rail would introduce two new operation modes, the LRT Sri Petaling Line between Putra Heights and Sentul Timur, and the LRT Ampang Line for services between Chan Sow Lin and Ampang.
With the new operations modes, customer travelling from Ampang to either Sentul Timur or Putra Heights need to disembark and switch trains at Chan Sow Lin station to enter Sri Petaling Line from July 17 onwards.
Ahmad Nizam said adequate signage and announcements will be made for the benefit of the commuters.
Those heading towards Putra Heights from Chan Sow Lin shall board the train from Platform 1 while those heading towards the city centre shall board from Platform 2A and 2B.