KUALA LUMPUR: The frequency of the peak hour trains of the Kelana Jaya LRT line will be at three minutes once all 27 new trains under the RM1.72 billion Kuala Lumpur Additional Vehicle (KLVA27) are received next year.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said Prasarana Malaysia Berhad (Prasarana) and Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd (Rapid Rail) have so far received 11 trains, of which three began operations today.
Loke said the trains were received in stages from September 2020 and the remaining 16 will be delivered from in phases until December next year.
By the end of this year, Loke said three more trains will arrive.
"Every additional train will cut waiting time during peak hours. The frequency now is 3.8 minutes and we hope to lower it to three minutes next year.
"The additional trains will improve frequency and also reliability. We also want to ensure breakdowns do not happen and we can reduce technical problems with the new trains.
"With higher frequencies, the trains will be less crowded and more comfortable for passengers," he said at the Pasar Seni LRT station, here,today.
The new trains could lessen peak hour passenger load which stands at 125 per cent, which is above capacity, to 110 per cent, he added.
It would also able to serve the rise in passengers as reported by Prasarana to the ministry, apart from attracting more to use public transportation, he said.
Loke added that in Dec last year, the line had 38 trains but now 44 are operating daily during peak hours.
Earlier, Loke took a ride on the train travelling from the Universiti LRT to Pasar Seni.
He was joined by Prasarana chairman Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim and president and group chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah.
Meanwhile, Loke said they were pushing for good maintenance and refurbishment culture to ensure trains perform well and reduce breakdowns.
He said Prasarana's maintenance was now measured through the Mean Kilometres Between Failures,a method used to assess the stability and journey of trains before damage occurs.
"Maintenance is the key and we emphasise it to ensure cut breakdowns. With the new trains, we hope it will lessen and lately, the Kelana Jaya LRT line has performed better.
"I am not saying we have reached a satisfactory level yet. But it is much better compared to earlier this year," he added.
Loke said the government will continue to invest in the rail sector, especially Rapid Rail where MRT, LRT lines and monorail services are available in the Klang Valley.
"Moving forward, we will look at more integration (of services) and the final puzzle is MRT 3, which will be decided by the Finance Ministry soon."