Kelana Jaya line operation to restart soon, train movement tests proceeding smoothly - Prasarana

PETALING JAYA: Prasarana Malaysia Berhad (Prasarana) is analysing and making improvements by changing the power supply modem device on the automatic train control (ATC) system on the Kelana Jaya Line Light Rail Transit (LRT) train service which is causing service disruption.

Prasarana president and chief executive officer, Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said analysis and improvements were carried out last night.

He said that during the movement test session, the company had carried out a movement test on 10 LRT trains and found that one train had to be controlled manually, but after several tests, it ran smoothly.

"So it is giving a positive sign for the LRT train service to return to operation in the near future.

"However, we are still waiting for the arrival of experts from abroad to jointly help in dealing with the issue," he said in a press conference on the latest development of the LRT train at the Subang Rapid Rail Complex, here, today.

Mohd Azharuddin said Prasarana will conduct more tests before the Kelana Jaya LRT route can operate as required.

"Regarding the system restoration carried out, Rapid Rail has conducted tests of LRT train movement on the Kelana Jaya Line between Ampang Park Station and KLCC Station.

"The test is important for the Rapid Rail engineering side together with the OEM side to analyse the log generated when the test is carried out to ascertain the probability of the cause for further analysis," he said.

He said experts from overseas, namely the Canadian Thales Group, would join Rapid Rail engineering team this evening to analyse the logs generated and identify the components suspected of causing problems to the ATC system.

"We hope that with the help of Thales experts and engineers, we can speed up the ATC system restoration process," he said.

"In addition, our staff are also conducting their own checks at several stations this morning to monitor the situation. So far, it is under control and with the increase in shuttle bus services, the average waiting time for the bus service is five minutes," he said.

On Tuesday, LRT operator Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd announced that unstable ATC had been identified as the cause of disruption to Kelana Jaya Line LRT train services last Saturday and Monday.

LRT services between Kelana Jaya and Ampang Park stations were suspended for seven days starting at 6 am on Tuesday after taking into account passenger safety as well as the time it would take to identify the cause of service disruption.

Following that, Rapid Bus added 20 free shuttle buses to carry affected passengers following the closure of 16 Light Rail Transit (LRT) train stations between Kelana Jaya and Ampang Park starting yesterday.

The government, through Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong yesterday apologised for the inconvenience faced by users of the Kelana Jaya LRT line which is experiencing service disruptions.

-- BERNAMA