Rapid KL assures commuters Kelana Jaya Line frequency will be maintained

PETALING JAYA: Rapid KL Sdn Bhd assures passengers that their train services will not be disrupted as frequencies will be maintained to cater to commuters.

Chief executive officer Amir Hamdan apologised for the disruption to the Kelana Jaya Line on Friday (May 20) when a carriage broke down at KL Sentral, disrupting travel for some 22,100 users.

ALSO READ: LRT train breaks down at KL Sentral

“At 4.32pm, the Operating Control Centre (OCC) received a notification that there was a brake issue involving train 62 at LRT Pasar Seni.

“As a safety precaution, passengers were offloaded and the train was driven manually.

“When it reached KL Sentral, the brake system on train 62 experienced a hydraulic leak, resulting in it being unsafe even to be driven manually.

“So we decided to remove the train from the tracks to a pocket track near the LRT University station,” he said in a press conference here Saturday (May 21).

ALSO READ: Rapid Rail gives out one-way travel coupon to commuters affected by disruption at LRT Kelana Jaya

Following this, Amir added that the OCC had then decided to cut off power supply to allow engineers to carry out inspections on the train.

An alternative route was activated between the LRT Bangsar to LRT Pasar Seni stations to ferry affected passengers, he added.

ALSO READ: Technical issues cause disruptions on LRT Kelana Jaya line

“Services resumed at 6.36pm after train 62 was transferred to the pocket track.

“We are in the process of progressive brake system replacement and repair works which began in October 2021.

“We have reached 39% of the works on the 818 Innovia Mark II Armada Bombardier trains, which is scheduled to be completed on Nov 30,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rapid KL Kelana Jaya Line chief engineer Leman Zakaria explained the power cut was needed to allow the technician to release the brake caliper manually which is under the train.

ALSO READ: Train frequency on LRT Kelana Jaya line back to normal after 2pm: Rapid Rail

He explained that unlike normal cars, the brake pads on the system were always in applied mode, a default safety system especially if there was a leak.

“We are progressively repairing the brake calipers during the overhaul period. It is a complicated process that requires experts to carry out.

“All trains have brake calipers but the ones with issues are the 818 Innovia Mark II Armada Bombardier trains.

“This involves a total of 27 trains. As such, we are currently carrying out overhauls on 432 brake calipers. We have completed 170 overhauls.

“In one week, we aim to overhaul about 10 brake calipers,” he said.

The incident on Friday made a buzz on social media with many users venting out their frustration.

This came after several similar disruptions had taken place recently.