PETALING JAYA: Rapid KL is rolling out sweeping upgrades of its rail network to boost reliability and safety, following a series of service disruptions that left commuters stranded across the Klang Valley.
Rapid Rail acting CEO Nor Azmi Mohd Yusof said the improvements cover fleet modernisation, signalling upgrades, maintenance reform and commuter safety enhancements.
He said the company has completed the delivery of 27 new train sets for the Kelana Jaya Line, with another 26 to be procured to replace ageing units that have reached the end of their service life.
“The government has approved an allocation of RM1 billion for this project. These 26 new train sets will replace older ones that have reached their full life cycle, ensuring smoother operations and better reliability for years to come.”
Rapid KL is also upgrading the signalling system across 27 stations on the Kelana Jaya Line under Phase 3 of ongoing works, scheduled to continue until November.
“The upgrades will require temporary morning service suspensions on selected weekends for testing and installation,” Nor Azmi said, adding that the goal is to strengthen system resilience and prevent recurring faults.
He acknowledged several incidents in recent months, including a Sept 23 outage on the Putrajaya Line caused by a high-voltage cable failure and an Oct 9 short circuit on the Kelana Jaya Line triggered by a foreign object, which halted services for two hours.
“To prevent recurrence, we
have adopted condition-based maintenance, monitoring system health and taking early intervention before failures occur.
“We have also set up a Failure Review Panel to identify root causes and ensure corrective action is taken swiftly.”
Rapid KL is also establishing a system analytics centre for
real-time performance monitoring and a centralised calibration and repair centre to reduce reliance on external servicing.
On safety, Nor Azmi said temporary platform barriers will soon be installed at the Ampang and Kelana Jaya stations, to be followed by full platform screen doors.
“These lines still lack platform gates, so we are addressing that gap to enhance safety, especially during peak hours,” he said.
Rapid KL recorded an 11% rise in weekday ridership to 1.03 million passengers as of September, with
the highest daily record at 1.17 million in August.
The company aims to reach 1.35 million daily riders by December through ongoing system upgrades and reforms.
