KTMB provides a record 347,000 seats for the long holiday period, marking its largest capacity increase to meet surging demand from overlapping public holidays.
KUALA LUMPUR: Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) is providing 347,000 seats for the upcoming long holiday period, marking the largest capacity increase in the company’s history.
The move aims to accommodate an extraordinary surge in demand following the overlap of three major public holidays within a two-week period, namely Hari Raya Aidiladha, Wesak Day and the Official Birthday of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.
KTMB Group chief executive officer Datuk Azlan Shah Al Bakri said the capacity provided for the festive season has surpassed the company’s previous records for train services.
“This time, we are facing an extended holiday period and are providing the highest number of tickets ever for Hari Raya Aidiladha, even exceeding ticket sales during the recent Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
“We are providing 347,000 seats compared with 150,000 during the previous festive season, meaning the current capacity has increased by more than twofold,” he told Bernama when met at KL Sentral here today.
Azlan Shah said that of the tickets covering more than 900 train trips, nearly 80 per cent or 270,000 tickets have already been sold. However, between 60,000 and 70,000 tickets are still available for purchase.
He said tickets for the East Coast sector involving the Ekspres Rakyat Timuran service have been fully sold out, while the southern sector (Kuala Lumpur-Johor Bahru) recorded 88 per cent sales and the northern sector (Kuala Lumpur-Padang Besar) reached 82 per cent.
To help ease travel costs for those returning to their hometowns, KTMB has also introduced the MADANI30 programme, allowing passengers to enjoy a 30 per cent discount subject to certain terms and conditions.
“For the Ekspres Lambaian Aidiladha (ELA) service, we are also offering a 30 per cent discount under the superior seat category to help ease the burden on the people and assist them in travelling to their destinations,” said Azlan Shah.
On operational readiness, he assured that all technical aspects have been fully activated, including the availability of train sets, tracks, signalling systems and business continuity plans, to ensure passenger comfort and safety.
He also stressed that issues involving fake tickets would not arise due to the use of ticketless boarding systems via smartphone applications and the Open Payment System implemented by KTMB.
