One more year of long queues, 27 new LRTs for KJ line by July 2023

Rapid KL will add 27 new light rail transit (LRT) trains to the Kelana Jaya LRT Line beginning July 2023. Eight new trains will be added in the initial phase while the remaining 19 trains will enter the line in phases by December 2024.

The announcement came from Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong who was visiting the Hartasuma Sdn Bhd production facility in Pulau Indah to witness the trains’ final assembly and bogies’ (the chassis that carries a wheelset) assembly process.

Wee said in a Facebook post on his official page, that the trains must first undergo the due safety processes and run for several thousand kilometres before being allowed to operate. The trains will also have to undergo stringent checks and commissioning tests before entering the line.

The trains were purchased under the Kuala Lumpur Additional Vehicle (KLAV) 27 project valued at RM 1.72 billion. The deal was done in consortium between Hartasuma And Bhd and Alstom S.A., a global rolling stock manufacturer.

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Hartasuma co-founder and executive director Tan Sri Ravindran Menon said bogie assembly for the first eight trains under the KLAV 27 project was done in Mexico, the remaining 19 will be assembled at the facility in Pulau Indah.

On another note, Wee is also happy to announce that another five existing trains are ready to resume operations along the line in August. The five trains will be an addition to the 34 currently operating daily.

More trains will be returned to the line by December. Wee expressed hopes that the return of these trains will mean a shorter waiting time of about three minutes.

In the same report, Wee also noted that the month-long free rides initiative introduced to celebrate the opening of the new Putrajaya MRT Line was a resounding success.

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Daily average ridership in the Klang Valley saw a 16 percent increase, that’s equivalent to 765,743 passengers daily.

Breaking it down, an average of 607,786 passengers rode the train daily, while 15,957 passengers were using the bus daily. This recorded an 18 percent and an 11 percent increase in average daily ridership in trains and buses respectively.

Other than that, Wee noted that the most frequented stops during the free ride period were the Masjid Jamek, KLCC, Pasar Seni, and KL Sentra LRT stations, along with the Bukit Bintang MRT station.

With the data collected, Wee believes that the ministry can also plan public transportation initiatives more optimally.