KUALA LUMPUR: AN improved network of public transport, particularly in the Klang Valley, has contributed to a decline in the number of people using major highways.
While PLUS Malaysia Bhd has confirmed this in an interview with the New Straits Times on Friday, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) chief executive officer Mohd Rani Hisham Samsudin believes that the rising popularity of its train services for the north-south route is one of the factors contributing to the reduced number of road users.
Rani told the New Sunday Times yesterday train services had become more efficient, providing an alternative to the people here who want to travel north.
“As our rail services have become more efficient and reliable, people prefer to use public transport so that they don’t have to go through traffic jams and search for parking spots. They can also do other things while travelling on trains, such as working on their laptops or reading.”
Statistics on the declining number of motorists are not available yet.
Rani said KTMB was always improving its services to ensure it was the choice of the people.
“What’s important in the train industry is the connectivity for the first mile from home to station, and the last mile from the station to the office. What this means is time saved for our passengers. Our No. 1 goal is to be punctual.”
He said KTMB also strived to make its services more reliable and accessible.
“We have introduced a cashless payment system via Touch ‘n Go, MyKad and Comlink cards, which people can buy from us.”
Rani said further improvement was in the area of passenger services.
“The ‘live’ announcements, comfortable seats and smooth journey are some of our priorities.”
He said KTMB planned to introduce a ticketing app soon for people to buy tickets online and get updates in real time.
“The app is still being tested, so members of the public have to be patient,” he said.
KTMB also hopes to address issues of overcrowding on trains, especially in the northern region.
“I am aware of the problems, especially on the Padang Besar-Butterworth route. There was feedback that the trains were too packed.
“We did not expect such an encouraging response to our trains from people in the northern region. We are aware that there are people who live in Alor Star or Perlis and work in Penang, which explains why the trains are packed to the brim.”
He said last year KTMB added three sets of trains, with six coaches per set, to meet the demand as the number of passengers had increased from 15,000 to 17,000 daily.
“Even the additional coaches are not enough to cater for daily commuters. We are waiting to purchase new trains but that will take a while. We have made a request to the government.
“For the time being, we are adding more frequencies to the service. We hope the public can be patient with us.”
Rani also welcomed the government’s announcement to resume the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) as the Mentakab and Bangi/Kajang stations will connect with its train lines to the east coast.
“The Bangi/Kajang station will connect to our electric train service and Komuter lines, while the Mentakab station will connect to our intercity lines from Gemas, Negri Sembilan, Johor Baru or Tumpat.
“The Gemas and Johor Baru double-tracking project is also being completed ahead of time. Things are moving well in that respect.”
On KTMB’s arrangement with State Rail of Thailand, he said both companies were in discussions to have a single ticketing system.
“We hope passengers would be able to buy a single ticket for journeys from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur.”
Earlier, the Transport Ministry's deputy secretary general (management) Datuk Jana Santhiran Muniayan launched the “KTMB & Anda Wilayah Tengah 2019” programme at KL Sentral station, here.
