LRT users call for better track maintenance after Chan Sow Lin derailment

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — Users of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) service on the Ampang/Sri Petaling line want maintenance and repair works on the track system to be improved after a train derailed near the Chan Sow Lin Station this morning.

Sixty-seven-year-old retiree Augustin Francis thought that the news about the incident was fake after being informed by a friend, and chose to use the LRT service to head to the capital city.

“I have been using the LRT service for over 30 years, and it's convenient, but it seems to become outdated. The track, especially, looks like it needs to be replaced because there have been two or three track-related problems before,” he told Bernama when met at the Chan Sow Lin Station here today.

Francis, whose trip to the capital city was delayed by the derailment, hopes maintenance work can be conducted more frequently.

Meanwhile, 36-year-old Norhamirah Hamdi, who wanted to take her children on an outing in view of the school holidays, said she was unaware of the incident until she was informed by auxiliary police personnel.

A Bernama observation also found that repair work was being carried out by Rapid KL at the incident location, about a three-minute drive from the Chan Sow Lin Station towards Cheras.

It was also found that many users still use the train service, which now operates as a shuttle service between Pudu, Chan Sow Lin and Cheras stations.

In addition, auxiliary police personnel and Rapid KL staff are also assisting and guiding users at the stations, and it is understood that repair works are still ongoing. 

Earlier, Bernama reported that a train on the Ampang/Sri Petaling Line derailed this morning while passing through a track-switch area near the Chan Sow Lin station, thereby disrupting service schedules along the affected route.

Rapid KL said in a statement that the incident, caused by a faulty track switch, left the train unable to move.

At the time of the incident, all 25 passengers on board the train were safely evacuated in accordance with operating procedures, and no injuries were reported. — Bernama 

المصدر: Malay Mail