16 LRT stations had to be shut down due to a malfunction detected in the automatic train control system last Saturday, Prasarana Malaysia Berhad said today. 

Its president and group chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said that this kind of malfunction had never occurred before. 

He said that their engineers were looking into the matter and so far, were unable to diagnose the root cause of the disruptions. 

“We decided that the best course of action was to temporarily halt the train services for the safety of passengers. 

“We are still trying to identify the real cause of the disruption. The Rapid KL team is currently being assisted by the original equipment manufacturer’s experts to identify short-term and long-term solutions,” he said in a news conference aired on Facebook today. 

He said that 73 feeder buses had been deployed to five different routes along the Kelana Jaya line to ferry commuters to their destinations as a temporary solution, and that more would be added later.

For the ease of commuters, buses will be on two routes between the Ara Damansara and Pasar Seni LRT stations and between the Ara Damansara and Kelana Jaya LRT stations.

The buses will also make stops at every station from Kelana Jaya to Damai.

The approximate frequency of the feeder buses is between 15 and 20 minutes.

Azharuddin said the system needs to be upgraded and RM150 million has been approved for the first phase.

“The Kelana Jaya LRT line has been operating for nearly 25 years. It is an ageing system that needs all its parts, trains and systems replaced.

“It is about time that we change it and we have plans to change it.”

He added that the group was also preparing to add new trains in July 2023. – November 9, 2022.