SHODDY maintenance, and not construction work taking place nearby, could be the reason for damaged tracks on the Ampang LRT line near the Bandaraya station, The Vibes reported.

The report, quoting sources, said initial findings revealed that the damage to the rail track and pier were possibly due to inferior maintenance work.

“From our initial study, the lateral force wasn’t caused by the nearby construction site,” a source was quoted as saying.

The Vibes also reported that the matter was discovered after the incident occurred on early Friday morning of January 27, after nearly 14 days of running rail replacements and follow-up work.

Following that, train service between Bandaraya and Masjid Jamek was suspended, affecting nearly 160,000 daily commuters heading to Kuala Lumpur’s central business district.

RapidKL has provided free bus service to the commuters between the affected stations. 

Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd and the Land Public Transport Agency (LPTA) said preliminary checks found the LRT service interruption was caused by damage to the elevated structure carrying the rail tracks, due to construction work adjacent to the area. 

Kuala Lumpur City Hall has issued a stop-work order to the construction of the 44-storey Soho Tower project.

However, sources said “shoddy maintenance work” was the reason for the damage on the track and pier.

“It was first discovered that some of the track callipers were not properly secured because of insufficient bolts and dreadful finishing on the running rail. 

“So when the trains passed by the unsecured running rails, the load of the train kinked the track, caused side force to one of the pot bearings of the guideway, and probably damaged the pier head.

“But so far, the box culvert is not affected,” the source added.

The source also said a preliminary report before the suspension of the Ampang line highlighted the issue of sub-standard track work between the Bandaraya and Masjid Jamek stations.

The Malaysian Insight has contacted the rail service provider for comment. – February 9, 2023.