RESTORATION work to clean up the tracks at the Rawang train station, which was affected when a crane used for the construction of a multi-level car park collapsed yesterday, is expected to be completed within 24 hours.

Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) Group chief executive officer Mohd Rani Hisham Samsudin said the restoration work involved reinstalling broken cables, replacing damaged components and testing the electricity supply to the overhead line.

“Following this incident, both tracks are not safe for use and we are still evaluating the cost of repairing the overhead line,” he told a media conference at the site of the incident today.

Rani said the 5.33pm incident at KM355.749 of the tracks between Rawang and Kuang severed the overhead line.

“The construction crane sank at the site and tilted towards the tracks, causing the upper part of the crane, the cables and components to break and fall on the overhead line and railway track,” he said.

Rani said no injuries were reported but the incident disrupted the Klang Valley electric train (ETS) and KTM Komuter services for the KL Sentral-Tanjung Malim-KL Sentral line as well as cargo train services, resulting in delays of more than two hours.

“A total of 10,000 people were affected yesterday – 7,000 Komuter and 3,000 ETS passengers.

“As such, until train operations are fully restored, KTMB expects 20,000 Komuter and 10,000 ETS passengers to be affected, involving 32 ETS and 46 Komuter services for the Tanjung Malim-Port Klang-Tanjung Malim sector,” he said.

Rani said that as a preliminary measure, KTMB has isolated the electricity supply to the affected line to ensure the area is safe for restoration works and to avoid any untoward incidents.

It has also provided 24 shuttle buses to ferry passengers to the nearest stations for them to continue with their journey.

“For now, the Padang Besar-Gemas ETS line service ends at the Tanjung Malim station, (from there) passengers will board the shuttle buses provided, which will take them to the Sungai Buloh station, to continue their journey to KL Sentral and Gemas. 

“For the Gemas-KL Sentral-Butterworth and Gemas-KL Sentral-Padang Besar lines, meanwhile, passengers will ride the ETS train from KL Sentral to the Sungai Buloh station before being taken by bus to the Tanjung Malim station to continue their journey to their respective destinations via the ETS train on the unaffected lines,” he said.

Rani said those who do not wish to continue their journey could obtain an immediate refund through KTMB Wallet. However, they would have to contact the company’s staff at the station by calling the KTMB call centre at 03-2267 1100 or via KTMB’s social media accounts. – Bernama, December 13, 2023.