Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin said services for the two stretches of the route were now temporarily closed for the repair works. — Borneo Post Online pic
KOTA KINABALU, July 1 — Repair works to the railway track between Tenom and Pangi and at Rayoh, damaged by floods last May, are on-going and expected to be completed in two months.
Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, who is also state Works Minister, said services for the two stretches of the route were now temporarily closed for the repair works.
“The stones around the railway sleepers were drifted away by the flood waters while the riverbanks at KM14, Rayoh and KM124 and KM130 Pangi collapsed, causing severe damage to the railway track there,” he said.
However, Bung Moktar asked that the contractor involved build a temporary track for the affected stretches to enable the services to run as usual.
He said for the convenience of residents in the affected areas, the Sabah State Railway Department (JKNS) had provided two inspection trolleys at Rayoh and Pangi in place of the passenger train service.
Bung Moktar was responding to a viral video on media social recently where residents were forced to use a trolley to get to Tenom town to buy necessities or bring their produce to the market.
He said the trolleys provided by JKNS could each carry only six to eight passengers at any one time and ready for emergency use for residents in the affected areas.
He added that JKNS was working at providing more trolleys operating according to the Rayoh-Tenom rail service schedule and adhering to the standard operating procedure (SOP) set, and urged residents to be patient under the circumstances. — Bernama