KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd (Rapid Rail) will ensure the stability and safety of the automatic train control (ATC) system before making a decision to fully open the Kelana Jaya Line Light Rail Transit (LRT) ahead of schedule.

Rapid Rail as the operator of LRT, Mass Transit (MRT) and Monorail services in the Klang Valley also said the opening of the route to the public is also subject to the evaluation and approval of the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD), apart from the tests carried out successfully without any system malfunction.

Prasarana Malaysia Berhad (Prasarana) president and chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said as of today, Rapid Rail has conducted several system and train movement tests to assess stability with the initial test results showing positive signs.

“However, we will still carry out several more tests to ensure that it is stable and complies with our safety standards before resuming operations because rider safety is always a priority.

“I am confident in Rapid Rail’s ability to deal with this problem. Since the system malfunction was detected, initial diagnostic investigations and replacement of ATC system components have been carried out by technical experts and a trained in-house engineering team, together with the OEM (original equipment manufacturer), as the manufacturer of the system,” he said in a statement issued by Rapid Rail, today.

Testing of the system was carried out by the Rapid Rail engineering team together with OEM Thales Group.

Previously, Prasarana announced that operations at 16 LRT stations from Kelana Jaya to Ampang Park were suspended from November 9 to November 15 following services that were found to be unstable.

Earlier, caretaker transport minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said a full test will be carried out tomorrow on the Kelana Jaya LRT line to ensure there is no disruption to the system before the service reopens to the public.

Rapid Rail said the Kelana Jaya Line LRT was opened to the public in 1998 and currently, it is the busiest line of Rapid KL operated rail system.

The ATC system for the route is a system that has been in use for almost 25 years and has indeed been planned for upgrading, but the damage experienced now is an unexpected initial damage.

Last month, Prasarana board of directors had already approved the allocation of RM150 million required for the first phase of upgrading the system. — Bernama