KUALA LUMPUR, 10 January – After more than three weeks at sea, three days at West Port in Port Klang and a challenging six-hour ride to the city, the first of Prasarana Malaysia Berhad (Prasarana) new six-car Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) has finally arrived at Rapid KL LRT Depot in Ampang and ready to commence testing in a week’s time. The first of a fleet of 50 new sets, the LRVs, which are procured from world renowned train manufacturer CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co (CSR), will replace the current six-car trains, which had been servicing the LRT Ampang Line since 1996; tracing back to the days of the old STAR-LRT service. “Today is a very significant day for us at Prasarana. With the arrival of the first set, we could now start our testing and commissioning works, which is vital in preparation for the full replacement of the trains, which will done in stages within two years. “As the first train, we would be conducting the type and integration tests apart from the routine test for all the new trains. These data would be vital for our suppliers and would set pace for the exercise,” says Prasarana Group Director for Project Development, Dato’ Ir. Zohari Sulaiman. Zohari was joined at Ampang LRT Depot today by Prasarana Group Director for Rail Division, Haji Khairani Mohamed, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd. According to Zohari, immediately after completion of the unloading of the train set, the team would work in re-assembling the six-car set and conduct an open case inspection before commencing the tests. “We are looking at a period of about one week before we would be conducting the necessary tests,” he said, adding that the next train set was scheduled to be delivered by the middle of next month. An investment of about RM1 billion, the purchase of the 50 new trains is one of the many initiatives undertaken by Prasarana in elevating further the standard of public transport services in Klang Valley in particular to provide better travelling experience for the passengers. While 30 sets are purchased to replace the existing fleet of trains at the LRT Ampang Line, the remaining 20 LRVs are procured under the LRT Line Extension Project (LEP), which is another massive multi-million project by Prasarana to transform the city’s public transport services. “We are hoping to have six new sets of six-car LRVs by the time we commence the first phase of Ampang LRT Line Extension Project at the end of October. The first phase would involve the opening of four new stations – Awan Besar, Muhibbah, Alam Sutera and Kinrara BK5. “Under our arrangement with the manufacturer, the first 35 LRVs would be delivered as CBU (complete-built units) from China. The last 15 will be locally assembled at the CSR Zhuzhou plant Batu Gajah as to meet the local content requirement,” he added. The new LRV sets, which meet the latest international safety standards, are equipped with universal access features including six compartments for wheelchairs. It also allows commuters to walk from one end of the train to another as the new Ampang LRV now comes with a walkthrough gangway. Zohari said the user-friendly coach design was developed based on passengers’ feedback, adding that several new features that are not found in the first-generation Ampang Line trains had been incorporated. “These include the end-destination display in the coaches, with an integrated dynamic route map,” he said, adding that the new LRV has a lifespan of 30 years and needs to be refurbished once it reaches half its service life. In addition to space for disabled passengers that is not found in the existing trains, the LRVs are equipped with CCTV cameras as additional safety measures. The LRT Ampang Line currently serves some 200,000 passengers per day.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 08:16:26 +0000
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