PETALING JAYA: Work to clear the stretch of the LRT Kelana Jaya line affected by a head-on collision on Monday is proceeding at full steam, says Prasarana Malaysia Bhd.
A team consisting of staff from three different departments was deployed the same night of the incident, and work continued non-stop to ensure the LRT line is back to its full capacity.
Monday evening’s collision between two trains – one off service and the other carrying passengers – caused both trains to be derailed within one of the two tunnels running through the stretch from Kampung Baru to KLCC.
A limited passenger service is still running using the unaffected tunnel.
“The recovery work is progressing well and is expected to be completed within three days as announced by the Transport Minister (on Tuesday), ” said the statement yesterday.
The most challenging part of the recovery work is separating the coaches before lifting them back onto the track.
Both trains involved in the accident are four-car sets, giving a combined total of eight cars, though only six of them derailed.
Prasarana said five coaches were successfully lifted and placed back on the track on Tuesday, while the last coach was expected to be recovered yesterday evening.
The recovered coaches will be brought back to the depot at Lembah Subang.
Although the accident was on the Kelana Jaya line, Prasarana ordered all staff from its other lines such as the LRT Ampang/Sri Petaling line, the MRT Kajang and Putrajaya lines, as well as Kuala Lumpur Monorail, to assist.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong made a visit to the Kelana Jaya line operation control centre (OCC) at Lembah Subang to get a better view of operation matters.
“I’m happy to note that the debris clearing works ongoing now are moving quite fast and orderly at the incident site.
“Prasarana will conduct tests after service hours to ensure that the entire line is safe to be operated, particularly at the affected stretch
“All 58 trains are expected to be operable again very soon to avoid further inconvenience to passengers, ” he posted on Facebook yesterday, where he expressed satisfaction with the pace of site recovery and service restoration.
“The OCC as well is operating fine in terms of signalling, communications, and always with safety of the passengers in mind along the 46km route through 37 stations.
“Once again, let me ask everyone, especially train riders, for your patience. At the same time, all public transport operators must adhere strictly to the SOP against Covid-19 as stipulated by the National Security Council and the Health Ministry.”
