LRT service disrupted 3 times on 23 March 2010

NOTE 1: If you were affected by the recent LRT disruption, please contact TRANSIT and share your story, by email at klangvalley.transit@gmail.com, tweet to twitter.com/transitmy (@transitmy) or comment in the space below!

NOTE 2: If you have signed up for RapidKL SMS Alerts and email alerts, please let TRANSIT know if you did/did not receive updates during the 23 March LRT Disruptions.

NOTE 3: TRANSIT proposes that the hashtag #LRTdisruption be used by all tweetizens to comment on recent LRT disruptions and update people on future disruptions.

23 March 2010 will not be remembered fondly by public transport users in the Klang Valley, or RapidKL staff.

An astounding 3 separate disruptions to LRT service in 3 separate areas of the Kelana Jaya line left consumers stuck in a terrible mess. Many commuters were stranded or made late for work, classes, meetings and other engagements.

So what happened? According to Prasarana communications, there were 3 separate internal power failures which caused the service disruptions.

We’re not making this up.

Commuters stranded at Damai LRT station (The Star)
By LIM CHIA YING
Photo by ONG SOON HIN
Wednesday March 24, 2010

AN internal power supply problem at the Damai LRT Station caused a major disruption to its Kelana Jaya line services and leaving hundreds of commuters stranded.

Commuter Chin Yow Ming, who was boarding the train at Kerinchi going towards Masjid Jamek for a meeting in Jalan Raja Chulan, said he first heard an announcement that the train was not on schedule due to problems from Wangsa Maju to Ampang.

“I had waited for quite some time and by the time the train arrived, it was rather crowded.

“The LRT stopped longer in every station and we were told to get down at Pasar Seni, which is the station just before Masjid Jamek.

“This is because the LRT is heading back to Kelana Jaya station,” said Chin, 51.

Chin said he was late for his meeting when he arrived at 10.30am.

According to Prasarana group communication general manager Ebi Azly Abdullah, the service disruption happened at about 8.45am between Damai and Wangsa Maju stations due to an internal power problem.

He said shuttle train services were provided from Pasar Seni to Ampang Park and Wangsa Maju to Gombak. Free bus services were also provided to ferry passengers from Ampang Park to Gombak.

“Train services resumed normal operations at 12.44pm,” he said.

However, a second disruption happened again at 2pm, this time between Damai and Gombak stations. A third disruption happened an hour later involving Bangsar and Dang Wangi.

Regular commuter Yew Meng Han, who boards at the Kelana Jaya station to Pasar Seni daily for work, said what was usually a 30-minute journey took her an hour yesterday morning.

She was nonetheless late for work, and even when she was commuting back home from Pasar Seni to Kelana Jaya, the journey took her well over an hour 20 minutes.

This happened during the second disruption in the afternoon.

“It was a long wait, as I left Pasar Seni at 3.15pm and only reached Kelana Jaya at 4.30pm,” said Yew, 40.

Also caught in the delay was Muna Sujak who said she had to wait for 30 minutes at KL Sentral before the LRT finally arrived.

A notice put up at the stations stated that service was delayed due to major technical problem with the automatic train control system, hence trains would be operated manually between stations and will move slower and stop longer at stations.

The service resumed after 5pm.

HASSLE OF BOARDING THREE LRT TRAIN:
Student misses class due to delay caused by power failures (Malay Mail)
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

HAFIZ, a Multimedia University student in Cyberjaya from Setiawangsa, is furious that he missed his 3pm class yesterday due to the late arrival of RapidKL’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) train.

This regular passenger says he usually arrives at his destination 20 minutes to almost an hour ahead of time.

“I had to go through the hassle of boarding and alighting the train three times from Setiawangsa to KL Sentral station,” he says.

“After 15 minutes of waiting, I took the train near my home around 2pm. Then, I had to alight the train at Damai station due to some service interruption.

“I boarded another train at Danai, but it suddenly stopped at the Pasar Seni station, and passengers were asked to disembark and wait for another train.

“Again, I waited and boarded the third train to reach KL Sentral.

“The passengers grew impatient and I could see them becoming angry each time they were asked to alight the train.

“My attendance at university depends on the punctuality of these trains. I just can’t afford to miss another class.”

The statement from Prasarana RapidKL is below:

Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad group communications general manager Ebi Azly Abdullah apologises for the inconvenience caused and says the Kelana Jaya LRT line experienced disruptions yesterday due to several internal power failures.

“The first disruption occurred at 8.45am from Damai to Wangsa Maju, and was rectified at 12.44pm. second, from Damai to Gombak, was rectified at 2pm, and the third from Bangsar to Dang Wangi, was rectified at 5.10pm,” says Ebi Azly.

“While rectification works were ongoing, shuttle services were provided at some locations. Free bus services were also provided to ferry passengers at affected locations. The public was updated progressively through Twitter and SMS alerts during the disruptions.

“To get the latest update on our service status, we also invite our customers to register as a RapidKL online community member on our website (www.rapidkl.com.my) for SMS alerts or follow us on http://www.twitter.com/@myrapidkl.”

[TRANSIT: We recommend that you do this as well – so that you will be aware through SMS or email or twitter if there is a service disruption.]

Ebi Azly says, customers also can call the helpline at 03- 7885 2585 from 7am to 8.30pm on weekdays and 8.30am to 5.30pm on weekends or email them at suggest@rapidkl.com.my for inquiries.

TRANSIT Says:

What can we say? 3 service disruptions in a single day is almost unbelievable and suggests that there are serious problems in maintenance at RapidKL.

TRANSIT calls on the Department of Railways to invite an internationally recognized railway safety systems auditor to come and do an honest, fair audit of RapidKL’s Kelana Jaya line as well as RapidKL communciations in general and emergency management communications in particular.

In addition TRANSIT calls on the Department of Railways to reveal the results of all reports on past LRT service disruptions to Parliament.

TRANSIT also calls on the government of Malaysia to create an independent monitoring team for public transport services, which would be aligned to the new Public Land Transport Authority (SPAD).

What else? We call for a serious and public apology from Dato’ Idrose Bin Mohamed, Prasarana Managing Director.

LRT disruptions cause major inconvenience to the public and lead to congestion, lost time, and additional stress and frustration. Prasarana and RapidKL have been given the mandate to provide public transportation in the Klang Valley and they cannot ignore their responsibility to the public and their paying customers.

You can also see what commuters had to say on twitter. Just search for “MyRapidKL” or “LRT Disruption” to get an idea.
Finally, once again TRANSIT asks that, if you were affected by the recent LRT disruption, please contact us by email at klangvalley.transit@gmail.com, tweet to twitter.com/transitmy (@transitmy) or comment in the space below.