SEPANG: Passenger capacity of the KLIA Ekspres and Transit service will increase by 50 per cent with the introduction of an additional six train sets which will commence operations tomorrow (Wednesday).
At the unveiling of the six train sets here at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) today, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said he was confident that Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERL) would be able to increase its passenger numbers, with the introduction of these new trains.
He said the ERL will also increase the frequency on KLIA Transit during peak hours starting tomorrow from 20 minutes and 15 minutes, to be on par with its KLIA express service.
"With a total of 18 trains, we are hopeful that we could offer better services and comfort to the people which in turn would retain their trust and increase the ridership numbers.
"To date, ERL had extended its services to some 88 million passengers while at the same time managing to reduce traffic congestion," he added.
The trains which were manufactured by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Company Limited of China (CRRC Changchun), was bought by ERL in 2014 to accommodate the strong demand and improve passenger comfort.
For this year, ERL is targeting an increase in ridership of five per cent this year from the 23,900 daily ridership recorded last year.
"Since the fare hike in 2016 increased, the ridership had seen a 19 per cent reduction.
"Although the number of passengers using the train services had increased slightly, we hope to increase it further this year," he added.
Liow is hopeful that the people would be provided with better connectivity through the enhancement of existing services, such as through the High Speed Rail (HSR) services.
"Apart from connecting Singapore and Malaysia through HSR which is expected to be completed in 2026, we are now in discussion with our Thai counterpart to expand HSR to Bangkok and eventually to China in the long run.
"The transport ministries in both countries had established a committee to discuss the initiative. The discussion is currently in initial stages," he added.
In conjunction of the launching of the six new train sets today, Liow also announced that ERL will be offering free train rides on both KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit services for families with children under the age 12 throughout this weekend (March 17 and March 18).
On a separate matter, Liow said that the delay of KTM Bhd (KTMB) trains services of late, was due to the closure of one of its tracks.
"In efforts to provide efficient train services to the people, the government had allocated RM14 billion to upgrade KTM services in the country.
"In light of this, we had also closed one of the train tracks for the improvement and maintenance works to be carried out.
"I hope the people will understand and bear with us as we promise the services will be much better after the upgrade is completed.
"In the meantime, we will keep informing on the schedule of the train from time to time in case of any delay. With this, we hope people can plan their trip better," he added.