KUALA LUMPUR: Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd (Rapid Rail) aims to increase its number of passengers by this year to 70 per cent as seen during the pre-pandemic with about 560,000 users.
Rapid Rail's chief executive officer Amir Hamdan said as of yesterday, the number of rail users had reached 45 per cent (360,000 passengers) and continues to significantly increase in line with the reopening of international borders.
"Rapid Rail is confident that city dwellers will return to using public transport as their main mode of travelling as the nation transitions to the endemic phase.
"Starting today, we (Rapid Rail) will be increasing the rail frequency on weekdays and weekends to accommodate the capacity and comfort of increasing users.
"As an example for the Kelana Jaya line, peak hours frequency on weekdays has been reduced to every three minutes," he told reporters after surveying today's trip from the KL Sentral to Masjid Jamek station.
He added that they will also extend the evening peak hours starting this weekend in conjunction with the upcoming Ramadan.
"We will extend the evening peak hours throughout the month of Ramadan from 4.00pm to 7.00pm compared to the usual 5.00pm to 7.30pm.
"It will provide an opportunity and convenience to passengers who want to get food or make preparations for breaking fast with their families at home," he said.
The rail operator encourages city dwellers that frequently use rail services to get an unlimited My50 travel pass to enjoy more benefits.
In addition, Amir said Prasarana Malaysia Bhd (Prasarana) is expected to upgrade all monorails to four-car trains as early as the third quarter of this year, to accommodate passenger capacity.