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As of December 13, MRT recorded a total of 20,973,206 commuters since it was first launched. — Picture by Yusof Mat IsaKUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 — Turning one today, the Mass Rapid Transit Sg Buloh-Kajang (SBK) Line ferried almost 21 million commuters and it’s an achievement of sorts accompanied by accolades from users.
Phase 1 was opened to the public on December 16 last year, and Rapid Rail chief executive officer Datuk Zohari Sulaiman said many improvements on service performance and travel experience was managed within the year.
The rail operator continues to learn and work closely with contractors to improve the system.
“We continue to strategise to minimise the impact of technical glitches and service hiccups on the public.
“As a result, we have achieved 99.8 per cent in service reliability index within the first year of operations, which is usually difficult to be accomplished by a new sophisticated system like the SBK Line,” Zohari told Malay Mail.
Zohari said various software updates and improvements were made, including adjustments to address deficiencies on system performance, such as the maintenance and engineering works, and the automated fare collection (integrated ticketing) system.
In terms of safety, he said the issue was addressed during the trial operations period and the rail operator continues to improve stability and performance of the services.
In moving forward, Zohari said new fare products would be introduced for RapidKL rail users that have value discount sometime early next year.
“This is would be on top of the existing two-day pass that we have offered for ERL (Express Rail Link) customers.
“During the first month of the opening of Phase 2 in July, the 50 per cent discount offered had successfully achieved its objective to introduce the service to the public from the areas heading towards Kajang,” he said.
As of December 13, MRT recorded a total of 20,973,206 commuters since it was first launched.
Meanwhile, project owner and developer Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd had taken up feedbacks and complaints from the SBK Line to improve the works on the Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) Line, which commenced on September 15.
The SSP Line scheduled to be fully completed in 2022.
Its strategic communications and stakeholder relations director Datuk Najmuddin Abdullah said among the steps taken include engaging more proactively with state assemblymen and MPs to keep them informed on the progress of the project.
He said peoples’ representatives would be an avenue for the public to share their feedback and complaints as well as a mediator for the stakeholders to find a solution to any issues.
Najmuddin said based on users’ experience, the developer had collected complaints pertaining to the design of SBK Line, including weather protection for users (passenger comfort), the width of walkways, provisions for the disabled, improvements on surau (prayer rooms), and toilet facilities.
“All the complaints are currently being addressed in the design of SSP Line stations which is ongoing.
“We try to cater to all the public comments and concerns ever since the First Phase of the SBK Line was launched, and we have been making improvements ever since,” he said.
In terms of construction works, Najmuddin said there was downtime occurrence of the Variable Density Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs), caused by the blockage of the slurrifier box during the mucking out process, which was part of the tunnelling works for the SBK Line.
He said in addressing the matter, modifications to the mucking system of the TBMs was carried out for the SSP Line to increase efficiency.
“The performance of the cutterhead was also improved and enhanced by applying better wear and tear protection,” he said.
In the past year, the MRT project has received several awards for its performance, which includes the Asia Geospatial Excellence Awards 2017 for the Transport Infrastructure and Digital Engineering Technology categories, the Malaysian Construction Industry Excellence Awards (MCIEA) 2017 for Best Major Infrastructure Project category, winner of the Be Inspired Awards 2017 for the Advancements In Rail And Transit category, and top prize winner of the Anugerah Inovasi Perdana Menteri 2017, themed Ideal Iconography Project Management.
Phase 1 of the SBK Line had opened 12 stations from Sungai Buloh to Semantan, covering a distance of 23 kilometres.
The Second Phase of the route opened from Semantan to Kajang station, which was operational since July 17, and included the opening of the Line’s seven underground stations along 9.5km route beneath the city centre.
The entire stretch of the SBK Line runs for 51 kilometres with 31 stations.
The construction of the SBK Line commenced on July 8, 2011.
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