KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd (Rapid Rail) is in the process of receiving 19 new four-car train sets for the Kelana Jaya line through the Kuala Lumpur Additional Vehicles 27 (KLAV27) project.

In a statement today, Rapid Rail said it would receive the new train sets in stages from June 2023 to December 2024, which are set to replace some of the two-car trains in use since 1998.

As for the improvement of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) service, Rapid Rail said that it was still waiting for the delivery of tachometres (a tool used to measure engine rotation speed) which it ordered from a supplier in Europe in mid-May.

"Rapid Rail has received a letter from the supplier stating that the delivery of these spare parts has been delayed from the original schedule of December 2022 due to some issue with the supply of electronic components for the tachometres.

"The spare parts will be delivered stages from now until May 2023. However, Rapid Rail is in discussion with the supplier to speed up the delivery process,” it said.

It added that the replacement of spare parts would be carried out immediately, and the train frequency is expected to return to three minutes by September 2023.

Regarding the improvement of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Kajang Line, Rapid Rail said it had purchased a total of 1,040 new wheel units for the wheel replacement programme, which started in June and is expected to be completed in August 2023.

"This process requires time to ensure that the installation is carried out carefully for the safety of users. Through this process, more trains can operate. Progressive improvements will be visible from now, and train frequency will return to four minutes during peak hours in August 2023,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, for the improvement of the Monorail service, Rapid Rail said that by December this year, a total of eight sets of trains would be operating to allow train frequency to be reduced to a six-minute interval during peak hours.

"The Monorail service now operates using seven sets of trains with a frequency of seven minutes during peak hours and 10 minutes during off-peak hours on weekdays.

"In line with the opening of the MRT Putrajaya Line Phase 2, scheduled for the first quarter of 2023, the Monorail service is expected to operate using 10 train sets with a frequency of five minutes,” it added.

In the meantime, Prasarana has also extended the peak hours for train services from 7am to 9.30am and from 5pm to 7.30pm, in line with the increase in the frequency of Rapid Bus services starting yesterday.

"Rapid Rail will inform the public of the progress of the upgrading process from time to time through social media channels and mass media,” it added. — Bernama