The Kuala Lumpur Monorail is set to transform its service and operations with the delivery of its first set of 12 four-car trains today.   

In a statement in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana) indicated that the new train sets would increase peak hours passenger capacity from 214 to 430 per train.

    

It would also address the current problem of over-crowding on the Rapid KL Monorail Line, which is managing an average daily ridership of 72,000 passengers, the statement said.

    

The new trains are also fitted with better safety features, including open-door windows, on-board close circuit TVs and 'run-flat' features which allow the vehicles to continue moving despite a puncture.               

    

"With this 'run-flat' feature, the trains can at least move to the nearest station in such instances and passengers will no longer be stranded to wait for rescue," said Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Khairani Mohamed.

                           

Rapid Rail is the operator of the KL Monorail service in addition to the LRT services of Prasarana, namely the Ampang and Kelana Jaya Lines.     

The statement said the new trains would be delivered in stages to the monorail depot in Brickfield from the manufacturing plant in Rawang with the final sets scheduled for February 2015.

    

According to Khairani, the new four-car trains are expected to be in proper operation by the third-quarter of this year after dynamic testing including running tests on the main-line outside of operational hours.

- Bernama