Trial run: Rapid Rail train driver Azura Ahdi getting ready to test one of the new six-car trains on the Sri Petaling line.
KUALA LUMPUR: LRT commuters are one step closer to an uninterrupted ride from Sentul Timur to Putra Heights.
This follows the smooth progress of upgrade works to the train signalling system on the Sri Petaling and Ampang lines.
Commuters will not have to get down at the Sri Petaling station to change trains when travelling along the 37km Sri Petaling line nine days from now.
By then, the journey time from Sentul Timur to Putra Heights will be 65 minutes – with fares as low as RM3.50 for an adult.
The first phase of work to change the system began right after train services ended on the first day of Hari Raya, and is expected to be completed by tonight.
The second or final phase of migration will take place over several hours next Saturday.
“We would like to remind the public that following the re-signalling, the service from Sentul Timur to Putra Heights will be called the Sri Petaling line (or brown line, as per the colour scheme), while the one from Chan Sow Lin to Ampang will be known as the Ampang line (or yellow line),” said Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd CEO Ahmad Nizam Mohamed Amin in a statement.
The signalling system change involves the migration from an antiquated system to the now-standard communications-based train control (CBTC).
CBTC is a railway signalling system that makes use of the telecommunications between the train and track equipment in order to determine the position of a train more accurately compared to traditional signalling systems.
This detailed knowledge helps operators increase capacity by adding more trains to the line, while maintaining safety.
In Rapid Rail’s case, the complete unrolling of CBTC will enable more six-car trains – fondly known as Amy – to be deployed to replace nearly 20-year-old original trainsets.
The injection of new trains will take place progressively from now until December, and this will bring down peak hour waiting time to as short as three minutes.
