Commuters using the LRT at the KLCC Station in Kuala Lumpur today. – Bernama Photo
KUALA LUMPUR (May 25): The collision involving two light rail transit (LRT) trains on the Kelana Jaya line last night was not a hindrance for the people to continue using the public transport.
Library assistant Asfa Abdullah, 24, said she was aware of the incident but still chose to take the train because she believed that accidents are unavoidable whether using public or private vehicles.
“The risk is always there although we are using our own vehicle. However, I hope the passenger safety aspect can be improved to avoid the same incident from happening again,” she told Bernama when met at the KLCC LRT Station today.
For the freshest news, join The Borneo Post Telegram Channel
For a private sector employee, Eliana Masiran, 39, she would definitely continue using the LRT service as it was more convenient, considering that her office is situated in the city centre.
“I used to ride a motorcycle but I choose to take the LRT since I become pregnant because it is safer. Although I have a car, the LRT is more convenient and cheaper,” she said.
Meanwhile, shop assistant Muhd Azlan Elfi Mohd Faizul, 17, admitted that he was worried to take the train following the recent incident and needed some time to build up his confidence to use the service again.
“I am a frequent user from the Damai LRT Station to the KLCC LRT Station except for today, I asked my father to send me to work,” he said.
Information technology administrator Mohd Zubair Ab Ghani, 35, said the train he was travelling on from the Wangsa Maju LRT Station to the Ampang Park LRT Station was quite packed with passengers as it was operating using only one lane.
“The train also stopped for 20 minutes at each station, causing many people to wait and fill up the train space. The usual 15-minute journey has become more than one hour this morning,” he said.
In the 8.45 pm incident yesterday, a total of 213 passengers were injured, 47 of them seriously, following the collision of two LRT trains on the Kelana Jaya line, which occurred in a tunnel between KLCC LRT Station and Kampung Baru LRT Station, involving one train carrying passengers and another train, which was said to have been test-driven following a fault, and carried only a driver.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said that this was the first such incident to occur throughout the 23-year of LRT operation in the country. – BERNAMA