Last month, Rapid KL announced that services for its Ampang and Sri Petaling LRT lines would be disrupted due to a damaged track. Now it seems that commuters will have to tolerate the disruption until September, eight months after the incident occurred.
This was announced by Minister of Transport Anthony Loke during a press conference in Parliament, who gave a thorough explanation of the issue that has resulted in many users having to extend their daily commute time. The last update the public received regarding the matter was almost two weeks ago when the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) said it was still waiting for a full report from Prasarana, which was expected to be completed on 16 February.
According to the minister, the results of the investigation found that the damage to three viaduct structures and the pier of the Bandaraya LRT Station was caused by a “ground movement” believed to be from works on the adjacent construction site. The damage caused parts of the rail track near the station to kink, leading Rapid KL to stop the service between Bandaraya and Masjid Jamek for safety reasons.
On the same day the incident happened, APAD stated that the nearby construction works were carried out without any consultation with it. The discovery of the unpermitted construction resulted in the agency recommending DBKL to halt all construction in the area.
Loke said that Prasarana is in the process of hiring a contractor to carry out renovation work, set to take place in early March. Overall, it will take up to seven months for the project to be completed, including two months for temporary repair work to strengthen the structure and five months for comprehensive renovation work.
To minimise the disruption, Rapid KL has introduced several bus services to ferry passengers between the affected stations, as well as extended the peak hours of the Ampang and Sri Petaling LRT lines. The minister also reminded the public that once Phase 2 of the Putrajaya MRT line starts operating next month, commuters can utilise the Sungai Besi MRT station as an alternative for geting to the KL city centre.
(Source: Anthony Loke/Facebook)
