Rapid Rail, Prasarana’s train service operator, has announced that six stations on the Ampang – Sri Petaling LRT line will be suspended starting 2 April 2023 onwards. The stations involved are Bandaraya, Sultan Ismail, PWTC, Titiwangsa, Sentul, and Sentul Timur – all of which affected by the damaged track between Masjid Jamek and Bandaraya stations that was reported in January, which severed the their connection to other stops on this particular LRT line.
According to the rail operator, it’s due to this disconnection which led to the decision of ceasing all operations for all six stations. More specifically, the remaining trains used for the service between Bandaraya to Sentul Timur stations are said to no longer meet Rapid Rail’s set operating criteria as they’ve not been able to return to the line’s LRT depot in Ampang for proper maintenance since 27 January. As a result, these coaches have been pulled from service for safety reasons.
Prior to this, only a total of five trains were operating between Bandaraya – Sentul Timur stations after the severance from the rest of the Ampang – Sri Petaling LRT line. Due to the lack of access to proper maintenance, three of which were removed from service back in late February, leaving only two left to ferry passengers along the six stations at longer intervals. As of the recent announcement, all five trains have been pulled from service.
PERKHIDMATAN LRT LALUAN AMPANG/SRI
PETALING: PENGGANTUNGAN OPERASI ANTARA
STESEN BANDARAYA DAN SENTUL TIMUR
BERMULA 2 APRIL 2023🔴 Perkhidmatan Bas Perantara Percuma LRT 11,13 dan 14 Diperkenal
🔴Pengguna Disaran Guna Laluan Rel Alternatif pic.twitter.com/mK4mC4Bxg5— Ask Rapid KL (@askrapidkl) March 30, 2023
To meet the needs and facilitate the travel of affected passengers who travel along the suspended stations, Rapid Rail said it will provide free LRT 13 and LRT 14 express bus services starting 2 April, in addition to the existing LRT 11 Bus service. The LRT 13 free express bus will directly connect passengers from the Masjid Jamek station directly to Sentul and Sentul Timur stations, while LRT 14 will travel directly from Masjid Jamek to Titiwangsa. As before, the existing LRT 11 will act as an intermediate bus service that stops at all six affected stations.
All three will operate with a total of 40 buses and a frequency of between 10-15 minutes during peak hours, depending on the current traffic conditions. Seeing that the six stations will cease operations until further notice, Rapid Rail noted that the LRT 9 and LRT 10 bus services which connect Hang Tuah to Bandaraya and Masjid Jamek to Bandaraya respectively will be terminated from 2 April as well.
Affected passengers are also advised to use alternative modes of transportation, including the operator’s monorail and MRT services. More specifically, those who wish to go to Hang Tuah may take the Monorail from Titiwangsa, while those heading to Chan Sow Lin may opt to take the Putraya MRT line, again, via Titiwangsa.
(Source: Rapid Rail [Twitter])
