The government is considering putting up platform screen doors (PSDs) and other safety systems across LRT stations. This follows an incident earlier in the month when a passenger fell onto the tracks at the Abdullah Hukum station, suffering injuries to her head and hands. That being said, costs remain a barrier to actually putting them in place.
According to The Star, Transport Minister Anthony Loke says that “Prasarana has already proposed installing PSDs at platforms, but putting in such barriers is not a simple project, as it involves high costs. All stations would need to be modified, as older designs did not include PSDs. These are only available in newer rail systems such as MRT, but not for older trains, like LRT and monorail”.
This is especially true for surface-level and elevated stations of both LRT lines. The underground stations of the Kelana Jaya line are notable exceptions to this. Technically, the monorail stations have something similar, but they are classified as automatic platform gates (APG) instead.
Beyond barriers, Loke said that the ministry is also exploring the most practical ways to enhance passenger safety. Beyond doors and barriers, this may involve other systems like “sirens, infrared sensors and others that can alert passengers”. He added that “we hope the project can be completed as soon as possible to prevent such incidents from recurring”.
Unfortunately, this recent accident, while not fatal, is itself a recurrence. A similar, but fatal accident happened back in February of last year, when a blind man fell onto the train tracks and was hit by a train at the Titiwangsa LRT station. At the time, PSDs were mentioned as part of long-term efforts to enhance passenger safety.
(Source: The Star [1], [2])
