PETALING JAYA: Approximately 12,000 passengers of the LRT Kelana Jaya line were in for a rude shock after their morning commute was disrupted by a stranded train.
In the 8.16am incident yesterday at the Taman Jaya station here, a train headed towards Putra Heights developed hydraulic leaks that resulted in the brakes being automatically applied to prevent it from moving.
In a press briefing, Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd said the incident resulted in only one track left functioning between the Taman Bahagia and Taman Jaya stations.
A check at the Taman Bahagia station also showed crowds of commuters clad in both office and casual attire waiting for the train to arrive, with personnel also stationed to manage the crowds.
Social media users took to online platforms in voicing their dissatisfaction at the situation.
Twitter user @afinahanif tweeted that the train had to break down at the most inconvenient time.
“My instinct was right to drive to the office instead,” she tweeted.
Another user @AzhamMaira tweeted she left Taipan station at 7.40am and only reached the Taman Bahagia station at 8.50am
“The journey from my house to the office goes through 20 stations and every stop takes between five and seven minutes.
“They also just announced that they will be skipping multiple stations,” she tweeted.
Rapid Rail announced that train operations and frequency returned to normal at 1.26pm after its team managed to remove the stranded train, with Rapid Rail CEO Amir Hamdan apologising for the inconvenience.
“We are deeply sorry for those who experienced delays during their commute, especially those heading to work this morning.
“Investigations will be conducted to identify the cause of this issue to ensure it will not be repeated,” he said, adding that affected commuters will receive compensation in the form of a one-way travel coupon.
“Commuters can continue redeeming this coupon from now until this Saturday at any Rapid KL counter. The coupon is valid for use until this Saturday, and is applicable for one-way journeys along all Rapid KL lines,” he said, adding that commuters do not have to show proof when redeeming them.