KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) will increase its daily Electric Train Service (ETS) trips to 58 during the Chinese New Year period, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said today.

Speaking at a press conference at KL Sentral, Loke said the move is aimed at accommodating higher passenger demand during the festive season.

He said KTMB has opened ticket sales for ETS, KTM Intercity and Shuttle Tebrau services for February 2026 since November 17 last year to allow travellers to plan ahead.

“With the introduction of one new ETS3 set, KTMB will add 16 additional ETS trips for the Chinese New Year celebration, including two extra trips to Padang Besar,” he said.

Loke said the additional services will provide 5,040 extra seats from February 15 to 22, with ticket sales having started at 12.15am today.

“For this year’s CNY celebration, KTMB is offering a total of 183,324 tickets, which marks a 28 per cent increase in ticket availability compared to last year, with 51,444 additional tickets made available. 

“In comparison, only 8,820 extra tickets were provided during the 2025 Chinese New Year,” Loke said.

He added that this represents a 483 per cent increase in the number of additional ETS tickets year-on-year.

The expansion comes after KTMB received operational approval for its eighth ETS3 train set, allowing for near 24-hour ETS operations.

Loke said the move is part of KTMB’s efforts to meet festive travel demand and ease traffic congestion.

Also present were Transport Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Jana Santhiran Muniayan, KTMB director Datuk Ahmad Redza Abdullah and chief executive officer Datuk Azlan Shah Al Bakri.