KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — The monorail operator under state-owned Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd said it will only know by Monday if its rail tracks between the Imbi and Hang Tuah stations, near where a 10-metre deep sinkhole in the city appeared, is safe for its passengers.
Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Khairani Mohamed said it has appointed PJSI Consultants to work with KL City Council’s (DBKL) consultants to determine whether there has been any damage to the rail structure.
“From the quick assessment, before we get a full one from the consultant, it is safe for the vacant trains to move between Imbi and Hang Tuah stations at a speed of no more than 10 kilometres per hour.
“The initial concern from the fire department and engineers was that the train movement might affect the ground structure,” Khairani told reporters here yesterday.
He said based on the consultant’s initial study, five trains on the affected tracks could return to the depot at the Tun Sambanthan stop last night for daily maintenance.
At the moment, two trains are being used between KL Sentral and the Hang Tuah station.
One train is being used to ferry passengers between the Imbi station and the Bukit Nanas Station, and another between the Bukit Nanas and the Titiwangsa station.
He said the bus shuttle service between KL Sentral and the Titiwangsa monorail station would be suspended soon as the ridership is low.
When asked what the impact was to Prasarana since the operations were suspended, he said it was still premature to tell.
“We are calculating the impact in terms of loss of revenue because normally average daily on a weekday, we are getting about 71,000 passengers daily,” he said.
The giant sinkhole in the heart of the national capital’s Golden Triangle shopping and business district appeared early Wednesday morning, affecting a 19-metre stretch at the busy Jalan Pudu-Jalan Imbi-Jalan Hang Tuah intersection.
The sinkhole is believed to have been caused by a burst water pipe owned by utility company Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor. The pipe has since been sealed.
No casualties were reported in the incident, which was not too far from where contractors are preparing for tunnelling works under Bukit Bintang for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project.
