KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — The 12 sets of four-coach monorail trains which are expected to be operational by the end of next year, will not only provide more comfort but will also have advanced safety features for passengers.

Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd chief operating officer for Monorail Line, Mohd Ariffin Idris said as the four-coach train operations go full swing, it would activate the automatic gate system on the platforms.

He said currently, the system was not fully functional at all stations due to the different types of trains used. 

“Currently, the monorail service operates with five sets of four-coach and two-coach trains respectively, and the way they operate is different. Hence, the gates are always open,” he told Bernama.

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Mohd Ariffin hoped with the activation of the automatic gate system, there would be no more cases of people falling onto the monorail track.

He added that, 18 such cases involving five people with disabilities and 13 members of the public have been reported since 2016.

“While waiting for the system to fully function, we are placing auxiliary police personnel at all stations to assist passengers, especially the disabled, besides monitoring their safety,” he said, adding that the company would continue upgrading facilities for them at each station.

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At the same time, Mohd Ariffin was confident that the use of all four-coach trains would double the number of passengers.

“We will add another seven sets of four-coach trains thus increasing passenger capacity from 214 to 430 people during peak hours,” he said.

As the monorail will be celebrating its 17th anniversary on Aug 31, Mohd Ariffin stressed that the company was very concerned about passenger safety.

He opined that the monorail service was still relevant and should be retained, or even expanded to other cities such as Johor Bahru, Penang and Kota Kinabalu.

“Besides improving the people’s quality of life, monorail service would help prevent them from getting stuck in traffic jams thereby saving on travel costs,” he said.— Bernama