KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — Public transport operator RapidKL has issued a public apology after doors of its driverless train operating on the Kelana Jaya line remained open during operations yesterday.

Taking to Twitter, the operator under Prasarana Malaysia Berhad said the incident was discovered immediately by the Operations Control Centre, and the train was taken out of service less than two minutes after the incident.

It was taken out of service when it reached the Lembah Subang station, located about 900 metres away from the Ara Damansara Station.

“RapidKL apologises over an incident that happened yesterday around 3.01pm on July 26 2021, where the doors of the LRT Kelana Jaya line train remained open during operations after its departure.

Advertisement

“It was then sent to the depot for immediate inspection and further investigation. During the incident, there were seven passengers on board the train. All were evacuated safely,” it said.

It added that the incident is viewed “very seriously” and a detailed investigation is taking place to identify the cause of the issue.

“Appropriate mitigation plans will be implemented to avoid future occurrence,” it added.

Advertisement

The incident was captured by Twitter user Sofeana on her account @perksofbeingsxf, which showed several commuters perplexed by the dangerous occurrence.

She had compared it to the young adult fantasy novel and film franchise Divergent, where jumping into a moving train is part of a bravery initiation rite for the Dauntless faction.

 

 

“There were technical issues with the system because the door closed after we entered the train at Ara Damansara but when it started moving, the door suddenly opened out of nowhere and then when we arrived at the next station Lembah Subang it closed again,” she told Malay Mail.

“When I got out at Lembah Subang there was no announcement about it or RapidKL workers asking us passengers if we’re okay, but there was someone from RapidKL that entered the LRT to check out the door, but that’s about it.

Prasarana owns and operates the country’s urban rail services that include three LRT networks and the KL Monorail, in addition to operating the MRT line.

In May, two LRT trains collided at an underground section near the KLCC station at about 8.30pm: one carrying passengers and another vacant train on a test run.

A total of 213 passengers were affected: 64 passengers were rushed to hospital with six sustaining serious injuries, and three requiring ventilator support.