KOTA BARU, Oct 7 — Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) has doubled its seating capacity by using a twin set of Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) trains that can accommodate 416 passengers compared to only 208 passengers for its Tumpat-Dabong route during the weekends and public holidays.

Its chief executive officer, Mohd Rani Hisham Samsudin said this was to meet the high demand after passenger statistics showed a 300 per cent increase for this route from September to October, this year.

“This special twin set will be used for the East Shuttle Number 55 and 56 service for the Tumpat to Dabong route and vice versa every weekend (for the state), namely Fridays and Saturdays, as well as on public holidays. The trains will commence operations tomorrow and on Saturday (October 8 and 9).

“The use of this DMU twin set is to meet the high demand (of passengers), especially on weekends and public holidays,” he said in a statement, today.

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He said Dabong is also now a tourist attraction that made people want to experience a train ride that offers attractive scenery, comfort and safety at affordable ticket prices.

“KTMB would also like to remind passengers to be seated according to their allocated seat number. This reminder is due to complaints from passengers who are unable to occupy their designated seats, causing inconvenience to passengers,” he said.

He also advised passengers to buy round-trip tickets and plan their journey in advance as return tickets may run out.

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In the meantime, he said KTMB is very committed to ensuring that every train goes through a sanitation process on a regular basis to ensure the well-being and safety of passengers when using the public transport service.

“KTMB users are also advised to adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOP) set, apart from ensuring that they have been fully vaccinated with the Covid-19 vaccine, and to produce a vaccination card or digital certificate as well as an identity card as proof.

“Besides that, KTMB passengers also need to do a body temperature check and to scan the MySejahtera application,” he added. — Bernama