KLANG, Jan 30 — The Fault Free Run (FFR) for the Shah Alam Light Rail Transit Line 3 (LRT3) project is progressing well, with all phases expected to be completed by the end of February, said Prasarana group chief operating officer (Strategy and Development) Dr Prodyut Dutt.

He said the first batch, involving six trains, is currently 99 per cent complete; the second batch, involving eight trains, is at 82 per cent completion; while the third batch, also comprising eight trains, has yet to commence. All three FFR phases are expected to be completed on Jan 30, Feb 2 and Feb 28 respectively.

“After the FFR, the contractor will need to carry out another activity, which is the trial run. We are not fixated on timelines, but on deliverables. The trial run must be completed 100 per cent successfully before Prasarana agrees to take over the system from the contractor, and proceed with the trial operation.

“So while we are targeting the FFR to be completed by Feb 28, there will still be trial runs that the contractor needs to conduct. We have to take one step at a time. As I mentioned earlier, our focus is very much on the deliverables by the contractor, not the timelines,” he said during a media briefing on the progress of LRT3, here, today.

Prodyut said the technical team has also resolved previously identified issues involving signalling software instability, as well as glitches such as software-related problems, train docking issues and departure problems.

He added that the completion of the line is expected to generate about a seven per cent increase in passenger traffic at existing Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations along the Kajang and Kelana Jaya lines, with daily ridership projected to reach 100,000 passengers by 2030.

“Once the trial runs are completed, and all standard operating procedures (SOPs) are refined to cover all possible scenarios - whether a lightning strike or even an obstruction on the track - all test documents must be submitted to the regulator, the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD).

“APAD will have to review all the documents before granting approval. We work very closely with APAD, which is involved in the FFR and will also be involved in the trial runs,” he said.

Last year, Prasarana confirmed that the Shah Alam Line would not commence operations in 2025, due to outstanding system stability and software issues identified during the testing and commissioning (T&C) phase.

Prasarana president and group chief executive officer Amir Hamdan said that the opening date would only be announced once all technical components, including signalling systems, train software and full network integration, are certified to operate reliably in accordance with APAD standards. — Bernama