LRT Ampang/SP Line: 24 mins frequency between Sentul, Bandaraya; 2 remaining trains to take turns – paultan.org

The two remaining LRT Ampang/Sri Petaling Line trains out of five that are still operating on the stretch between Sentul Timur and Bandaraya will take turns running to prolong their lifespan. As such, the frequency for this stretch is now 24 minutes, double of the 12 minutes that was announced on Friday.

Rapid KL says that the decision to use the two remaining trains more sparingly is to ensure that they can continue to operate at an optimum level – this will help avoid the full closure of the LRT stations between Sentul Timur and Bandaraya. This pattern starts today.

Here’s the context. Last week, Rapid KL announced that three out of five trains serving the stretch between Sentul Timur and Bandaraya were out of action due to safety reasons, leaving just two operational trains.

The reason is unavoidable. The LRT line was effectively split into two overnight following the structural and track damage that happened on January 27, with trains turning back to where they came from at Bandaraya and Masjid Jamek (the damaged section is between these two stops).

Since then, the five trains that have been “stuck” between Sentul Timur and Bandaraya have not been able to return to the LRT depot in Ampang for maintenance, and three units have been taken out of service because they no longer fulfil the criteria for operations. For safety reasons, basically. If the two remaining trains do the maximum shift, they will soon be out of action too.

To mitigate, Rapid KL introduced a free shuttle bus between Sentul Timur and Bandaraya. The LRT11 route was rolled out last week with 10 buses and will stop at Sentul Timur, Sentul, Titiwangsa, PWTC, Sultan Ismail and Bandaraya stations. The journey from Sentul Timur to Bandaraya is expected to take 30 minutes.

From today, there will be 15 buses serving this route with a frequency of 10 minutes. Rapid KL says that DBKL will support this initiative with a special lane to smoothen flow. Hang on in there, two surviving trains.

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