Recent MRT technical glitches are teething problems, says Nancy Shukri (Updated)
PETALING JAYA: The recent delays in the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) operations are just teething problems which will be addressed and resolved soon, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
She said that minor technical problems are bound to happen since the system is still new.
"It is new to us, definitely there are teething problems. We take note of all the public feedback, which will be very helpful in upgrading the system and service," she told reporters after launching the inaugural seminar on Challenges in Delivering the Klang Valley MRT here yesterday.
Admitting that there is still room for improvement in the public transportation system, Nancy said the relevant authorities will work towards preventing these problems in the future.
"Prevention is always better but sometimes there are teething problems. The complaints will be looked into. It is an ongoing process for us to ensure efficiency," she said.
The Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line was reportedly disrupted yesterday morning due to a technical glitch, causing delays during peak-hour travel.
In a Facebook post earlier yesterday, RapidKL said the MRT Line is experiencing a "signalling issue" between the Pusat Bandar Damansara-Phileo Northbound stations.
At 11am, RapidKL posted an update to the earlier post, informing commuters that the MRT technical team will "de-energise" between these stations for 15 minutes, causing the rest of the line to move slower and stopping longer at each station.
It has also offered affected customers, who decided not to continue their journey a refund at its customer service counters.
"Customers with MyRapid TnG Card/TnG cards need to produce their card via the paid window counter in order to receive a refund voucher and required to tap as normal," it posted.
It was also reported that there were similar technical glitches in the MRT operations on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Nancy the rail system is one of the best mode of transportation that is not just cost and efficient but also environmentally a better choice.
Nancy said that the MRT project was completed amidst many hindrances like land acquisition, explaining to the people, geology issues and underground works.
Noting that despite having fast-tracked the project for better transportation, she admitted that Malaysia is still far behind in terms of transportation system.
“We are looking towards making rail as our backbone of the transportation system,” she said.
As many as 7.4 million people have used the phase one and two of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Sungai Buloh-Kajang line since it began operating on Dec 16 last year said the chief executive officer of Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd Datuk Zohari Sulaiman on Monday.
He said during this period, an average of about 100,000 commuters used the MRT each day on working days while on weekends, the number would rise to about 140,000.