ETS to offer business class seats soon

KUALA LUMPUR: Come September, commuters on the Electric Train Service (ETS) will have an option of the business class seat, which offers a more comfortable and spacious seating.
Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) chief executive officer Mohd Rani Hisham Samsudin said the first of nine coaches are expected to arrive in September, with the remainder to be received in stages within a period of six months.
"The first one will arrive in September, so we will run the service with that one first before we receive the rest.
"These new coaches will be a bit different from the existing ETS. It will give different experiences, more advantages and comfort to the commuters," he told reporters after a ceremony where 66 KTMB staff received the Pride of Workmanship award from the Rotary Clubs in Malaysia, here today.
He said that the ticket fare had yet to be determined and was still in discussion.
Mohd Rani said the suggested fare must be approved by the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) as KTMB was under the supervision of SPAD.
He said the fare would include the value-added services that they were planning to offer on the long haul board including food serving, blankets for the travellers' comfort, as well as special benefits to accommodate business class passengers.
"We are also planning to provide a special lounge for the business class passengers so while they're waiting for the train, they will be served with refreshments and other amenities," he said,
Mohd Rani said the services would kick off for the Kuala Lumpur-Padang Besar route before it was extended to the other popular routes such as Gemas-Padang Besar, Kuala Lumpur-Ipoh, and Kuala Lumpur-Butterworth if they received a favourable response.
He said all ETS coaches would offer a complimentary wireless Internet service, expected to begin in April.
Introduced in August 2010 and beginning with the Kuala Lumpur-Ipoh route, KTMB currently operates 36 trips daily on its 14 ETS from Gemas to Padang Besar and Padang Besar to Gemas. There are 7,000 passengers using the ETS services daily. — Bernama