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| Long way to go: There is still a lot of repair work in store for the badly damaged KTMB East Coast Line railway track before it can resume service. |
KUALA LUMPUR: It may be two more years before people can ride the interstate train from Kuala Lumpur to Tumpat in Kelantan.
The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) said the track was damaged by the massive floods that hit the country last year and would take a year to repair.
“The Transport Ministry is working on awarding (the contract) and going through procurement now,” SPAD chief executive Mohd Nur Ismal Mohd Kamal told reporters here.
He added that restoring the track would cost some RM300mil. SPAD officials were not certain if the work was going to start this year, indicating that the details of the contract had not been worked out.
SPAD rail division chief Yuslizar Daud said: “We’re hoping that it will start this year.” Testing the track would take at least two months before the service is resumed.
The damage to the 526km track, known as the East Coast Line, was so bad that part of the railway bridge near Kemubu was swept away.
The Manek Urai to Gua Musang section of the track was worst hit, with parts of the track damaged or covered by landslides.
Yuslizar said some 1,500 people had used the line daily prior to the floods, with 12 rides (six Tumpat-bound and six Gemas-bound) each day.
Most of those affected were schoolchildren and small-time traders who depended on the train to travel to villages accessible only by winding rural roads.
Even when completed, the track would not be in tip-top condition as rehabilitation work on the aging line had to be postponed due to the floods.
It is also understood that rehabilitation of the track would run parallel with the repair work, and may take 30 months to complete and cost RM370mil.
Once the track is restored, it will take 12 hours for people to travel from Kuala Lumpur to Tumpat. Once it is fully rehabilitated, the journey may only take six to seven hours.
The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) said the track was damaged by the massive floods that hit the country last year and would take a year to repair.
“The Transport Ministry is working on awarding (the contract) and going through procurement now,” SPAD chief executive Mohd Nur Ismal Mohd Kamal told reporters here.
He added that restoring the track would cost some RM300mil. SPAD officials were not certain if the work was going to start this year, indicating that the details of the contract had not been worked out.
SPAD rail division chief Yuslizar Daud said: “We’re hoping that it will start this year.” Testing the track would take at least two months before the service is resumed.
The damage to the 526km track, known as the East Coast Line, was so bad that part of the railway bridge near Kemubu was swept away.
The Manek Urai to Gua Musang section of the track was worst hit, with parts of the track damaged or covered by landslides.
Yuslizar said some 1,500 people had used the line daily prior to the floods, with 12 rides (six Tumpat-bound and six Gemas-bound) each day.
Most of those affected were schoolchildren and small-time traders who depended on the train to travel to villages accessible only by winding rural roads.
Even when completed, the track would not be in tip-top condition as rehabilitation work on the aging line had to be postponed due to the floods.
It is also understood that rehabilitation of the track would run parallel with the repair work, and may take 30 months to complete and cost RM370mil.
Once the track is restored, it will take 12 hours for people to travel from Kuala Lumpur to Tumpat. Once it is fully rehabilitated, the journey may only take six to seven hours.
Source: The Star Online | 16 March 2015
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