KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 — Prasarana Malaysia Bhd (Prasarana) will allocate RM50 million for the fixing and upgrading of various facilities at monorail stations, with works expected to begin as early as October this year, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
He said the upgrading works included repairing damaged elevators at 11 stations, fixing platform doors, renovating toilets and installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
For elevator repairs, he said the contract had been awarded, and works would take place from October this year to April next year. The stations involved include Imbi, Hang Tuah, Tun Sambanthan, Raja Chulan, Bukit Nenas, KL Sentral, Chow Kit, Titiwangsa and Maharajalela.
“Additionally, priority will be given to repairing non-functional doors between the platform and the monorail.
“This project will take several months to complete, with the first phase involving four stations (KL Sentral, Tun Sambanthan, Maharajalela and Hang Tuah) expected to be completed by October this year.
“The second phase, involving seven more stations, is scheduled for completion by December,” he said at a press conference following a working visit to Wisma Monorail, here, today.
Loke highlighted the importance of these repairs due to several past incidents where passengers fell onto the monorail tracks, with the service also widely used by visually impaired individuals.
“For the CCTV installation, we want to ensure they are equipped with video analytics because there have been several undesirable incidents at the stations recently. We have identified the locations involved, and the repair works will start in September,” he added.
Earlier, during his visit, Loke presented a certificate of appreciation to a monorail captain, Ahmad Zaharuddin Nordin, who recently prevented a monorail from crashing into a fallen tree.
He said Zaharuddin’s quick action to stop the train after the track was hit by a fallen tree had saved more than 30 passengers who were in the monorail at the time.
“I appreciate his actions because if not for his quick thinking, a bigger tragedy could have occurred. His 14 years of experience have made him very cautious while driving the monorail, especially during the rainy season. He highly deserves this recognition,” said Loke.
— Bernama
