Almost exactly a year ago, a visually-impaired man fell on to the LRT tracks and sadly got run over by a train. Transport minister Anthony Loke said then that platform screen doors (PSD) would be installed at all LRT stations for safety.
Now, earlier this month, a 39-year old woman fell onto the tracks at the Abdullah Hukum LRT station and got trapped beneath a train, causing the Kelana Jaya LRT to be temporarily disrupted.
“So what we have done is hold discussions with Prasarana, and they have already put forward proposals to install PSDs at our stations. So we are now looking at the most practical way to install barriers to provide warnings and improve passenger safety,” Loke told reporters today, according to the New Straits Times.
He added that Prasarana was currently studying the proposals, with the government hoping the upgrades can be implemented as soon as possible.
Installing (or rather retrofitting) full PSDs is not straightforward as it involves significant costs and extensive modifications, especially at older stations which were not originally designed for such systems, the transport minister said.
“The installation of platform barriers is not an easy project as it involves high costs. All stations would need to be modified because older designs did not originally include them. There are various technologies available, not only doors or barriers, but also systems such as sirens and infrared sensors to alert passengers,” he said.
Newer systems such as the Putrajaya MRT and the Kajang MRT (plus the Kelana Jaya LRT’s underground sections in the city centre) already have PSDs, but elevated and surface-level sections on both LRT systems (the other being the Ampang/Sri Petaling Line) largely don’t.
PSDs were installed in stages a few years ago on the KL Monorail, which didn’t originally have them. However, the KL Monorail has just 11 stations compared to the KJ Line’s 37 (five of which are underground and already have PSDs) and the A/SP Line’s 36, as well as much shorter platforms, so you can imagine the cost difference.
Of course, one cannot put a price on safety, and we too hope that PSDs can be fully realised on both LRT lines one day. Your thoughts?
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Typical GLC, 1 freaking year still doing studies. Inefficient at best.
Common sense…that also need study. Study got $$$ ma.
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All rakyat Malaysia know that Klang Valley is part of Malaysia. That means you’re not really rakyat Malaysia..
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The transport minister represents the shareholder of Prasarana. You’re too sick & too tired to be aware that the shareholder can’t be fired.
The best time to install these PSDs is during the station’s planning and construction many years ago, but no use talking about that now. The second-best time is now, i hope the proposal is a go. One life gone is one too many.
You know, I have a solution to that budgetary dilemma. Instead of wasting millions on Ron95 subsidies to appease whiners wailing for freebies 24/7, that money could have saved lives but nah cant have that now can we? Winning votes in next GE more important amirite?
Give your IC no. to MOF & tell them that you volunteer to forgo the BUDI95 subsidies.
SG already got it done many many years ago…
Just remove cronies and kickbacks for decades of all our public transportation and get it done by the best and stop the nonsense that you can see difference.