Kelana Jaya LRT Line Back In Service After Train Collision Leaves 213 Injured, Investigations Ongoing

Kelana Jaya LRT train collision leaves 213 injured

Most rides on public transportation go without a hitch. Yesterday, 24th May 2021, however, marked an unfortunate incident when a Light Rail Transit (LRT) train carrying 232 passengers collided with an empty train at KLCC underground tunnel, leaving 213 injured, with 47 of them suffering major injuries.

Passengers have since been safely evacuated from the scene. The Kelana Jaya LRT Line, which is affected by yesterday’s incident that took place around 8.30PM, will be resuming services today. Free shuttle bus services will be offered between Pasar Seni and Ampang Park stops while investigations are being carried out.

First train collision in LRT’s 23 years of operation

Yesterday’s incident marks the first train collision since the LRT was introduced in Malaysia 23 years ago, according to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong as reported by Malay Mail.

The head-on collision involved 2 Kelana Jaya Line trains, trains 40 and 81, and happened about 100 metres away from KLCC Station, and 2 kilometres from Kampung Baru stop.

One had 232 passengers on board, and the other was an empty train on a test run.

166 individuals have been wounded. Another 47 suffered major injuries and had to be sent to the hospital.

Image credit: @babyavabell

Reports say that the LRT train carrying passengers was running autonomously via the LRT navigation systems. The empty train was operated manually. The trains were travelling at 40km/h and 20km/h respectively when the collision took place.

Image credit: @redzuanNewsMPB

Photos of the incident showing wounded passengers in the train have been circulating around on social media platforms since it happened. Ambulance, emergency and medical personnel were also at the scene, and all affected passengers were evacuated around 9.50PM.

Image credit: @aiiizaaat

Dang Wangi district police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Zainal Abdullah initially came out to say that the empty train was damaged and not supposed to be travelling on a live track. There was reportedly a miscommunication at the control centre.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has also called on the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and Prasarana Malaysia Berhad to conduct a full investigation, as reported by Bernama.

Latest update: According to a report by Free Malaysia Today, Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong has said in a press conference held today, 25th May, that the collision is due to human error. According to preliminary investigations, a technical fault experienced by the empty train resulted in it having to be driven manually. The driver made a wrong turn, thus colliding into the train carrying the passengers.

A task force has been set up, and a final report collating the investigations will be submitted in due course.

Free shuttle bus services for passengers

The Kelana Jaya LRT line has resumed operations at 6AM today, 25th May, as shared by RapidKL on their Facebook page earlier this morning.

Each train can take 50% of its passenger capacity, and train frequencies have been reduced to about 30 minutes, as per revisions in SOPs for MCO 3.0. During peak hours, trains will operate at frequencies of 10 minutes.

Kelana Jaya LRT train collision - route
Image credit: RapidKL

Double-decker shuttle bus services will be operating for free between Pasar Seni and Ampang Park every 15-20 minutes to accommodate passengers at this time.

Kelana Jaya LRT line resumes services after train collision

Yesterday’s train collision comes as a shock for many, with the LRT running without any major incidents since it started operating. Thankfully, no deaths have been reported, but we wish all the passengers involved a speedy recovery.