KTM Komuter

KTM Komuter
Class 92 SCS 14 at KL Sentral Junction
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
Locale	Central Sector (Batu Caves-Kuala Lumpur-Port Klang; (Tanjung Malim-Rawang-Kuala Lumpur-Seremban-Pulau Sebang/Tampin) Northern Sector (Bukit Mertajam-Padang Regas; Butterworth-Padang Besar)
Stations	79 [Note 1]
Ridership	37.235 million (2017)[1]
Colour on map	1   2   10  (Central Sector)  1   2  (Northern Sector)
Website	www.ktmb.com.my/ktmb
Operation
Opened	14 August 1995 (1995-08-14)
Owner	Keretapi Tanah Melayu
Operator(s)	Keretapi Tanah Melayu (Komuter Division)
Conduction system	With driver
Rolling stock	Class 83 3-cars formation Class 92 6-cars formation
Technical
Line length	456 km
Track gauge	1000 mm
Route map Greater KL / Klang Valley Integrated Transit Map Source: SPAD as of July 2016 KTM Komuter Northern Sector Route Map Source: KTMB as of 1 September 2016

KTM Komuter is a commuter rail system in Malaysia operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM). It was introduced in 1995 to provide local rail services in Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding Klang Valley suburban areas. The service was then introduced in Greater Penang in September 2015 after the completion of the Ipoh-Padang Besar Electrification and Double-Tracking Project,.^[2][3] Later on 10 October 2015, the southern sector service was introduced between Seremban and Gemas in Negeri Sembilan after the completion of the Seremban-Gemas Electrification and Double-Tracking Project, although a route revamp in July 2016 saw the southern sector services merged with that of the central sector, with the southern terminus being pulled back from Gemas to Pulau Sebang/Tampin.

The trains used are air-conditioned electric multiple units. 'Park & Ride' facilities are provided at stations at a nominal charge.

KTM Komuter contributed RM146.2 million to group revenue in 2017, carrying a total of 37.235 million passengers.^[1] The total number of passengers travelling with KTM Komuter in 2017 shows a decrease of 10.2% following the ongoing Klang Valley Double Track Project which involves the rehabilitation project on 42 kilometres of tracks between Rawang and Salak Selatan scheduled to be completed in 2019.^[4]

Network

Stations

The Komuter service was largely built from existing lines, with minor alterations (i.e. removal or abandonment of lines and replacement of wooden sleepers with concrete ones). Relevant station platforms were added and heightened to allow easier access to Komuter trains travelling in both directions.

Major pre-independence stations including Kuala Lumpur station, Klang station, Port Klang station and Seremban station were retained and upgraded to support Komuter services. Smaller, wood-based stations and halts along the line that were built at around the same time were either demolished and replaced by modern brick-and-concrete counterparts, or simply abandoned. The only exception to the rule is the old Sentul station, which has remained in service years since KTM Komuter's launch, albeit with a replacement platform.

The layouts and sizes of the new station buildings, as of the launch of the service in 1995, vary by location but are generally divided into two classes:

• Railway halts, consisting of a small single-storey structure with only ticket counters (a ticket booth, ticket machines and faregates). The stations are usually placed along straightforward dual-lane lines.
• Medium-sized and single-storey stations, housing both the ticket counters and station offices, and typically stationed along three or more lines. Such stations are typically intended to support additional responsibilities, such as managing railway signals, controlling points and handling goods services. The stations themselves are similar in design to the original wood-based stations along the line with slight hints of Western colonial designs (arches, wooden-and-glass windows and wooden doors), but are larger and modernised.

The platforms of the 1995 stations are virtually standardised, down to the design of the passenger semicircle-crossed shelters, the use of similarly-styled foot crossings to link all platforms, and the diamonds-based brickwork of the platforms.

Depending on the number of patrons through the years, each station has undergone upgrades or expansions that consist of either increasing the number of ticket counters or opening new facilities for use by passengers or railway staff. Taller, wider canopies were erected on the platforms of most stations to replace narrower, original versions in 2006 and 2007. The pace of the upgrades varies by location.

During the 2000s, new stations such as the Mid Valley station appeared in more modern designs, consisting primarily of high, curved canopies above the entire platforms. Certain new stations along dual-lane lines are also included with facilities typically reserved for medium-sized stations, such as the Rasa station. The Kuala Lumpur Sentral station, however, is housed under the concrete base of the transport hub, and is stark and utilitarian in design.

Rolling stock

The original Komuter rolling stock consists of three versions of three-car EMUs added over the course of three years, beginning in 1994. The EMUs were the first in KTM's history. All Komuter EMUs operate in multiple-unit formation, running from overhead single-phase 25kV AC 50 Hz catenary supply, with two driving cars and 1 - 4 trailer cars in between. The EMUs were state-of-the-art, with remote-controlled pneumatic doors, Automatic Train Protection (ATP), train data recorder, wheel-slip control, GTO/IGBT traction electronics and regenerative braking. Up to the point of their introduction, no other KTM motive power used these modern train control systems.

Designated by KTM as "Class 8x"s, the EMUs wear a yellow, blue and grey livery, a departure from the predominantly grey livery that KTM adopted on other locomotives and passenger coaches at the time. A handful of EMUs include full advertisements on the sides of their cars.

The original Komuter fleet consisted of the following models:

Class	Image	In service	Cars per Set	On order	Manufacturer	Remarks
Class 81 EMUs		4	3	N/A	- Jenbacher Transport in (1994/1995)	Designations EMU 01 to EMU 18. Most of them are retired from Komuter service to be used for intercity services in the future.
Class 82 EMUs		0	3	N/A	Union Carriage & Wagon in (1996/1997)	Designations EMU 41 to EMU 62. All of the trainset are retired from service due to lack of spare parts and closure of the company.
Class 83 EMUs		14	3	N/A	Hyundai Percision (now Hyundai Rotem) in (1996/1997)	Designations EMU 19 to EMU 40. 14 sets remain in service, most of them currently service the KTM Komuter Northern Sector. Several sets were repainted with new livery for the Skypark Link.

Four of the EMUs have since been decommissioned following serious accidents that affected their structural integrity, while another five are not listed as serviceable. On paper, the number of serviceable units in 2010 stands at 53 out of the original 62, although there are reports of far fewer trains.^[9] However, the actual number of trains is set to rise back to the original, as trains are being reconditioned. This, however, may change as most of the class 8x EMUs have been retired from komuter service, having been replaced by Class 92 EMUs

By July 2012, additional 6-car rolling stock has entered service with KTM Koumter:

Class	Image	In service	Cars per Set	On order	Manufacturer	Remarks
Class 92 EMUs		38	6	N/A	Zhu Zhou Electric Locomotives Co Ltd[9]

Fleet

Line Code	Line Name	Formation	In service On order	EMU/Fleet	Manufacturers
1	Seremban Line	6 carriage EMU	37 trainsets (222 car)	KTM Class 92	CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive
2	Port Klang Line
10	Skypark Link	3 carriage EMU	4 trainsets (12 car)	KTM Class 83	Hyundai Rotem
1	Padang Rengas Line	3 carriage EMU	10 trainsets (30 car)	KTM Class 83	Hyundai Rotem
2	Padang Besar Line

Ridership

Ridership statistics published by the Ministry of Transport are for all KTM Komuter services. No separate statistics for the individual lines or operational regions are published. Statistics before 1999 are also not available.

Expansion and future plans

Incidents and accidents

• On the evening of 3 March 2004, a Seremban-bound KTM Komuter train in the Seremban Line collided with the rear of another Komuter train facing the same direction, which had been waiting at a signal between Tiroi station and Seremban station for five minutes. Forty were injured, but no deaths were reported. The accident was ascribed to the faulty signal light (struck by lightning) that stopped the earlier train, though the driver of the rear-ending train is reported to have run a red light into the section occupied by the rear-ended train. The resulting crash disrupted KTM Komuter services along the line for a day. This is so far the worst accident involving the KTM Komuter service.^[17]
• On 2 March 2007, a crane fell onto a KTM Komuter train track near the Sentul-Port Klang Route's Shah Alam Komuter station, stranding about 10,000 passengers and cancelling 40 trips. Alternative transport services were provided.^[18]
• On 25 May 2007, a person was killed after he was hit by a KTM Komuter train while crossing the tracks illegally. Deaths in this manner have occurred along Komuter lines before.
• On 27 February 2008, overhead power cables between Subang Jaya and Petaling stations of the Sentul-Port Klang route broke, causing all train services to be modified to run on the Sentul-Petaling route instead.
• On 22 October 2009, a multipurpose vehicle plunged into the railway track as it was heading from Kuala Lumpur towards Subang Jaya. Train services were disrupted, and the vehicle was towed away 3 hours after the accident.^[19]
• On 4 February 2013, A woman in her 50s was run over by a commuter train at the Taman Wahyu KTM Komuter Station. The victim was said to have been dragged 50m along the track in the incident.^[20]
• On 15 February 2013 at 23:00, an out-of-service KTM Class 92 SCS 20 derailed near Shah Alam station while returning to Sentul depot for maintenance. No one was injured. The train was heavily damaged and was subsequently written off.^[21]
• On 1 November 2013, a 3 coach KTM Class 83 derailed near Rawang station while moving through a track switch. No one was hurt in the incident. The two rear coaches were separated and towed away using a locomotive while the remaining front coach removed by use of cranes.^[22]
• On 18 September 2017, KTM train services suffered a major disruption after an electrical cable snapped at KM361.76 on the tracks between the Rawang and Kuang stations, causing closure to both of the rail tracks.^[23]

Timeline

• 3 August 1995 - The first KTM Komuter trains began taking passengers between Kuala Lumpur and Rawang. Free trips were offered until 11 August 1995.
• 14 August 1995 - Commercial operations begin for the KTM Komuter between Kuala Lumpur and Rawang. It was then extended to Salak South on 29 September 1995.
• 28 August 1995 - Operations between Sentul and Shah Alam began. Service was extended to Klang on 29 September 1995.
• 20 November 1995 - The Rawang-Kuala Lumpur service extended to Kajang.
• 18 December 1995 - The Kajang-Seremban section opens, completing the "original" KTM Komuter network which remained unchanged until 2007.
• 16 April 2001 - KL Sentral KTM Komuter station opened.
• 3 March 2004 - Worst KTM Komuter accident occurred when a Seremban-bound commuter train hits the rear of another train near Seremban.
• 23 August 2004 - Mid Valley KTM Komuter station opened.
• 1 July 2005 - KTM Komuter network began accepting Touch 'n Go electronic farecards.
• 1 July 2006 - Kepong Sentral KTM Komuter station opened.
• 21 April 2007 - Shuttle service between Rawang and Rasa began.
• 5 January 2008 - Opening of Kuala Kubu Bharu station, and extension of the Rawang-Kuala Kubu Bharu shuttle service (formerly known as Rawang-Rasa shuttle service) to this station.
• 1 June 2009 - Extension of Rawang-Kuala Kubu Bharu route to Tanjung Malim. The route is now called Rawang-Tanjung Malim shuttle service.
• 28 April 2010 - Women-only coaches introduced. The coach is the middle coach in the train setb.
• 29 July 2010 - Sentul-Port Klang route extended to Batu Caves with introduction of 4 new stations.
• 14 May 2011 - Seremban-Rawang route extended to Senawang and Sungai Gadut.

Gallery

• 
  KTM Komuter network
• 
  A train passing by a danger sign on the platform
• 
  Putra Komuter station, an example of early design of a station prior to canopy upgrade
• 
  Mid Valley Komuter station, showing the new canopy roof
• 
  KTM Komuter in KL Sentral
• 
  The Tanjung Malim railway station is the northern terminus of the KTM Komuter network.
• 
  The Class 81 (EMU14), one of the first batch of all EMU in Malaysia that were made at Jenbach, Austria.
• 
  The Class 82 (EMU41, the last batch, build at South Africa) train, which has been abandoned and retired due to closure of the company and lack of parts.
• 
  The Class 83 (EMU30, the second batch) that build in South Korea, is still use until today for Kamunting-Butterworth-Padang Besar service.

See also

• Keretapi Tanah Melayu
  • KTM Intercity
    • KTM West Coast Line
    • KTM East Coast Line
    • KTM ETS
  • KTM Komuter
    • Seremban Line
    • Port Klang Line
    • Skypark Link
    • Padang Rengas Line & Padang Besar Line
• Rail transport in Malaysia
• Public transport in Kuala Lumpur

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to KTM Komuter.

• The KTM Komuter at the Keretapi Tanah Melayu website
• KTM Komuter Schedule App: Solving The Main Problem for KTM Komuter Customers