KUALA LUMPUR – Public transport company Prasarana Malaysia Bhd (Prasarana) said today that it has improved its standard operating procedures (SOPs) on passenger management following a clip showing congestion at the Pasar Seni MRT station.
According to the video which went viral on social media platforms on Tuesday, the MRT station seemed to be heavily congested with people waiting to board the coaches on both sides of the platforms at 6.45pm, leaving no room for proper queues.
In a statement, Prasarana confirmed the viral video and explained that the congestion incident was caused by a delay in the scheduled arrival of a MRT train, which disrupted the passengers movement.
“To ensure that this incident would not repeat, Prasarana has improved its SOPs on passenger management during peak hours to ensure smooth and safe passenger movement.
“Among the improvements made are repositioning (our) auxiliary policemen in areas with higher safety risks, such as platforms and escalators, to ensure more effective security control.
“In addition, more frequent checks have been carried out to assess passenger density in the stations, especially at the platforms during peak hours. This would help auxiliary policemen (unit) to act more swiftly and place its personnel in critical areas,” said the company.
The public transport company also said that the Kajang MRT Line, which includes the Pasar Seni station, would see its service improved by March next year with the increase of train units from 39 to 42.
This increase would help in increasing train capacity to boost train capacity and reduce congestion at stations along the Kajang line.
Prasarana has also reduced coaches’ frequency of every 4 minutes to 3.7 minutes during peak hours, which would reduce passengers’ waiting time.
“These steps that were undertaken (by Prasarana) are part of the company’s continuous efforts to improve the safety and comfort levels of passengers during peak hours.
“Prasarana would like to apologise for the inconvenience faced by the passengers during this incident (on Tuesday) and will continue making improvements to ensure that Rapid KL services remain safe, comfortable and smooth,” added the company. – November 30, 2024