If you were taking the train on the Kelana Jaya line this morning (April 19) on your way to work, then you would probably have experienced an unexplained delay. Commuters were left stranded and the stations were packed as trains were moving slower than usual during rush hour.
Many of them took to social media to air their grievances as this was the second time in a week that there were service disruptions to the Kelana Jaya line. However, this time they had a rather unexpected reason for the delay as Rapid KL said that there was a track intrusion at first and hence train services had to be stopped for safety at Damai station.
After commuters started complaining and asking for more information, Rapid KL made another statement on social media at around 8.45am. They explained that a lady passenger who was at the Damai station was not feeling well and had fainted. She reportedly fell on the tracks just as the train was approaching. OMG!
Luckily, the emergency response team reacted fast and the victim was quickly rescued from the tracks before her condition deteriorated. Rapid KL said that they are providing medical assistance to the lady while trying to regulate the service frequency of the trains.
Measures such as sending empty trains and buses to the affected stations were taken to ease the congestion as disgruntled commuters were late for work and school. Although netizens praised Rapid KL for their quick action in taking care of the passenger who fainted, they said that many of them were left in the dark about what was happening at first.
An update from NST reported that the passenger in question was a 26-year-old woman who is pregnant. The incident happened at 7.48am when she stumbled and fell on the train tracks. The woman was not injured as the train’s PIES (Platform Intrusion Emergency Stop) comes into effect when an impact heavier than 7kg is detected on the tracks. The system effectively stops the train by cutting the electricity flow and thus saved the woman’s life.
It wasn’t clear whether the passenger was standing behind the yellow line or not before she fell but some commenters said that the auxiliary police there could also try to prevent people from standing in front of the yellow line. Services on the Kelana Jaya LRT line have resumed as normal at time of publication.
Hopefully, the passenger is fine now and LRT’s services would not experience any more disruptions – for this week at least!
Also read: Study Reveals That Kuala Lumpur Has One of Worst Public Transport Systems Globally