Nightmare LRT Crash Leaves 213 Injured, MOT To Investigate

At 8.45pm last night, passengers on the Kelana Jaya Line LRT (Light Transit Rail) were flung from their seats near the KLCC station when their train impacted another, leaving 47 seriously injured with 166 suffering from light to mild injuries.

While the cause has not yet been confirmed, the incident involving train 40 and 81 occurred when one carrying 213 passengers travelling at 40km/h collided with an empty train with just a driver travelling at 20km/h.

The scene that followed was one of chaos and panic with many onboard left bleeding, marking the worst accident recorded since the LRT first began operations in December 1996.

Emergency responders arrived at the scene shortly after, helping to safely evacuate the passengers back onto the platform while those who required further treatment were rushed to Kuala Lumpur General Hospital.

In response, the Ministry of Transport will be setting up a special task force to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident, said minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong at a media conference at the scene last night. He expects completed report to be presented to the ministry in two weeks.

He added that assistance would be provided to the passengers involved, emphasising that the priority now is to ensure the prompt treatment of their injuries. This sentiment was echoed by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who said via a Facebook post:

"I take this accident seriously and have instructed the Transport Ministry and Prasarana Malaysia Berhad to conduct a full investigation to identify the cause of the accident, and firm action should be taken immediately."

Aside from MOT staff, the task force would be comprised of experts from various agencies including the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) and LRT operator Prasarana, who also said that shuttle buses would be deployed while the affected stretch of the Kelana Jaya-Gombak line remains closed.

Update 1: Prasarana Malaysia confirmed this morning that the Kelana Jaya line is operating from 6am using a single track with a train frequency of 10 minutes during peak hours and 30 minutes during off-peak hours. Free double decker shuttle buses are provided to ferry passengers to any station between Pasar Seni and Ampang Park with a frequency of 15 to 20 minutes during peak hours.

Update 2: The LRT service is expected to be fully restored within 3 days (tentatively by 28th May) following clean-up, repair work, and sanitisation.


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