Free KTMB train rides for OKU and primary school school students begin on Feb 15.
Pupils wearing school uniforms and people with disabilities (PWDs) will be able to ride free Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) trains beginning February 15.
This initiative could be implemented with RM15 million in annual savings as a result of the suspension of the KTM commuter service from Subang Skypark to KL Sentral on the same date. The free ride offer applied to commuter train services in the northern sector and Klang Valley, as well as inter-city services on the Gemas-Tumpat route.
This will also benefit 150 primary school students who ride the daily train from Dabong to Kuala Geris in Kelantan for RM1.
Following this, depending on financial ability, further discussions will be held to expand the free train ride for secondary school students.
The Subang Skypark-KL Sentral commuter train service, which began in 2018 and costs RM15 million per year, has received a lukewarm reception.
Studies and data collection on the services, which involved 32 trips per day, revealed that an average of 80 to 100 passengers boarded the train each day. The train is sometimes empty. There is currently no demand; however, once the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah di Subang Airport is upgraded, demand may increase.
The route’s four trains would be redeployed, with two sent north to increase the number of trips and two more sent to the Klang Valley commuter line.
Meanwhile, KTMB announced today that 99 percent of the 99,900 ETS tickets for trips from January 18 to 27 had been sold.
