PETALING JAYA: A host of measures will be introduced by public transport operators to restore the commuter experience and bring it closer to the pre-pandemic days.

       Starting tomorrow, the Express Rail Link (ERL) from KL Sentral to Putrajaya will increase its service frequency, though the train now stops at every station, making the journey a 35-minute shuttle from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), while the connection to KLIA2 would take an extra five minutes.

       “ERL will increase its train services from Monday following a steady growth of passenger ridership since the start of Phase 4 of the National Recovery Plan as more people return to work and travel for domestic holidays.

       “With the revised schedule effective Jan 3, KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit will continue to operate as a combined service from 6am daily from both KL Sentral and KLIA2.

       “The service frequency will increase from every 30 minutes to every 20 minutes during weekday peak hours while off-peak frequency will increase to every 30 minutes from the current hourly intervals.

       “The last departure from KLIA2 will be at 11.10pm while the last departure from KL Sentral will be at 10.10pm,” said the company in a recent statement.

       Likewise, KTM Bhd said sales of intercity train tickets for travel from Jan 15 to June 30 will commence at 12.15am on Wednesday.

       In a statement, KTMB also announced higher service frequencies for ETS as well as KTM Intercity, other than the addition of a new route from Gemas to Kuala Lipis, and vice versa.

       The new schedule, effective Jan 15, will see an addition of 32 ETS services, with 10 for the KL Sentral to Butterworth route, 10 for the KL Sentral to Ipoh route, eight services for the KL Sentral-Padang Besar route, two services for the Gemas-Butterworth route and two services for the Gemas-Padang Besar route.

       Collectively, this is double the current frequency, which is also the result of the travel curbs brought about by the pandemic.

       KTM Intercity services will increase from 16 to 20, contributed by two Ekspres Timuran (JB Sentral to Tumpat), six Ekspres Selatan (JB Sentral to Gemas) and 12 Shuttle Timuran (Kuala Lipis to Tumpat).

       KTMB chief executive officer Mohd Rani Hisham Samsudin said two new routes will be introduced using new diesel multiple units at Gemas-Gua Musang-Gemas, as well as Gemas-Kuala Lipis-Gemas.

       Over the longer term, the construction of the electrified double track from Gemas to JB Sentral is expected to be completed by mid-2023, which will allow more services to operate.

       At KLIA, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd is replacing its Automated People Mover, known as the aerotrain. The replacement of the old system with new trains and tracks will begin this March, and the entire process is expected to be completed over three years.

       Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd is expected to open Phase 1 of the Putrajaya MRT line – from Kwasa Damansara to Kampung Batu – by the first half of the year, following two rounds of deferments, with the latest missed target being last November.

       For the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), construction can now go full swing following the agreement between the contractor and the Selangor government to allow 170km-long Section C – from Mentakab to Port Klang – to pass through Gombak and Serendah, instead of being routed southwards nearer to Putrajaya.