The transport ministry has set up a special task force to investigate the root cause of the LRT Ampang/Sri Petaling train derailment that happened yesterday morning near the Chan Sow Lin station. Prasarana – the operator of Rapid KL trains – will not be part of this independent task force, which will be led by Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) Malaysia chief inspector Brigadier General Tan Chee Kee. Tan was introduced as the task force lead by transport minister Anthony Loke when he visited the site of the train derailment this morning. The other members will be announced at a later date. The involvement of an AAIB chief inspector (pictured above next to Loke) shows that the MoT is not taking this investigation lightly, and Loke said that “although there were no injuries, this is a very serious incident as train derailment can bring very high risk”. “We’re very lucky that the train has just started moving (from the Chan Sow Lin station) and had yet to reach maximum speed when it derailed in the process of switching tracks outside of the station,” he added. The task force is being given 30 days to submit its findings to the cabinet, and Loke declared that the report will also be made public for the sake of transparency. “We want to ensure the investigation is carried out without any conflict of interest so the public can trust the findings. Whether it was human error, a system glitch or system failure, that needs to be identified,” he told the media this morning. While the investigation will examine Prasarana’s maintenance track record and SOPs, Loke said that the point was not to ‘apportion blame’ but to find the root cause of the matter. Separately, the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) has initiated its own investigation into the case. The LRT Ampang/Sri Petaling Line is expected to be fully operational by next Wednesday (June 3), in time for the start of a short working week for Klang Valley residents. Prasarana will be hard at work over the long weekend as the stranded train will have to be removed by a special crane, before repair works on the track can start. For now, the LRT Chan Sow Lin station is still operational although trains from Sentul Timur (KL city) will turn back at Pudu and trains from Putra Heights will turn back at Bandar Tasik Selatan. To continue their journey, passengers will have to disembark and get on shuttle trains that are bridging the gap, stopping at neighbouring stations and Chan Sow Lin platforms that are unaffected by the stranded train. Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro. Use the promo code 'PAULTAN' when you checkout for 10% discount!
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