For those who want to avoid traffic jams during the festive season, while heading back to their hometowns, they would often opt to take the train for a less stressful journey.
Though, sadly, sometimes taking the train can be stressful as well.
A netizen, Fahmi (*name changed for privacy purposes), took to their social media account to share how the Electric Train Service (ETS) had broken down yesterday (April 9) while he was on his journey from KL to Butterworth. He and the other passengers ended up spending allegedly more than 4 hours stranded without air-conditioning, without proper food to break their fasts and more.
He wrote, “(Spending) the night before Hari Raya in the ETS. This was the fate of all the passengers of ETS EP 9176, from KL to Butterworth. Breaking our fasts in a condition of: no electricity, no lights, no air-conditioning, no air, the toilets were full and no food.”
“The train stopped right before the Parit Buntar station, and was stranded from 5:13pm.”
It turns out that a technical problem of the electricity supply getting cut off caused the train to stop and get stranded in its tracks.
“(It was) hot, (and we were) hungry. There was no water supply when we wanted to conduct prayers. The toilet bowls were full when we wanted to use it. There was no electricity to charge our phones. Only at 7:50pm did the lights come back on. Pity the children and the elderly people.”
“The ground staff tried their level best to give explanations and apologise. Thank you to the staff.”
Only at 9:44pm, after more than 4 hours of being stranded, did another train arrive and the passengers were moved.
Though, from this experience, Fahmi also saw the good side in the passengers
“People were sharing food in the darkness. Uncle Julian (a passenger) shared some toys with some kids. People really came together to help the needy and old folks to cross inter-train,” he added.
Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) later shared a statement in regards to the incident
“Following the disruption at 5:30pm today (April 9), it caused the Electric Train Service (ETS) and Komuter Utara to experience a delay of more than 2 hours from the original schedule. The ETS involved is EP9176 which had been delayed for more than 60 minutes.”
“Assistance using locomotive failed to be implemented, causing passengers to be transferred to the ETS assistance set. This failure also caused ETS EP9179 to experience a delay of more than 60 minutes,” they shared.
They added that, at 9:15pm, passengers of ETS EP9176 were transferred to an ETS relief set.
“KTMB would also like to apologise to all affected users.”
Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, Fahmi shared that he hopes that KTMB will study and improve their BCP (business continuity planning) or response procedures.
“Technical problems are, indeed, out of people’s control. But, the backup solution took too long,” he explained.
We genuinely hope that KTMB improves their services, especially during the festive seasons as people rely on them to head back to their hometowns.
What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
