KLIA'S TROUBLED AEROTRAINS TO BE REPLACED FROM NEXT YEAR
New system to be put in place starting next year, says MAHB managing director
THE aerotrains at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang will be replaced, beginning next year. Malaysia Airports
Holdings Bhd (MAHB) managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said the company was looking at options to replace the ageing automated people mover (APM) transport system, which had been in operation since the airport opened, 19 years ago.
“It is about time we replace the aerotrains,” Badlisham told the New Straits Times, adding that it would take at least two years for the construction and placing of a new system.
The aerotrains, which are the only means of transportation for passengers between KLIA’s Main Terminal Building and the Satellite Building, have been experiencing problems in recent years.
Badlisham did not disclose the cost of replacing the aerotrains, saying that it was too early.
However, recent reports quoted Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi as saying that replacing the aerotrains would cost more than RM300 million.
On Dec 24, the aerotrains had to undergo emergency maintenance due to a high volume of passenger movements.
The airport operator said the trains had moved 95,000 passengers between 8am and 8pm that day.
The three trains — two operational ones and one on standby — were withdrawn for emergency maintenance to ensure the parts are serviced for continued operations.
The breakdown was the second in three months.
The rolling stock for the system, comprising three Innovia APM 100 trains with three cars per train (originally two cars), is manufactured by Adtranz, which had been acquired by Bombardier Transportation.
The trains underwent major upgrading works between Nov 1, 2010 and March 15, 2011. During this period, passengers were transferred between the Main Terminal Building and the Satellite Building by shuttle buses.
The airport’s master plan calls for the aerotrains to be operational until 2023, but, due to wear and tear, MAHB will have to speed up the process.