So stressful to travel on KTM Komuter

A JOURNEY on the KTM Komuter train is an eyeopener for a first-time passenger. It is like going through a maze with sketchy directions.

Each station has two entrances leading to different platforms. Once you are on a platform you are not sure whether the train will take you to Tanjung Malim or Sungei Gadut, passing through urban locations.

On the wall is a route map showing the two destinations. It does not indicate that you are on the right platform.

There is no signage on the platform to direct passengers. In Hong Kong, Singapore and London, there are signboards to assist passengers. KTM uses the cheap, confusing approach – just a route map pasted on a wall.

Clocks and digital boards showing the times of train arrivals are mounted at platforms. However, most of them do not work. When the train is not on time no announcement is made. You just wait and wait till the train arrives.

Once inside the train, you jostle for space. No seats are designated near the doors for the elderly or the sick. Courteous or considerate passengers are hard to find. Thus, the elderly and sick have to stand like other ablebodied and young passengers.

You cannot determine where the next stop is because no route map is displayed inside the coach. As the train reaches a station, you don’t see signposts of the destinations at each platform. So you have either to guess or memorise your destination from the quick look at the route map at the point of departure.

At many stations such as those in Kepong and Segambut, passengers have to use overhead bridges, even the old, lame and wheelchair bound. They also have to use these bridges when crossing from one platform to another. Subways would have been more convenient for them but these were not incorporated from the start.

You grab whatever seats are vacant at the stations, for there is a shortage of these. There are no seats reserved for the infirm or the aged.

Instead of having a central ticket counter at each station, you often find two counters – a clear indication of a waste of manpower and money.

You insert your ticket at the turnstile and, to your surprise, the machine does not work, but the barrier automatically opens.

On your arrival at your destination, you do not know where the exit is, since there is no signage to guide you. You follow those who are familiar with the way out.

At the turnstile, you insert your ticket again, but you soon discover that you can walk through without inserting your ticket.

In practice, you don’t have to buy a ticket at all. A notice warns that any passenger caught without a ticket can be fined RM30. Why worry when there is no ticket check throughout the journey?

It looks like KTM has a long way to go before it can upgrade its services and repair faulty systems. There is an obvious lack of thought for any improvement. Perhaps it does not face any competition and it can therefore remain laid back and unconcerned.

The only way to modernise and enhance its services is privatisation. Then passengers can look forward to efficient management, hasslefree travel, proper signages and noiseless tracks. WINNIE, Kuala Lumpur.