KTM Komuter

KTM Komuter is a commuter train service in Malaysia operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTMB). It was introduced in 1995 to provide local rail services in Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding Klang Valley suburban areas. It is popular with commuters into the city, who thus avoid being caught in road traffic congestion. The trains used are air-conditioned electric multiple units. 'Park & Ride' facilities are provided at stations at a nominal charge.

KTM Komuter is currently the most profitable passenger service offered by KTMB, contributing RM84.63 million to group revenue in 2006, higher than KTM Intercity's profit of 70.94 million in the same year. According to the Ministry of Transport Malaysia 2008 Statistics, the ridership for the KTM Komuter is approximately 36.557 million passengers per annum.

Current network
KTM Komuter's 175 km metre gauge network has 45 stations. It consists of two cross-city routes, namely the Sentul-Port Klang and Rawang-Seremban lines, plus a shuttle service from Rawang to Tanjung Malim, which began in April 2007.

Transfers between the two main lines can be made at KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur, Bank Negara and Putra stations. Same-platform or cross-platform interchange is available at Kuala Lumpur. Passengers to and from stations between Rawang and Tanjung Malim must change trains at Rawang station.

KTM Komuter has made shopping complexes and recreational centres more accessible. The Mid Valley station, which opened in 2004 next to the Mid Valley Megamall, has proved particularly popular. Other shopping centres located near KTM Komuter stations are Subang Parade, Carrefour Subang Jaya (near Subang Jaya station) and The MINES (Serdang station).

Passengers for Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) may take the KTM Komuter to Nilai Komuter halt and change to an airport bus, or they may change at KL Sentral station onto the dedicated KLIA Ekspres. Interchange with the RapidKL Rail (KL city metro) network is available at Bandar Tasik Selatan station for the Ampang Line and at KL Sentral for the Kelana Jaya Line. Passengers may also transfer to the Ampang Line in the city centre at Bank Negara station by means of a 200-metre walk to the Bandaraya LRT station.

KTM Komuter tickets are sold at counters and via vending machines, available at all stations and halts.

The service is subject to overcrowding during rush hours. To help alleviate the problem, the operator introduced a new queuing system to help riders line up when the trains are coming. The lines are painted on the floor with three colour codes representing each of the train set. The system was first implemented at KL Sentral station on 17 October 2008. The operator is also considering introducing express services between Sungai Buloh and Kajang stations and between Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam station during rush hours by the end of 2008.

Stations
During the construction of the Komuter service, much of the existing lines were retained, with minor alterations (i.e. removal or abandonment of lines and replacement of wooden sleepers with concrete ones). Relevant station platforms were required to be added and heightened to allow easier access to Komuter trains travelling on both directions.

Major pre-independence stations including Kuala Lumpur station, Klang station, Port Klang station and Seremban station were retained and upgraded to support Komuter services. Smaller, wood-based stations and halts along the line that were built at around the same time as the aforementioned stations were either demolished and replaced by modern brick-and-concrete counterparts, or simply abandoned. The only exception to the rule is the old Sentul station, which has remained in service years since KTM Komuter's launch, albeit with a replacement platform.

The layouts and sizes of the new station buildings, as of the launch of the service in 1995, vary by location but are generally divided into two classes:


 * Railway halts, consisting of a small single-storey structure with only ticket counters (a ticket booth, ticket machines and faregates). The stations are usually placed along straightforward dual-lane lines.
 * Medium-sized and single-storey stations, housing both the ticket counters and station offices, and typically stationed along three or more lines. Such stations are typically intended to support additional responsibilities, such as managing railway signals, controlling points and handling goods services. The stations themselves are similar in design to the original wood-based stations along the line with slight hints of Western colonial designs (arches, wooden-and-glass windows and wooden doors), but are larger and modernised.

The platforms of the 1995 stations are virtually standardised, down to the design of the passenger semicircle-crossed shelters, the use of similarly-styled foot crossings to link all platforms, and the diamonds-based brickwork of the platforms.

Depending on the amount of patrons through the years, each station has undergone upgrades or expansions that consist of either increasing the number of ticket counters or opening new facilities for use by passengers or railway staff. Taller, wider canopies were erected on the platforms of most stations to replace narrower, original versions in 2006 and 2007. The pace of the upgrades varies by location.

During the 2000s, new stations such as the Mid Valley station appeared in more modern designs, consisting primarily of high, curved canopies above the entire platforms. Certain new stations along dual-lane lines are also included with facilities typically reserved for medium-sized stations, such as the Rasa station. The Kuala Lumpur Sentral station, however, is housed under the concrete base of the transport hub, and is stark and utilitarian in design.

KTM Komuter serves the following stations:

* Stations under construction

Rolling stock
The original Komuter rolling stock consists of three versions of three-car EMUs added over the course of three years, beginning in 1994. The EMUs were the first in KTM's history. All Komuter EMUs operate in multiple-unit formation, running from overhead single-phase 25kV AC 50 Hz catenary supply, with two driving cars and 1 - 3 trailer cars in between. The EMUs were state-of-the-art, with remote-controlled pneumatic doors, Automatic Train Protection (ATP), train data recorder, wheel-slip control, GTO/IGBT traction electronics and regenerative braking. Up to the point of their introduction no other KTM motive power used these modern train control systems.

Designated by KTM as "Class 8x"s, the EMUs wear a yellow, blue and grey livery, a departure from the predominantly grey livery that KTM adopted on other locomotives and passenger coaches at the time. A handful of EMUs include full advertisements on the sides of their cars.

The original Komuter fleet consisted of the following models:
 * 18 Class 81 EMUs (designations EMU 01 to EMU 18) manufactured by Jenbacher Transport in Austria-Hungary (1994/1995)
 * 22 Class 83 EMUs (designations EMU 19 to EMU 40) manufactured by Hyundai (HPID) (1996/1997)
 * 22 Class 82 EMUs (designations EMU 41 to EMU 62) manufactured by Union Carriage & Wagon in South Africa (1996/1997)

Four of the EMUs have since been decommissioned following serious accidents that affected their structural integrity, while another five are not listed as serviceable. On paper, the number of serviceable units in 2010 stands at 53 out of the original 62, although there are reports of far fewer trains. However, the actual number of trains is set to rise back to the original, as trains are being reconditioned.

By July 2012, additional 6-car rolling stock has entered service with KTM Koumter:
 * 38 Class 92 EMUs manufactured by China's Zhu Zhou Electric Locomotives Co Ltd

New routes and stations
During the 2000s, the Komuter line saw the addition of seven more stations:
 * The Kuala Lumpur Sentral station, opened 16 April 2001, includes platforms for both the Rawang-Seremban route and the Sentul-Port Klang route. While KL Sentral took over the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station's role of interchange with Intercity train services, the latter remains a separate stop for KTM Komuter services.
 * The Mid Valley station, opened 23 August 2004, primarily serves users of the adjoining Mid Valley Megamall and adjacent commercial facilities.
 * Kepong Sentral, opened 1 July 2006, stands beside the Middle Ring Road Two in the KL suburb of Kepong, on the Rawang-Seremban route.
 * The Serendah, Batang Kali and Rasa stations, opened 21 April 2007, form part of a new stretch of electrified railway towards Ipoh from Rawang station. A shuttle service known as the Rawang-Rasa shuttle runs between Rawang and these three stations.
 * The Kuala Kubu Bharu station, opened 5 January 2008. The Rawang-Rasa shuttle service is thus renamed as the Rawang-Kuala Kubu Bharu shuttle service.
 * The shuttle route was extended to Tanjung Malim station on 1 June 2009.
 * The Sentul-Port Klang Route has been extended to Batu Caves since 29 July 2010, with four new stations.
 * The Seremban Line has been extended from Seremban to Sungai Gadut in 2012 and till Rembau in 2013, with a total of 3 new stations.

Route expansion in progress
Besides new stations, additional plans were made to extend the Komuter network outwards from it original route:
 * KTMB also plans to extend 85 km Komuter services to Pulau Sebang, Melaka and Gemas. Construction is expected to complete by 2013. This will interchange with the future Komuter South (Komuter-Sud) line to Johor Bahru.

Incidents and accidents

 * On the evening of 3 March 2004, a Seremban-bound KTM Komuter train in the Rawang-Seremban Route collided with the rear of another Komuter train facing the same direction, which had been waiting at a signal between Tiroi station and Seremban station for five minutes. Forty were injured, but no deaths were reported. The accident was ascribed to the faulty signal light (struck by lightning) that stopped the earlier train, though the driver of the rear-ending train is reported to have run a red light into the section occupied by the rear-ended train. The resulting crash disrupted KTM Komuter services along the line for a day. This is so far the worst accident involving the KTM Komuter service.
 * On 2 March 2007, a crane fell onto a KTM Komuter train track near the Sentul-Port Klang Route's Shah Alam Komuter station, stranding about 10,000 passengers and cancelling 40 trips. Alternative transport services were provided.
 * On 25 May 2007, a person was killed after he was hit by a KTM Komuter train while crossing the tracks illegally. Deaths in this manner have occurred along Komuter lines before.
 * On 27 February 2008, overhead power cables between Subang Jaya and Petaling stations of the Sentul-Port Klang route broke, causing all train services to be modified to run on the Sentul-Petaling route instead.
 * On 22 October 2009, a multipurpose vehicle plunged into the railway track as it was heading from Kuala Lumpur towards Subang Jaya. Train services were disrupted, and the vehicle was towed away 3 hours after the accident.
 * On 4 February 2013, A woman in her 50s was run over by a commuter train at the Taman Wahyu KTM Komuter Station. The victim was said to have been dragged 50m along the track in the incident.

Timeline

 * 3 August 1995 - The first KTM Komuter trains began taking passengers between Kuala Lumpur and Rawang. Free trips were offered until 11 August 1995.
 * 14 August 1995 - Commercial operations begin for the KTM Komuter between Kuala Lumpur and Rawang. It was then extended to Salak South on 29 September 1995.
 * 28 August 1995 - Operations between Sentul and Shah Alam began. Service was extended to Klang on 29 September 1995.
 * 20 November 1995 - The Rawang-Kuala Lumpur service extended to Kajang.
 * 18 December 1995 - Entire KTM Komuter network opened with final stretch to Seremban opened.
 * 16 April 2001 - KL Sentral KTM Komuter station opened.
 * 3 March 2004 - Worst KTM Komuter accident occurred when a Seremban-bound commuter train hits the rear of another train near Seremban.
 * 23 August 2004 - Mid Valley KTM Komuter station opened.
 * 1 July 2005 - KTM Komuter network began accepting Touch 'n Go electronic farecards.
 * 1 July 2006 - Kepong Sentral KTM Komuter station opened.
 * 21 April 2007 - Shuttle service between Rawang and Rasa began.
 * 5 January 2008 - Opening of Kuala Kubu Bharu station, and extension of the Rawang-Kuala Kubu Bharu shuttle service (formerly known as Rawang-Rasa shuttle service) to this station.
 * 1 June 2009 - Extension of Rawang-Kuala Kubu Bharu route to Tanjung Malim. The route is now called Rawang-Tanjung Malim shuttle service.
 * 28 April 2010 - Women-only coaches introduced. The coach is the middle coach in the train setb.
 * 29 July 2010 - Sentul-Port Klang route extended to Batu Caves with introduction of 4 new stations.
 * 14 May 2011 - Seremban-Rawang route extended to Senawang and Sungai Gadut.