My first official DeLeuw Travel visit was to Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The core business unit for KTM Berhad consists of the intercity passenger services, freight and suburban commuter services. Below is an extract from the company’s website to introduce the company:
“KTM Berhad was corporatised on August 1, 1992 under the Railways Act 1991. Although still wholly-owned by the government, KTM Berhad currently operates as a private sector organization, responsible for its own revenue and operations.
In 122 years of KTM Berhad history, it has undergone tremendous changes, from the first steam locomotive in 1885 to diesel engines in 1958. In 1995, KTM Berhad introduced KTM Komuter, Malaysia’s first electrified rail system.
With its service covering the length and breadth of the country, KTM Berhad runs its train on a meter gauge of 1,000mm, over a track length of 2,262 km.”
- http://www.ktmb.com.my
My visit was hosted by Mr. Mohd Hider Yusoff, Senior Manager of Komuter Services, and his assistant, Roshidi Yahaya, Executive of Business Development Commuter Services. Mr. Yusoff organized a roundtable discussion with personnel from Project Management and Risk Management departments, and I had an opportunity to give a short presentation on my research.
Mr. Ismail Said, Senior Project Engineer from Project Management Department, gave updates on on-going and future infrastructure projects. Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (a 10-year development master plan), Project Management Department manages all rail infrastructure projects for the Ministry of Transportation involving a total of RM5 billion (US$1.5 billion).
Major ongoing projects include Rawang to Ipoh electrified double-track project, a 179-km (111-miles) length. This project is scheduled to complete by the end of 2007.
Among major challenges faced by KTMB are vandalism, sabotage and theft. KTMB works closely with Malaysian Royal Police and their own police to overcome the problems. KTMB also works with the Ministry of Transportation to organize public relation campaigns to increase public safety awareness.
Under the same master plan, KTMB plans to do several flood mitigations and bridge maintenance projects.
Mr. Said also gave an overview of the overall electrified double track project for the whole Malaysia peninsular. The following slides summarize the project.
Mr. Perumal Shanmugam, Executive of Risk Management, gave an overview on KTMB corporate information. KTMB owns a total of 1,658 km (1,030 miles) meter-gauge route length. It has 58 electric multiple unit for public transit and 88 locomotives, 264 coaches and 3,707 wagons for intercity and freight trains. The commuter system runs 247 trains daily with about 100 thousand passengers per day. There are 24 intercity and 46 freight trains daily.
Mr. Shanmugam also introduced the Risk Management Unit which is currently manned by two personnel. The unit plays a supervising role in any risk management effort by all regional managers. Every department in KTMB has a risk correspondent that reports to the Risk Management Unit. Currently, the unit is in a planning phase to develop a loss-event accident database.
Mr. Yusoff and Mr. Yahaya then brought me to KL Sentral, the main transportation hub in Kuala Kumpur in which the KTM Komuter main office is located. After lunch, they brought me to Operation Management Center (OMC) where they have automatic dispatching and surveillance systems. Mr. Shuhaili, Fauzan and Jasmani explained how the whole system works. I also met Ms. Keiranjit Kaur at their customer service center to look at their customer communication system.
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