What’s the Delay?

Link:    http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/08/21/derailed-cargo-train-causes-delays-route-cancellations/

If you are a frequent commuter of KTM trains, you would most likely fume at the above article. Never mind that KTM Komuter Services have come up with the clichéd statement “We apologize for the inconvenience caused.”   Their lame excuse is that restoration works are in progress.  Of course, there will always be a reason for their poor service, but to a regular commuter who has no option but to ride the train for work, no excuse is good enough.  It’s like a child telling the teacher “My dog ate my homework!”    

It is understandable that breakdowns and even train derailing occur. As the old saying goes “Accidents happen”. But why does it take so long to resolve such issues?  It goes without saying that time is money and whose time is KTM wasting?  We poor commuters.

 More importantly, why did KTM Komuter Services announce that they could resolve the issue much quicker and that services would resume that very afternoon of the accident itself? Well, it has been a long five days since the incident and still no solution in sight.  Many frequent KTM passengers have wound up arriving LATE to their destinations, be it getting to work, getting home from work, going on a trip or visiting relatives. 

KTM should be more transparent about the cause of these derailments.  Are they due to operational errors, mechanical failure of tracks, such as broken rails, or the mechanical failure of the wheels? One derailment after another is just too much for us the commuters, especially when the repair works are taking too long.

KTM should carry out more frequent checks and proper maintenance of the tracks. The fact that a second derailment occurred the following day shows the lackadaisical attitude of the KTM management.  While damage to a cargo train is costly, had this happened to a passenger train, would KTM be easily forgiven? 

Source:

The Star, newspaper, 19 August 2017,

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/08/19/cargo-train-derails-in-kl-delays-in-ktm-komuter-and-ets-services-expected/#gcDYBthJ6bxXeZbU.99

The Sun Daily, newspaper, 19 August 2017,

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2017/08/19/derailment-disrupts-all-ktm-rail-services

The Star, newspaper, 21 August 2017,

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/08/21/derailed-cargo-train-causes-delays-route-cancellations/