ETS Adds 124 Services, Offers 38,944 Seats For National Day, School Holidays

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 14 (Bernama) -- Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) is adding 124 services with 38,944 seats for its Electric Train Service (ETS) and Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) Plus services during the upcoming National Day and school holidays.

In a statement today, KTMB said 100 additional ETS services, offering 31,600 seats, would operate over 10 days from Aug 21 to 23, Aug 28 to 31, and Sept 4 to 6.

“These initiatives are part of KTMB's efforts to increase capacity, expand travel options and meet rising passenger demand, particularly during the holiday season and National Day celebrations,” it said.

Additionally, 24 extra EMU Plus services, offering a total of 7,344 seats, will operate on selected dates from Aug 21 to Sept 6, including an extension of services to Bandar Tasik Selatan.

For the KTM Komuter's northern sector, eight additional services on the Padang Besar-Butterworth-Padang Besar route will operate from Aug 27 to 31, bringing the total to 46 services daily on the route.

The statement said tickets for the additional services went on sale yesterday through KTMB's official sales channels. 

Meanwhile, KTMB also held various customer appreciation activities from Aug 10 to 14, including vouchers, KFC meals, free travel tickets and RM16 discounts to mark the ETS' 16th anniversary.

Its group chief executive officer Datuk Azlan Shah Al Bakri said the strong performance of ETS over its 16 years of operation reflected customers' high confidence in the reliability of the country's rail transport system.

“Starting in 2010 with the route to Ipoh, the ETS service was expanded to Butterworth and Padang Besar in 2015 before further expanding southwards at the end of 2025,” he said.

He said the ETS, introduced on Aug 12, 2010, had now recorded 44.3 million passengers, with statistics for January to July this year showing a 56 per cent increase to 3.67 million passengers from 2.36 million in the same period last year. 

The development reflected KTMB's commitment to providing wider, more comfortable and competitive rail services while continuing to improve capacity, service reliability and the passenger experience, he added.

-- BERNAMA