SHAH ALAM, May 18 — The increasingly frequent sight of trains undergoing trial runs along the Light Rail Transit 3 (LRT3) line has sparked renewed hope among commuters around Shah Alam, who are eager to see the long-delayed service finally begin operations in June.
After months of setbacks and revised timelines, many commuters say they are excited and cautiously optimistic that the LRT3, which links Bandar Utama to Johan Setia, will be fully operational this time.
Student Mila J. Camila, 20, said the repeated postponements of the project had been frustrating, as she had hoped to utilise the service, particularly for travelling to her part-time workplace in Section 7 here.
As a result, she is not relying entirely on e-hailing services to commute to work.
“I (currently) go to work by Grab. I was a bit frustrated because I had hoped that it (LRT3) would operate so I could travel easily,” Mila told Media Selangor.
She added that watching the empty trains during trial runs was exciting, as it indicated the service would launch soon, but equally frustrating due to repeated changes to the opening date.
“Sometimes, when I head out to buy food, I see the trains moving, and my cousin and I always ask each other, ‘When can we ride it?’ We want to be in there, and we were quite excited, but knowing that it keeps getting postponed (is frustrating),” Mila said, noting that she prefers to travel using public transport rather than private vehicles.
Previously, in February, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the LRT3 service, which connects Shah Alam and surrounding areas, is expected to begin operations by June, after all testing processes, commissioning, and the resolution of technical issues are completed.
Two train sets, involving 14 of the 22 trains, had completed fault-free run (FFR) testing, while another set, comprising eight trains, was still undergoing the 22-day FFR testing process.
In December last year, Prasarana Malaysia Bhd said the service would be postponed indefinitely and would only kick off after repairs and technical improvements are completed, following various issues found during the testing and commissioning phase.
Meanwhile, content creator Muhammad Arif Firdaus Jamil, 24, said the upcoming opening of the LRT3 is much welcomed, especially as he now relies heavily on e-hailing services due to the lack of reliability in existing public transport services in Shah Alam, especially buses.
“I do not use public transport very much. When needed, I will take e-hailing like Grab or Uber. The waiting (for buses) is one thing, but you will also get stuck in traffic jams, so it is a bit difficult,” he said.
Arif believes that the launch of LRT3 is critical to reducing vehicle density on Shah Alam roads and hopes there will be no further postponements, as this would further frustrate commuters hoping to utilise the service.
Similarly, warehouse sorter Chan Kok Wai, 33, said he sees LRT3 as a useful mode of transport, especially as a backup option in emergencies such as car breakdowns.
“I would definitely use the service because sometimes I have emergencies like my car breaking down. But I am not able to do so because (the service) has been postponed.
“I often see the trains moving, but when I go (to the station) expecting to take it, I still cannot, so I feel a bit disappointed,” he said.
