KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10 — Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) will begin selling 12,600 additional tickets for Electric Train Service (ETS) trips on the KL Sentral-JB Sentral-KL Sentral sector starting 12.15am tomorrow.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the move addresses strong demand during the Chinese New Year period after all 131,879 tickets for travel between February 13 and February 22 were sold out.
The additional capacity is possible following approval for the seventh ETS3 train set to operate.
“I am pleased to announce that 12,600 additional tickets for the KL Sentral-JB Sentral-KL Sentral sector for travel between February 13 and February 22 will go on sale tomorrow at 12.15am using the newly approved seventh ETS3 set,” he said.
Loke was responding to Ipoh Timor MP Lee Chuan How’s query in the Dewan Rakyat today on the ETS and Ekspres Timuran ticket sales and additional services for the Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Aidilfitri festive seasons.
He added that said KTMB will introduce the ‘EMU Plus’ service for the first time on the KL Sentral-Ipoh-KL Sentral route using a Six Car Set (SCS), offering 7,344 additional seats on February 13-February 15 and February 20-February 22, with sales currently reaching 43 per cent.
“Overall, KTMB is providing 46,404 additional tickets for this year’s Chinese New Year, a 426 per cent increase from 8,820 tickets last year, following the addition of seven ETS3 sets and ETS services operating close to 24 hours during the festive period,” Loke said.
Meanwhile, preparations for Hari Raya Aidilfitri show strong demand, with 118,823 tickets, or 53 per cent of the 224,196 seats available for travel between March 13 and March 29, already sold.
He noted that the sales of additional Aidilfitri tickets will be announced once existing tickets are fully sold.
