“Terima
kasih atas kesabaran anda...” If you are a frequent KTM user, you definitely have heard this before. Many times when there are delays or when the trains
stop in the middle of nowhere to wait for a signal clearance, the train drivers
make such an announcement. They ask their passengers to wait patiently. But
today, the passengers no longer wish to “SABAR”.
Keretapi
Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) has accumulated losses of RM2.829 billion as of Dec 31
last year. Among the reasons for the losses, according to the Auditor-General's
Report 2018 Series 2, was that KTMB was not given the freedom to make its own
decision, particularly on the company's operations and usage of assets. The
company is bound by the government’s policy in determining train fares.
In
2015, KTM Komuter increased its fares by 4 sen per km on average for the
Tanjung Malim-Sungai Gadut and Batu Caves-Port Klang routes. However, they were still unable to cover
operational costs with the increase.
Source: The
Star (3 Nov 2015)
Train
fares may have increased yet the quality of the service is no better. The delay
in completing the Klang Valley Electrified Double Track project is disrupting
the daily routine of the passengers. The actual number of passengers and
revenue showed a drop since 2016 to July 2019. Over 60% of passengers have
switched to other modes of transport, according to the report.
According
to the latest train schedule (Dec 2019), there were 40 Electric Train Services
(ETS, inter-city rail service) travelling between Ipoh and KL, daily. What
about the Komuter in the Klang Valley? There are only 26 Komuters travelling between Tanjung Malim
and Sungai Buloh (which is connected with MRT to KL Sentral) daily. The longest
waiting time for Komuter was 256 minutes (4 hours 16 minutes) compared to 45
minutes as set by the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD)!
Foreign
rail operators such as Japanese National Railways (JRs) and Hong Kong’s MTR on
the other hand are making profits. In Japan, privatization allowed the JRs to
operate commercial and real estate businesses. Today, non-transportation
revenue makes up roughly a third of JR East’s revenue, including revenues from
shopping centres, restaurants, and hotels. Hong Kong’s MTR similarly, is
operating through their ‘rail plus property’ model. Once they build the
railway, the land value rise and they capture the increase in value. This model
has allowed the company to keep fares cheap and make the company completely
self-sustaining.
For
KTMB, the Komuter service contributed the highest revenue to KTMB from 2015 to
2017 before factoring its operating cost. Railway operators are commonly known
to have high level of fixed operating cost. Therefore, increasing the train
load factor by cutting down the train frequency perhaps is not a good idea. The
operator needs to focus not only on the load factor but ridership as well. Since
both ETS and Komuter are sharing the same track, KTMB could perhaps reduce the
inter-city ETS frequency on weekdays (or at least Mondays to Thursdays) to
increase train frequency for the Komuter. Sufficient maintenance and upgrades
for both trains and stations could be scheduled and followed accordingly by KTMB.
Increases in train frequency and punctuality boost passengers’ confidence and ridership
will certainly flood back.
Reference:
1.
Lacking freedom, KTM piles up RM2.8 billion losses, audit shows, 3 Dec 2019,
Bernama
2.
KTM Komuter fares up next month, 3 Nov 2015, The Star
3.
Eleanor Warnock, Lessons from Railway Privatization in Japan www.tokyoreview.net
4.
Matthew Keegan, How public transport actually turns a profit in Hong Kong
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