Barely months into operations, KLIA aerotrain racks up nearly two dozen incidents

• The issues were caused by both technical problems such as signalling faults as well as human-related errors, including passengers attempting to open train doors, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibolla told the Dewan Rakyat during the oral question-and-answer session on Monday.

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 13): The aerotrain system at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport has reported 19 incidents since it resumed operations on July 1, according to the Transport Ministry.

The issues were caused by both technical problems such as signalling faults as well as human-related errors, including passengers attempting to open train doors, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibolla told the Dewan Rakyat during the oral question-and-answer session on Monday.

“Improvements are being made continuously, and technical officers are stationed on the trains to ensure that any issues can be rectified immediately,” Hasbi said.

The aerotrain has come under heavy scrutiny after a series of disruptions plaguing the system that costs the government RM456 million to upgrade. The driverless service, which shuttles passengers between the main terminal and the satellite building, had been suspended for more than two years.

When service finally resumed, heavy rain caused water to accumulate in the tunnel, leading to a temporary halt on July 4. The aerotrain underwent overnight maintenance during non-peak hours and resumed round-the-clock operations on Sept 3.

Despite the reported incidents, Hasbi said the aerotrain had an uptime of nearly 99.19% and transported more than five million passengers since it resumed service as of Oct 8, with recent weeks recording 100% service availability.

Hasbi also noted that the aerotrain is currently under a two-year defects liability period, during which the manufacturer, France-based Alstom SA, remains responsible for addressing any faults.

He added penalties of up to RM190,000 per month may be imposed on the manufacturer if it fails to meet the required performance standards—100% availability for one train and 99.6% for two trains in operation.

The 25-year-old aerotrain service was first suspended in March 2023. Five months later, the services of its contractor Pestec International Bhd (KL:PESTEC) were terminated over non-performance.

Pestec was later reappointed in January 2024 for the KLIA aerotrain replacement project, this time as a joint-venture partner with IJM Corporation Bhd (KL:IJM) in a consortium with Alstom.

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