PETALING JAYA • A second mishap in a day on the light rail transit (LRT) occurred when a train caught fire near Universiti station in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
The fire broke out shortly after noon and forced the Kelana Jaya line to stop operations. Operator RapidKL said services resumed at about 1pm. Five firemen from the Keramat fire station were deployed after a distress call was received, said City Fire and Rescue Department Assistant Director (operations) Azizan Ismail, according to a New Straits Times report.
"We arrived at the scene seven minutes later and saw heavy smoke at one of the four coaches. At that time, LRT staff had emptied the coach and the train, (which) were moved to a safer place," he said.
The fire could be seen from the Federal Highway and caused a massive traffic jam as curious motorists stopped or drove by slowly to look.
Photos posted on social media showed firemen fighting the fire, and smoke coming out of the train.
RapidKL said the train experienced a brake system fault which could have caused the fire, and all passengers were safely evacuated.
Earlier in the day, faulty brakes on another train at the Setiawangsa station stopped services for about an hour, causing office workers to be late for work. The services resumed at about 9.45am.
"We detected burning odour and are removing train from service. Fifteen minutes delay expected," RapidKL said on Twitter.
THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
