Public Transport - Trains (9)

My colleague from Singapore was discussing about the public transport system in our country. He made a point when he said that actually the train routes have covered many places. I don't know what the people living in Subang would think, as the LRT routes has yet to be implemented over there. But I'll still say that I can't comprehend the reason why Sentul can't be part of the route to Rawang. Sentul trains serve so few people, yet there are so many trains servicing the Sentul route & they always come on time. Unlike the Rawang trains, where you would have to wait an hour to go on a train like this...

This picture was taken only yesterday (26/3/2007), and I dare say that such sights can be seen on a weekly basis (at least). And it's in such situations that the idiots in us surface and make things worse. Sometimes I can't blame them for forcing their way into the crowded trains and thus causing more discomfort to everyone. If you ever had a bad way at work, surely you know how desperate we all can be to go home, even if it's just 5 minutes earlier.

Yet there are certain things that certain people do that make you wish you had super powers...

I have no problem with people resting during working hours. In fact, I believe it's necessary. I mean, you would at least have to consider toilet breaks, right? Why did this guy have to create his own "REHAT" sign? Is KTM abusing their workers? And why isn't there another person standing by the ticket counter?

Sometimes I like to lean against the pole too. BUT NOT WHEN THE PLACE IS PACKED & EVERYONE'S STRUGGLING TO BALANCE THEMSELVES!! You think they're just ignorant and stupid, so you say "Excuse Me" and hope they would get the message. But don't be shocked when the only thing that they move is their head to look at your direction and their eye balls to stare at you...

MalaysianLah - 05/02/2007

It's Not Easy You Know

There's a reason why the company table fan is less than a foot away from me & on full blast. The train was late. AGAIN. God knows how many times KTM face technical difficulties in a day. Nowadays it's so common that the "we apologize for any inconvenience caused" line has been removed from the announcement.

My shirt smells really bad. It's rush hour, so the train station itself was crowded. The train took too long, the stress level rose - so people started to smoke. The new roof is useful on rainy days but when the sun is blazing & you're on the wrong platform, cigarattes aren't the only thing that would produce smoke.

My back & kneecaps are hurting too. Obviously that's because the train that finally came was jam packed (with idiots, mind you), resulting in the polite, kind-hearted ones having to wait for the OTHER next train to take us to the place that we never really wanted to go in the first place. So I would have to make up time by walking faster, which is alright. UNLESS you're walking on that dumb, architectuall-idiotic bridge (Bank Negara station). You'll have to personally experience to understand the pain and torture we have to suffer daily.

It's not easy, because everyone is expected to beon time - Everyone expect those who have monopoly over the things you need: Streamyx, All Public Transportation, etc. I wonder if I can get MAMPU to look into my case. Does anyone know if KTM falls under Public Delivery System?

Public Transport - Trains (8)

Joash: Bang, train banyak lambat lah...
KTM guy: Hujan mah...
Joash: Takkan KTM banjir? Habis mengapa train ke Sentul boleh sampai?
KTM guy: Itu train dari Port Klang mah...
Joash: Port Klang lebih dekat kepada air kan?
KTM guy: Err.... (picks up the phone and calls the train)

It was a Monday evening. I finished my work effectively & efficient, determined to go home earlier than usual to meet my dad at thet Kepong KTM. He has just returned from overseas, and has taken a train from KL Sentral. I told him to wait 20 minutes for me, so we can go home together.

The rain was heavy alright, but it lasted less than an hour. And maybe the trains would have to slow down to prevent accidents, but how do you explain the trains heading to Sentul coming on time??

It was rush hour, and the crowd's growing... The train finally came after 40 minutes, but there was no way for everyone to enter the next 2 trains. The 3rd train was filled with compassionless idiots, who refused to move in & fill the empty spaces. Somehow KTM cause people to be cold like that... In the end, I got on a train exactly 1 hour after I bought my ticket. It's a good thing I told my dad not to wait for me.

That was Monday.

This morning I had to wait for the train again. Guess how long before I could get on a train? 1 hour. The first train was filled with compassionless idiots again. The second train that came was rather empty, but somehow the train operators closed the first coach & not allow anyone in there. I reached work at 10.30am.

2 hours of my life gone. Can I sue??

Public Transport - Trains (7)

This is my 7th post on the train commuting system of KL. I remember being frustrated many times more than 7 times.

It was rush hour, a Friday evening. The weekend has come & everyone is extremely anxious to get home. The train was late again, and that resulted in more people having to squeeze into 1 train. It's common for commuters of Seremban - Rawang route. We can never understand why the Port Klang - Sentul trains come more often & on time when they carry less passangers. When they pass by, you would think it's an empty KFC with drops of water flowing down the windows.

And as if that's not enough to cause someone to scream & yell & kill somone (here I must congratulate Malaysians for being EXTREMELY PATIENT), the train stopped in between Putra & Segambut. We were on a stand still for 10 minutes before the captain announces that something fell onto the tracks (AGAIN!!)& we'll have to share a same track with the trains coming from the other direction.

And finally, from the silent & frustrated crowd, people started bickering (YES!!)... Strangers began to talk to each other about the many many frustrations they have faced while commuting, people started to call their loved ones to inform that they aren't physically dead - that only their HOPE DIED... And admist all these reactions toward the announcement made earlier, one stood out. In fact, he literally stood up. He & his 5 la-la friends had seats, but he suddenly stood up. For the next 2 seconds, you would hope that this young man would walk away from his seat & allow some poor old lady / a guy carrying his 2-ton laptop to have his seat.

But for the next 10 minutes, he was just standing up at his seat. He didn't allow anyone to take his seat. Nope. He was just standing there. He and his friend were still chatting happily (you can afford that when you have seats in a crowded train) when after 5 minutes 1 of his friends asked the question everyone else in that crowded coach was asking...

"Why are you standing up ar?"

You tell me if his reply wasn't enough to yell at him, put your hand on his throat & squeeze, or take out your camera phones (like the SN k800i I didn't get) and snap & blog about it the next day.

"because my butt hurts..."

Public Transport - Trains (6)

This past Monday I was happily walking towards Bank Negara KTM Station. I timed it just right so that I can get on the train once I arrive at the platform. Then this killed my joy...

For some reason, the counter dude decided to give himself a break & close the counter. Now the "TUTUP" sign is obviously self-made, so I reckon that KTM doesn't close its counters until after the final route is completed. So I had to queue up along with the rest of us who doesn't own a TOUCH 'n Go Card to buy our ticket from the ticket machine. If you're a frequent KTM user, you'll know that the ticket machines are super unfriendly towards coins (that's another problem altogether). And as you can guess, the train left without me, and I had to wait for another 30 minutes for the next train (that's ANOTHER problem too!!). Funny how the Sentul route trains carry so much less people (you can see drops of water forming on the windows) but appears faithfully & always on time(problem #3!!).

Now, perhaps that KTM staff who placed the "TUTUP" sign during rush hour, when he was needed most, had an emergency to attend to. I mean, come on, let's give him the benefit of the doubt. And I'm all out for food, man. If you're hungry, go & have a meal.

This sign occasionally appears at Segambut KTM slightly after 9am. But thankfully the crowd then is way smaller and it wouldn't cause too much of a problem.

What KTM needs to do is place 2 personnels, at least, at each counter. I remember once the electricity was down at Segambut train station, and that affected even the TOUCH 'n GO cardholders. Of course the ticket machine can't be used too, so everyone had to rely on the KTM personnels. And guess what? There were 2 personnels there!! 1 was handling the tickets, while another was using a machine to help those using TOUCH 'n Go.

So my question is - why the inconsistency? Kadang-kadang ada satu, kadang-kadang ada dua.