Siemens Mobility is to supply traction equipment and vehicle control systems for a total of 38 six-car multiple units for the Malaysian mass transit operator Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) in Kuala Lumpur. The equipment ordered includes transformers, power converters, traction motors and vehicle control systems. The order is worth about 65 million euros. The traction equipment has been designed to deliver 3,500 kilowatt of power per unit and will be delivered next year.Over four million people now live and work in Klang Valley, the Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Area, where 100,000 commuters depend on rail services every day. With almost two million inhabitants, Kuala Lumpur itself suffers from lots of traffic jams and congestion during the morning and evening rush hours. The local transit operator, KTMB, has reacted to the growing need for a reliable mass transit system by extending its regional network and upgrading the railway technology.
Of the two existing commuter lines, the Sentul–Pel–Klang route has been extended by four stations and seven kilometers this year. Next year, another two stations and almost ten kilometers of track will be added to the current Seremban–Rawang route. KTMB’s mass transit system currently covers two lines with over 217 kilometers of track and 51 stations. Along with other system components like motors and vehicle control systems, Siemens Mobility will deliver converter systems for the electric multiple units operating on the line voltage of 25 kV of the Kuala Lumpur mass transit system. The modern traction and vehicle control system for controlling traction applications makes sure that trains can run at regular 30 or 15 minutes intervals during the busiest times of day.
The Express Rail Link (ERL) in Kuala Lumpur was also built by Siemens; since 2002, passengers have been able to travel between Kuala Lumpur’s international airport and the Kuala Lumpur City railway station in just 28 minutes. A total of 12 trains run on the 57-kilometer rail link at speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour.
