KTMB provides a record 251,752 seats for Aidilfitri travel, a 113% increase from last year, with 228 extra train trips to meet high demand for the festive season.

KUALA LUMPUR: Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) is offering a record 251,752 seats for the Hari Raya Aidilfitri season, marking the largest capacity in its operating history.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the increase is driven by 228 extra train trips from March 17 to 29, representing a 113% surge compared to the 118,440 seats provided last year.

“The increase in ETS services this year is also supported by the delivery of 10 ETS3 train sets, along with existing ETS sets, enabling KTMB to optimise service capacity to facilitate people returning to their hometowns,” he said after meeting passengers at KL Sentral.

Of the additional trips, 196 involve ETS services while 32 are for EMU Plus services, with frequency increased to 64 trips daily during the peak period.

“As a comparison, we added up to 196 additional ETS trips this year compared to only 56 last year, an increase of nearly 250%,” Loke added.

He noted that as of 9 am today, scheduled ETS tickets recorded sales of 177,796, representing 99% of available seats.

A further 34,964 additional ETS tickets and 5,912 EMU Plus tickets remain available for purchase.

For the Ekspres Rakyat Timuran (ERT) service on the JB Sentral-Tumpat route, KTMB has added four extra coaches to increase capacity to 13,910 seats, with 95% already sold.

“We are also providing the Ekspres Lambaian Aidilfitri (ELA) service for the East Coast and Northern editions as an additional initiative to meet public demand,” he said.

 The Sun Malaysia