Transport Minister Anthony Loke (centre) speaks to reporters at the Tun Sambanthan monorail station in Kuala Lumpur October 9, 2018. ― Picture by Hari Anggara

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 ― Anthony Loke is reviewing the operations of the KL Monorail after noticing a gradual decline in its ridership.

Average ridership fell from 71,943 in 2015 to 48,748 in 2017.

After an on-site visit, he concluded that a lack of cars was contributing to the problem.

“We have only five sets of two car trains operating at the moment and this has caused the frequency of the service to be very irregular,” he said.

Five sets of four-car trains were grounded since January 2018 due to eight incidents in 2017.

Loke said he was considering asking train supplier Scomi Engineering Berhad to repair the trains.

The second option was to have an open tender to get a new supplier for the trains.

Loke said he would propose both options to the Cabinet by the end of the year and he foresees better quality of monorail service by the first half of 2019.