Train service to resume with free rides

0

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Railway Department is resuming its train service from Tanjung Aru to Beaufort and is celebrating the event by offering free rides to the public for one week.

Sabah Railway Department Traffic Superintendant Awg Zainuddin Awg Matusin points to the map depicting the stations from Tanjung Aru to Tenom. With him is Station Master Stephen Chong.

According to its general manager, Mohd Zain Mohd Said, the service to and from Tanjung Aru to Beaufort will commence on February 21.

“So from February 21 to February 28, commuters from these two areas can take a train ride for free,” Mohd Zain told reporters yesterday.

The train will depart from Tanjung Aru at 7.45am and 1.40pm daily while the return trip will leave Beaufort station at 11am and 4.30pm.

Commuters traveling to and from Tanjung Aru and Beaufort can also request for the return tickets before leaving the respective stations, he said, adding that the coaches can accommodate about 210 passengers one way.

“As of March 1, the fare to and from Tanjung Aru and Beaufort is RM4.80 per adult while children under 12 will be charged 50 per cent off,” he said.

“We will be using Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) 6601 and 6602 as well as a locomotive with open deck carriages for cargo,” he disclosed.

The trains are expected to travel at a maximum speed of 80kph which is 30kph faster than the previous engines.

“This means that the traveling time between Tanjung Aru and Beaufort now is about two hours and 15 minutes,” he said.

Services between Papar and the Secretariat building in the state capital will also resume and the train will depart from Papar at 6.10am with the return trip leaving secretariat at 5.10pm.

As part of the railway system’s modernisation process, there will be air-conditioned coaches available and those traveling on these coaches will have to pay first class fare which is expected to be three times the price of the economy class tickets.

On the services between Beaufort and Tenom, Mohd Zain said that it was running as usual except that the carrying capacity has been reduced because of the ongoing modernisation process.