BUTTERWORTH: Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) expects to open tender for the purchase of 36 electric multiple unit (EMU) trains worth RM2 billion in the next three to six months.According to its president Dr Aminuddin Adnan, KTMB is looking at prospective suppliers from international companies in Europe, China and Japan.
“We want to speed up the process as want to acquire the EMU in 2012,” he said after a ceremony in Butterworth yesterday to present cheques to squatters affected by the Ipoh-Padang Besar double-track electric railway project.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat officiated the event, where 134 squatters received cash consolation amounting to RM42,000.
Moreover, Ong said the potential EMU to be purchased would have six compartments, compared to the present ones used by the railway company, which come with only three compartments.
“Apart from buying new EMU trains, we also have to repair and refurbish the existing EMU to ensure comfort for passengers,” he said, adding that the new EMU train should have a speed of 100 to 120 kilometres per hour.