MEDIA RELEASE FOR THE OFFICIAL VISIT TO EXPRESS RAIL LINK SDN BHD BY YB DATO’ SRI ONG TEE KEAT, MINISTER OF TRANSPORT 6TH MAY 2010

“MALAYSIAN TRANSPORT COMPANIES LIKE EXPRESS RAIL LINK SHOULD MARKET THEIR WORLD CLASS CAPABILITIES TO OTHER TRAIN OPERATORS LOCALLY & OVERSEAS”

Salak Tinggi, Selangor: With an average on-time service performance of 99.7% since 2004, Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (“ERLSB”) has proven that Malaysian companies can not only construct, but also maintain equipment and services at a very high standard. This consistently high level of service is among the best in the world, and ERLSB should market this expertise to other rail operators locally and overseas.

This was advised by YB Dato’ Sri Ong Tee Keat, Minister of Transport, when he visited the ERLSB depot maintenance facility in Salak Tinggi this morning. The Minister first boarded the KLIA Transit train from KL Sentral and many commuters onboard were pleasantly surprised when he spoke to them about their experiences in using public transportation.

Upon arriving at ERLSB’s Kompleks Rel-Udara in Salak Tinggi, the Minister was taken on a tour of the depot by ERLSB’s Chief Executive Officer Noormah Mohd Noor and ERL Maintenance Support Sdn Bhd (“E-MAS”)’s Chief Executive Officer Thomas Baake.

The visit to the depot allowed the Minister to see how ERL & E-MAS have managed to maintain their trains in excellent operational condition even after 8 years and 37 million km in operation.

“The government is always encouraging greater use of public transportation. One important aspect of the Urban Public Transport National Key Result Area (“NKRA”) is to boost usage of public transportation to 25% by 2012 during peak morning hours. I am glad to note that ERLSB’s KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit trains are already providing fast, comfortable and reliable services, and I hope to see greater awareness and usage of these trains,” said Dato’ Sri Ong Tee Keat. He also noted that ERLSB was part of the Integrated Transport Terminal – Bandar Tasik Selatan (“ITT-BTS”) which was slated to open later this year. The KLIA Transit, KTM Komuter and RapidKL trains at ITT-BTS would help disperse passengers from almost 550 inter-city buses arriving from the south daily, thereby averting road congestion from so many buses entering the city centre.

Another goal of the NKRA is the implementation of an integrated ticketing platform among all public transportation operators, particularly the rail and bus operators. The “Touch N Go” (“TnG”) system in use in all toll roads, RapidKL, KL Monorail and KTM Komuter trains, is planned to eventually cover RapidKL buses and ERLSB’s trains. Both the KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit services are expected to have TnG facilities by the end of this year.

Connectivity is important for travelers using public transportation, and KL Sentral has been a focal point for passengers interchanging between rail lines. Both the KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit integrate with all the other train lines there, to provide fast airport transfers for air travelers to KLIA, and reliable transportation for commuters working in Putrajaya/Cyberjaya and the airport.

Dato’ Sri Ong Tee Keat also noted that another reason the government was advocating greater use of public transportation was to reduce the adverse effects of carbon emissions on the environment, as transport modes such as trains are more energy efficient in moving large numbers of people. He was happy to see that ERLSB trains were the most environmentally friendly way to travel to the airport. Every year, ERLSB takes the equivalent of about 3.5 million cars off the road in terms of reduced carbon emissions. ERLSB had also launched the “Go LoCO2” campaign in August 2009 to raise public awareness about reducing carbon emissions.

ERLSB’s high level of reliability was attributed to the strict maintenance programme operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary company, E-MAS, tasked to operate and maintain the train system. In the past 10 years, E-MAS has developed the skills and expertise of its employees to successfully operate and maintain both the KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit with an impeccable on-time service performance. Their expertise has been recognised by other operators domestically and regionally. E-MAS has provided operations and maintenance audit, consultation and training to operators in Puerto Rico (LRT), Bangkok (airport rail), Malaysia’s national railways KTM (Sentul – Batu Caves project) RapidKL (LRT), and Perak Hanjoong cement rail transport development. E-MAS achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification in 2003 and was re-certified to ISO 9001:2008 in 2009.

“We don’t believe in short cuts. When it comes to maintenance of our trains and systems, there cannot be any compromise as the safety and comfort of our passengers are of paramount importance to us. This commitment to excellence in operations and maintenance has also ensured that we are on time, every time, and I believe our passengers appreciate that,” said Noormah Mohd Noor, Chief Executive Officer ERLSB. She added that ERLSB has received several invitations from overseas rail operators to provide training & documentation, consultation or even be a full fledge operator of their system, but ERLSB would have to evaluate them carefully.