KTM Komuter


KTM Komuter is a commuter rail system in Malaysia operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu. It was introduced in 1995 to provide local rail services in Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding Klang Valley suburban areas. Services were later expanded to other parts of Malaysia with the introduction of the Northern and Southern sectors.
The service uses air-conditioned electric multiple units in 3 and 6 car formations.
KTM Komuter contributed RM146.2 million to group revenue in 2017, carrying a total of 37.235 million passengers. The total number of passengers travelling with KTM Komuter in 2017 shows a decrease of 10.2%. This can be attributed to reduced service frequency due to the ongoing Klang Valley Double Tracking rehabilitation project.

Network

Current network

Central Sector

KTM Komuter's 287 km network in the Central Sector mainly covers the Klang Valley. It has a total 58 stations. It consists of two cross-city routes, namely the and the, and the airport rail link.
Transfers between the two city lines can be made at any of the four stations on the central core:,, and, with the latter 3 providing same-platform or cross-platform interchanges.
The is a limited express airport rail link service for passengers headed towards the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport. Running between KL Sentral and, it makes one intermediate stop at, before branching off to the airport. The service is the second airport rail link in Malaysia after the Express Rail Link. However, it is temporarily suspended due to low ridership.
The routes have been modified over the years. Previously, the Batu Caves-Pulau Sebang line trains would head towards Tanjung Malim while the Tanjung Malim-Port Klang line trains would head to Batu Caves. Following a successful trial, the routes were swapped. Trains from Seremban began heading towards Batu Caves, while trains from Port Klang headed towards Tanjung Malim. The train service from Seremban was extended permanently to Pulau Sebang/Tampin, hence the current name of the line.
The service is subject to overcrowding during rush hours. Several steps were taken to alleviate this. Firstly, the operator introduced a new queuing system, in which the lines are painted on the floor with three colour codes representing each of the train set. Trains were also run in 3+3 formations, although this has been discontinued with the introduction of six-car sets.

Northern Sector

The KTM Komuter Northern Sector service initially operated between in Kedah, in Penang and in Perak. This followed the completion of electrification works on that stretch.
The route has been modified multiple times since. Today, there are two lines, namely the Padang Besar-Butterworth Line and the Ipoh-Butterworth Line., and are interchange stations between the two lines.

Southern Sector

The former KTM Komuter Southern Sector operated as a shuttle service from to following the completion of electrification works on that stretch. The shuttle service would be terminated on 11 July 2016 when it was fully absorbed into the Batu Caves-Pulau Sebang Line.
On 14 March 2024, it was announced that the Southern Sector line will be reintroduced as a commuter service from Gemas to Paloh, and Paloh to JB Sentral, once the electrification and double tracking project along that route is completed.
On 22 July 2025, KTMB announced plans to introduce Komuter service on the –Pasir Gudang line, which is currently a freight-only route, to serve the higher passenger traffic expected from the upcoming Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System. The service is expected to begin in 2026. By January 2026, three sites were proposed for the line's intermediate stations — Taman Daya, Bandar Seri Alam, and Kampung Pasir Putih.

History

Central Sector

The first double-tracking and electrification project in Malaysia, which costed RM 1.5 billion, began in 1990. The project covered over a 150 km route stretching as far as, and. Overhead electric cables between Rawang and were activated in December 1994. The first phase of the electric train service was planned to be from Sentul to Shah Alam via Kuala Lumpur.
Despite being planned to start operations in July 1995, the completion was delayed as of January 1995, causing the service to not launch on time.
As part of KTM's efforts to get the public to "think commuter", KTM offered free rides of the service from 2 to 11 August 1995.
The project was finally completed and service started on 12 August 1995 from Kuala Lumpur to Rawang, on what was the original Seremban Line. The commercial run of the service began two days later. KTM Komuter initially had 18 EMU trains and additional 62 trains purchased at RM 180 million. Each train carries about 240 passengers and would run at the speed of 100 kmh.
The line was extended to on 29 September 1995. Operations between and began on 28 August 1995, on what was the original Port Klang Line. This line was extended to on 29 September 1995. The Seremban Line was extended to on 20 November 1995 and to Seremban itself on 18 December 1995. This formed the Komuter network that will operate for more than a decade.
In the early 2000s, more stations were added along the existing route as in-fill stations. was added on 16 April 2001 and served as the new transport hub of Kuala Lumpur. was added on 23 August 2004, serving the Mid Valley Megamall. was added on 1 July 2006.
A Seremban-KL Sentral express service was introduced on 9 December 2004. The service was discontinued later before being reintroduced again on 25 July 2018. These services run only during the rush hour.
The Seremban Line was modified for the first time since 1995 when a shuttle train service from Rawang was introduce to with two stations and in between, in 2007. The shuttle was extended to in January 2008, and finally to on 1 June 2009.
Women-only coaches were introduced on 28 April 2010.
The Port Klang Line was extended to from Sentul on 29 July 2010. Three intermediate new stations,, and were opened with this extension.
The Seremban Line was extended from Seremban to on 14 May 2011 with an intermediate station at, and to in 2013.
Similar to the Rawang-Tanjung Malim shuttle, a Southern Sector shuttle service was introduced on 10 October 2015 following the completion of the Seremban-Gemas electrification and double-tracking project previously on 30 October 2013. This service is the second KTM Komuter service outside the Klang Valley after its northern counterpart, and ran from Seremban to.
From 15 December 2015, the routes of the Seremban Line and Port Klang Line were switched as part of a six-month trial. Trains from Seremban began heading towards Batu Caves, while trains from Port Klang headed towards Rawang, and vice versa. Transfers could be done at the four shared stations.
The Gemas and stops on the Southern Sector shuttle were removed starting 20 June 2016 with the train terminating at instead. Not long after, both the Rawang-Tanjung Malim shuttle and the Seremban-Pulau Sebang/Tampin shuttles were terminated in 11 July 2016, with the former routes being absorbed into the main Port Klang Line and Seremban Line respectively.
Following a successful trial of the swapped routes, the changes were made permanent. The names of the lines were changes from Seremban Line and Port Klang Line to Batu Caves-Pulau Sebang Line and Tanjung Malim-Port Klang Line respectively, reflecting the current termini of both lines.
No further changes were made to the Central Sector Komuter lines until 1 May 2018, when the KL Sentral-Terminal Skypark Line to Subang Airport was launched. The line starts at KL Sentral, and shares a common route with the Tanjung Malim-Port Klang line from KL Sentral to but skipping all stations in between. It will make a stop at Subang Jaya, before branching off and making its way to, a standalone station of the line located opposite the Subang Airport terminal building. However, since 15 February 2023, the KL Sentral-Terminal Skypark Line has been temporarily suspended due to poor ridership and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Twelve years after the last in-fill station was added to the system, the new station was opened between KL Sentral and on the Tanjung Malim-Port Klang Line on 28 October 2018. Roughly five years later, on 13 March 2023, the station was added between and on the Batu Caves-Pulau Sebang Line.

Northern Sector

Northern Sector services were introduced on 11 September 2015 between in Kedah, in Penang and in Perak. This followed the completion of the Ipoh-Padang Besar Electrification and Double-Tracking Project in December 2014. On 1 January 2016, a second line was introduced between Butterworth and in Perlis, while on 17 January 2016, the Gurun-Butterworth-Kamunting route was split into two separate routes: Butterworth-Gurun and Butterworth-Kamunting. The three-line service operated until 1 July 2016 when the Butterworth-Gurun route was dropped. The Butterworth-Kamunting line was further modified on 1 September 2016, with the line starting two stations before Butterworth at, and extended two stations beyond Kamunting to and. The only common station and thus, the only interchange between the Padang Besar-Butterworth Line and Padang Rengas-Bukit Mertajam Line was Bukit Mertajam station.
The service will continue to operate in this configuration until 4 November 2021, when trains on the Padang Rengas-Bukit Mertajam Line were made to terminate at Butterworth again, thereby making Butterworth, and Bukit Mertajam interchange stations between the two lines.
The Northern Sector took on its current form with the extention of the Padang Rengas-Bukit Mertajam Line beyond Padang Rengas to, with two intermediate stations and on 16 September 2023.

Stations

The Komuter service was largely built from existing lines, with minor alterations. Relevant station platforms were added and heightened to allow easier access to Komuter trains travelling in both directions.
Major pre-independence stations, including,, and were retained and upgraded to support the Komuter services. Smaller, wood-based stations and halts along the line that were built at around the same time were either demolished and replaced by modern brick-and-concrete counterparts, or simply abandoned if not preserved. The only exception to the rule is the old station, which remained in service years after KTM Komuter's launch, albeit with a replacement platform.
The layouts and sizes of the new station buildings, since the launch of the service in 1995, vary by location but are generally divided into two classes:
  • Railway halts, consisting of a small single-storey structure with only ticket counters. The stations are usually placed along straightforward dual tracks.
  • Medium-sized and single-storey stations, housing both the ticket counters and station offices, and typically stationed along three or more tracks. Such stations are typically intended to support additional responsibilities, such as managing railway signals, controlling railroad switches and handling goods services. The stations themselves are similar in design to the original wood-based stations along the line with slight hints of Western colonial designs, but are larger and modernised.
Some stations also have parking facilities.
The platforms of the 1995 stations are virtually standardised, down to the design of the passenger semicircle-crossed shelters, the use of similarly-styled foot crossings to link all platforms, and the diamonds-based brickwork of the platforms.
Depending on the number of patrons through the years, each station has undergone upgrades or expansions that consist of either increasing the number of ticket counters or opening new facilities for use by passengers or railway staff. Taller, wider canopies were erected on the platforms of most stations to replace narrower, original versions in 2006 and 2007. The pace of the upgrades varies by location.
During the 2000s, new stations such as the appeared with more modern designs, consisting primarily of high, curved canopies above the entire platforms. Certain new stations along dual tracks are also included with facilities typically reserved for medium-sized stations, such as the. The KL Sentral station, however, is housed under the concrete base of the Stesen Sentral transport hub, and is stark and utilitarian in design.

Rolling stock

The original Komuter rolling stock consisted of three versions of three-car Electric multiple units added over the course of three years, beginning in 1994. The EMUs were the first in KTM's history. All Komuter EMUs operated in multiple-unit formation, drawing power from an overhead single-phase 25 kV AC 50 Hz catenary supply, with two driving cars and 1 trailer car in between. The EMUs were state-of-the-art, with remote-controlled pneumatic doors, Automatic Train Protection, train data recorder, wheel-slip control, GTO/IGBT traction electronics and regenerative braking. Up to the point of their introduction, no other KTM motive power used these modern train control systems.
Designated by KTM as "Class 8x"s, the EMUs wore yellow, blue and grey livery, a departure from the predominantly grey livery that KTM adopted on other locomotives and passenger coaches at the time. A handful of EMUs included full advertisements on the sides of their cars.
The original Komuter fleet consisted of the following models:
ClassImageIn serviceCars per SetOn orderManufacturerRemarks
Class 81 EMUs43N/A

Ticketing

Beginning 10 September 2018, all services abolished the cash ticketing system, and cashless ticketing methods were made compulsory.
Currently, passengers travelling on KTM Komuter may use the following ticketing options:
When transferring between lines in a specific sector, passengers need only to purchase a ticket to their destination once, or tap in and tap out once each throughout their journey.

Ridership

Ridership statistics published by the Ministry of Transport are for all KTM Komuter services. No separate statistics for the individual lines are published. Statistics before 1999 are also not available.

Incidents and accidents

  • On the evening of 3 March 2004, a -bound KTM Komuter train on the Seremban Line collided with the rear of another Komuter train facing the same direction, which had been waiting at a signal between and Seremban for five minutes. Forty passengers were injured, but no deaths were reported. The accident was ascribed to the faulty signal light that stopped the earlier train, though the driver of the rear-ending train is reported to have run a red light into the section occupied by the rear-ended train. The resulting crash disrupted KTM Komuter services along the line for a day. This is so far the worst accident involving the KTM Komuter service.
  • On 2 March 2007, a crane fell onto a KTM Komuter train track near station on the Port Klang Line, stranding about 10,000 passengers and cancelling 40 trips. Alternative transport services were provided.
  • On 25 May 2007, a person was killed after he was hit by a KTM Komuter train while crossing the tracks illegally. Deaths in this manner have occurred along Komuter lines before.
  • On 27 February 2008, overhead power cables between and stations of the Port Klang Line broke, causing all train services from to terminate at Petaling, unable to move further.
  • On 22 October 2009, a multipurpose vehicle plunged onto the railway track as it was heading from Kuala Lumpur towards Subang Jaya. Train services were disrupted, and the vehicle was towed away 3 hours after the accident.
  • On 4 February 2013, A woman in her 50s was run over by a commuter train at station. The victim was said to have been dragged 50m along the track in the incident.
  • On 15 February 2013 at 23:00, an out-of-service KTM Class 92 SCS 20 train derailed near station while returning to the Sentul depot for maintenance. No one was injured. The train was heavily damaged and was subsequently written off.
  • On 1 November 2013, a 3-coach KTM Class 83 derailed near station while moving through a track switch. No one was hurt in the incident. The two rear coaches were separated and towed away using a locomotive while the remaining front coach was removed by cranes.
  • On 18 September 2017, KTM train services suffered a major disruption after an electrical cable snapped at KM361.76 on the tracks between the and stations, causing closure to both of the rail tracks.