KUALA LUMPUR, April 16: The Transport Ministry is planning to improve access for disabled at 10 more KTM Komuter station.

The project, estimated to cost RM20mil, will be carried out under the 10th Malaysian Plan.

The stations are Kepong, Batu Tiga, Klang, UKM, Bangi, Kuala Lumpur, Tanjung Malim, Putra, Nilai and Padang Jawa.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said the Government was determined to ensure sufficient public transport facilities for physically disabled group.

Five stations – Bandar Tasik Selatan, Serdang, Shah Alam, Rawang and Sungai Buloh – were currently being upgraded and work was nearing completion, he said.

A total of RM10mil was allocated under the Ninth Malaysian Plan for the construction of lifts, ramps for wheelchair-bound passengers to embark and disembark from trains, special toilets and parking lots for the disabled at the five stations, he said.

Ong said the upgrading project was being extended to other public transport services such as airlines and bus services.

“I was also on a wheelchair before and I know how the disabled feel and how they need such facilities,” he said after visiting the Sungai Buloh and Serendah KTM Komuter stations yesterday.

Ong said the ministry was also looking into the possibility of modifying existing railway tracks in the country to accommodate high-speed trains.

He said he has been discussing this with his counterparts from China and India as well as other experts.

“We are taking a hard look at the possibility of modifying the railway tracks to accommodate future needs for a high-speed train,” he said.

Ong said the gauge of the existing tracks, which is only suitable for speeds less than 140kph, might have to be modified as they were too narrow for high-speed trains which could run between 320km per hour and 350km per hour.

Ong said the tracks between Ipoh and Padang Besar, and between Seremban and Gemas were being double-tracked and electrified. He said work on the Gemas-Johor Baru stretch would begin soon.

He said the double-tracking and electrification of the tracks were expected to be completed by 2013.

Yesterday, Ong took time off to visit voters and local MCA members in Batang Kali.

He said he would be visiting Hulu Selangor voters from time to time in his capacity as Transport Minister to get first-hand feedback on issues related to his ministry.

Meanwhile, MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said people in Hulu Selangor were more likely to give their votes to elected representatives who could provide efficient service instead of being impressed by “big names.”

“This is not a race between individuals,” he said.

He was asked about comments that Pakatan Rakyat stood a better chance with political heavyweight Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, the former de facto law minister, as its candidate for the Hulu Selangor by-election.

Source: http://thestar.com.my