This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 13, 2025 - January 19, 2025

It has been 22 months since a video showing 114 passengers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport walking along a platform between train tracks after the aerotrain broke down went viral.

When will the railway system linking the main building of KLIA Terminal 1 to the satellite building get back on track?

Last December, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the government hoped the aerotrain would be operational again by late January or early February, ahead of the planned commencement date of March 31.

There is widespread speculation, however, that the date has been pushed to March. Still, this is not our first rodeo and it is far from being the first kick-off date promised by the government for the aerotrain service. Indeed, the date had already been pushed back from July 2024.

The 25-year-old aerotrain service was suspended in March 2023. Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (KL:AIRPORT), or MAHB, terminated the services of its contractor Pestech International Bhd (KL:PESTECH) for non-performance five months later. Pestech was subsequently reappointed to the KLIA aerotrain replacement project, this time with IJM Construction Sdn Bhd as a joint-venture partner in a consortium with French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom in January 2024.

MAHB then announced that the consortium would deliver three new trains and two lines by the first quarter of 2025.

Should we be concerned that the commencement date of the aerotrain is being pushed back again even though the overall operation of the international airport would not be disrupted?

Yes, we should, as should MAHB’s management and board.

Enough time has passed. 

This year, Malaysia is hosting Asean leaders and delegates as the Asean chair.

As the aerotrain service is a basic facility at most international airports, what will our international guests think if KLIA can’t even get its existing system right?

Next year is Visit Malaysia Year. An efficient KLIA, being the country’s gateway to the world, would create a good impression among those passing through it.

If we missed out on opportunities from the pent-up consumer demand following the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, let’s make sure we don’t miss out on the window of opportunity being presented to us this year and next.

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