Malaysia Airports to replace Aerotrain system in KLIA
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd has embarked on the replacement exercise of its Automated People Mover (APM), also known as the Aerotrain system, in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
Malaysia Airports managing director Datuk Iskandar Mizal Mahmood said the current Aerotrains were approaching their end-of-life stage and needed to be upgraded so that passengers can be better served.
“It is no longer feasible to maintain the current Aerotrains. Old assets are more prone to break down and this will inconvenience passengers.
“They are also running on old technology, making it difficult to get parts,” he said in a statement Monday.
The new APM project that has been awarded to PESTECH Technology Sdn Bhd (PESTECH) will begin in March 2022 and take three years to be completed.
PESTECH will work together with Bombardier Transportation on the project, which encompasses the replacement of the Aerotrain system as well as its maintenance for ten years until 2034.
Iskandar Mizal said the new Aerotrains would be upgraded together with the track system infrastructure, and this would also provide the airport with better operational efficiency.
“No doubt there will be some inconvenience to passengers in the next three years during the upgrading period.
“While we will endeavour to minimise the disruption of service, passengers will continue to be shuttled using the airside bus service which has been running well as an alternative service since 2017,” he added. The current Aerotrains have been shuttling more than 300 million passengers between the satellite and main terminal buildings since the airport opened 23 years ago.
Over the past few years, the ageing Aerotrain system frequently faced service disruptions, contributing to operational inefficiency and inconveniencing passengers who must use the alternative busing service instead.