KUALA LUMPUR, 20 July 2022 – Leading local integrated rolling stock and rail services company Hartasuma Sdn Bhd is set to complete the supply of new 108 light rail transit (LRT) cars for the Kelana Jaya line.
This is being done in consortium with Alstom S.A, a global rolling stock manufacturer.
The Alstom-Hartasuma Consortium was awarded this contract in 2017, under the Kuala Lumpur Additional Vehicle (KLAV) 27 project, valued at RM1.72bil.
More significantly, Hartasuma is in the midst of assembling the bogies for these LRT cars in Malaysia.
Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong was there to witness the train’s final assembly, specifically the bogies’ assembly process in Hartasuma’s production facility in Pulau Indah, Selangor.
Its consortium partner Alstom S.A, in Mexico, previously performed this capability.
Hartasuma is also working with the National Railway Centre of Excellence (NRCOE), a unit under the Ministry of Transport, to be a qualified Tier 1 vendor for local bogie assembly and overhaul under the Railway Industry Development Program (RIDP).
“Initiatives like this increase Malaysia’s technical capabilities and helps reduce foreign outflows. The local participation is expected to increase in our upcoming projects,” said Hartasuma co-founder and executive director Tan Sri Ravindran Menon.
“These types of technology transfer have also allowed us to explore other opportunities such as the cable car systems. This technology is environmentally friendly, sustainable, and economically sensible. It will mark our shift from contracting-based revenue to concessions,” said Ravindran.
Meanwhile, Hartasuma is also progressively becoming a distinctive driving force in empowering human capital for the railway industry.
“Hartasuma is now evolving into a teaching factory that develops and nurtures local talents in various areas of expertise within the railway industry. We have tied up with academic institutions like Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), and will be a part of an ecosystem that produces sought after skilled workforce,” he adds.
Alstom has partnered with Hartasuma for almost two decades in bidding and executing rail projects in Malaysia.
The Alstom-Hartasuma consortium successfully delivered 35 of the 818 series in 2009 and performed the mid-life refurbishment of 68 cars on the Kelana Jaya line.
About Hartasuma:
Hartasuma is a PKK Class A Bumiputera company. It is the region’s leading integrated rolling stock and rail services company.
Its core competencies lie in innovative engineering, refurbishment, overhaul, operations and maintenance, assembly, and supply of rolling stock.
It was the first to supply Malaysia’s first locally assembled passenger coaches and LRTs to Prasarana Malaysia Bhd and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd.
To date, it has delivered more than 400 cars to cater for the transportation needs of the nation’s rail and aviation sectors.
