Kuala lumpur: Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) is adding 124 services with 38,944 seats for its Electric Train Service (ETS) and Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) Plus services during the upcoming National Day and school holidays.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, KTMB announced the addition of 100 ETS services, offering 31,600 seats, which will operate over 10 days from August 21 to 23, August 28 to 31, and September 4 to 6. The move aims to increase capacity and meet passenger demand during the holiday season and National Day celebrations.

Additionally, KTMB is introducing 24 extra EMU Plus services, providing a total of 7,344 seats on selected dates from August 21 to September 6. This includes an extension of services to Bandar Tasik Selatan. For the KTM Komuter's northern sector, eight additional services on the Padang Besar-Butterworth-Padang Besar route will operate from August 27 to 31, increasing the total to 46 services daily on this route.

Tickets for these additional services went on sale yesterday through KTMB's official sales channels. The company also conducted customer appreciation activities from August 10 to 14, including vouchers, KFC meals, free travel tickets, and RM16 discounts to celebrate the 16th anniversary of the ETS.

KTMB's group chief executive officer, Datuk Azlan Shah Al Bakri, highlighted the ETS's strong performance over the years. Starting in 2010, the service began with a route to Ipoh and expanded to Butterworth and Padang Besar in 2015, with plans to extend further south by the end of 2025. The ETS, introduced on August 12, 2010, has recorded 44.3 million passengers. From January to July this year, there was a 56 percent increase in passengers, reaching 3.67 million compared to 2.36 million in the same period last year.

The expansion reflects KTMB's dedication to enhancing capacity, service reliability, and the passenger experience, ensuring wider and more competitive rail services.