JOHOR BAHRU: Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) will temporarily suspend train services between Johor Bahru Sentral (JBS) and Kempas Baru stations effective Nov 23 until May next year.

KTMB chief operating officer Mohd Zain Mat Taha said this was due to the implementation of work to upgrade the Gemas-Johor Bahru Electrified Double Track project which will be carried out between the two stations.

"As a result, the operation of the Ekpres Selatan train services for the JBS-Gemas-JBS route and the Ekspres Rakyat Timuran for the JBS-Tumpat-JBS route will undergo changes.

"The Tebrau Shuttle services between JBS-Woodlands-JBS is still not operational until the construction work is completed," he said in a statement today.

He added that from Nov 23, passengers travelling using the Ekpres Selatan and Ekspres Rakyat Timuran services would have to go to Kempas Baru station as the train service would end and start at that station.

For passengers who have purchased tickets from or to JBS and do not intend to continue their journey, the full refund will be credited into KTM Wallet through the KTMB mobile application, he said.

"KTMB will work with e-hailing companies to ensure the availability of alternative transportation at the stations involved," he said, adding that users were advised to plan trips in advance to facilitate movement and to avoid any inconveniences in the future.

Members of the public can get more information and the latest schedule by contacting the KTMB call centre at 03-2267 1200.

The Gemas-Johor Bahru Electrified Double Track project along 192 kilometres across four districts, namely, Segamat, Kluang, Kulai and Johor Bahru, has started in Dec 2016 and is expected to be completed in June 2023, thus it will complete the Electrified Double Track route on the west coast of Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA