SEVERAL of those taking the newly launched LRT service between the Kelana Jaya and Putra Heights stations were first-timers who had never taken the train before.
The service officially began yesterday at 6am but most of the passengers strolled in after 9.30am.
They comprised mostly senior citizens and tertiary-level students who wanted to try out the new service.
Ticket machines are placed in the Putra Heights LRT station to prevent a long line while purchasing tickets.
StarMetro decided to join them to test the service too. We took the train from Kelana Jaya to Putra Heights, The journey cost RM4.30 one way.
"I'm actually not going anywhere. I just came to try it out for fun and see what its like," said retiree Michael Chee.
Passengers getting off at the Putra Heights station. The first day of the LRT extension service was smooth with minimal ticketing or train glitches.
Chee, who was on the train with a couple of friends, said he had never taken the LRT before because it was not convenient and there were no stops in Subang Jaya.
But with this new Kelana Jaya and Sri Petaling LRT Line Extension, there are now 13 new stations from Kelana Jaya cutting through Subang Jaya all the way to Putra Heights before connecting to the Ampang and Sentul Timur lines.
"This is really convenient and I think if I'm going into Kuala Lumpur for a day or just to walk around KLCC, I will definitely take the train to avoid traffic congestion," said Chee, who boarded the train from Subang Jaya and got off at Putra Heights.
As it was the first day of operations, there were many police officers, security personnel as well as Prasarana Malaysia Bhd (Prasarana) representatives on hand to help passengers.
Most of the Prasarana staff assisted commuters with ticket purchases and how to use the ticketing machines.
Despite the three-storey Putra Heights station being spacious, we noticed that there were enough signs to guide first-time passengers onto the platform on level three.
A huge board detailing the train routes and the respective platforms is on the second floor, along with the ticketing machines and customer service counters.
"We are very excited to take the LRT from Putra Heights to Kuala Lumpur as we have never taken the train before," said retiree Tang See Moi, who drove to the station from Shah Alam.
Marc Chow, from Subang Jaya, said he plans to take the train to work every day to avoid traffic congestion.
"The train was quite empty at the SS18 station but filled up from the Taman Bahagia station onwards.
"It was packed like sardines after that but it is still better than being sardines on the road," said Chow.
The track cuts through major roads such as the Federal Highway, New Klang Valley Expressway and Kesas near the Sunway exit.
As we travelled above, we could see the bumper-to-bumper traffic on the roads even after 10.30am.
Some stations such as Ara Damansara, Glenmarie, Subang Jaya, USJ 21, Alam Megah, Subang Alam and Putra Heights also have park-and-ride facilities.
"This new line is definitely faster compared to the Ampang line where the trains are older," said Ahmad Soliheen Saadon.
The 23-year-old was trying out the new route as he will be starting work at KL Sentral in September.
The frequency of trains ranges from three to six minutes.