Prasarana Malaysia Bhd has assured residents it will take steps to minimise any discomfort and inconvenience when it runs comprehensive tests on its six-car trains on a new stretch of the extended Ampang LRT line beginning tomorrow.

The tests could run up to 24 hours, including in the wee hours of the morning, CEO of Prasarana Rail and Infrastructure Projects Sdn Bhd Datuk Zohari Sulaiman said in a statement.

The tests are in preparation for the Phase 2 of the LRT Line Extension Project (LEP) which is expected to be operational at the end of March.

With the first phase between Sri Petaling and Kinrara BK5 stations already in operation, the LRV Fault Free Run (FFR) tests would now run through Station 6 (IOI Puchong Jaya), Station 7 (Pusat Bandar Puchong) and Station 8 (Taman Perindustrian Puchong), before entering Station 9 (Bandar Puteri) and proceed to the pocket track to make a U-turn.

"The FFR is a comprehensive test and could run up to 24 hours, including in the wee hours of the morning. We, however, will take all adequate measures to minimise any discomfort and inconvenience caused to residents. On behalf of Prasarana, we would like to offer our apologies,” Zohari said.

The first phase of the Ampang LEP was opened on October 31 last year, covering four new stations – Awan Besar, Muhibbah, Alam Sutera and Kinrara BK5.

Phase 2 is due to open on March 31, covering the remaining seven stations and running up to Putra Heights.

According to Zohari, the FFR test is an endurance test for the six-car Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs) before the train could be certified fit for operation.

So far, nine of the new LRVs, which have been named ""Amy"", had completed the tests including seven trains that had been put into operation under Phase 1.

“Under the test, the trains would need to reach 1500km without any major failure on the LRV system such as train signalling, propulsion, braking, door and etc. If any major fault occurs, the kilometre of the tested LRV will be reset to zero,” said Zohari, adding that the test would be carried out under close observance of the Public Land Transport Commission (SPAD), which is the regulatory body on public transport matters.

Prasarana has purchased 50 sets of the six-car trains from CSR Zhuhou Electric Locomative Company (ZELC), including 20 under the Ampang LEP.

The remaining 30 were bought to replace the current fleet of six-car trains, which had been in service since 1998.

Todate, Prasarana has received 24 units of the six-car LRVs. Of the 50 units, 35 will be shipped to Malaysia as CBUs with the remaining 15 to be assembled locally at CSR ZELC plant in Batu Gajah, Perak.