Did You Know Women Make Up 60% Of Rail Users In Klang Valley?
Despite the higher proportion of women passengers, the number of regular coaches remain sufficient to accommodate all commuters.
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Amid questions over over female-only coaches where men are banned from entry, the Transport Ministry said women make up six in ten of peak-hour rail commuters in the Klang Valley, which means only 40 percent of men make use of the rail systems.
According to a Malay Mail report today (18 February), the ministry, in a written reply to PAS’ Setiu member of parliament Shaharizukirnain Abd Kadir, said that despite the higher proportion of women passengers, the number of regular train coaches remains sufficient to accommodate all commuters.
“Currently, the women-only coach initiative is implemented on the MRT Kajang Line, MRT Putrajaya Line, and LRT Ampang Line, as these services have larger train capacities compared to the LRT Kelana Jaya Line and KL Monorail,” the ministry said.
They added that women-only coaches for KTM Komuter services are available only in the Klang Valley sector, while the initiative has not been introduced for the northern sector.
Meanwhile, Shaharizukirnain had asked for a gender ratio of rail users for justification, and whether there are enough coaches so men won’t have to intrude on women-only coaches.
In addition to guaranteeing that male commuters are not required to utilize the designated women-only coaches during peak hours, the ministry promised that the present number of ordinary coaches is adequate to accommodate passenger demand.
“To ensure the optimal allocation of train coaches, rail operators continuously monitor the gender ratio of passengers, allowing for improvements to be made as necessary,” the ministry said.
Back in January, a man took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to rant about women who choose to sit in shared coaches during peak hours, despite the availabilty of women-only coaches.
“Women, for the life of me, during peak hours, could you please sit in the women’s coach first, especially when it’s obviously vacant?” he tweeted.
“Why would you squeeze into the shared coach when the women’s coach looks so comfortable? And us guys are masam after work. Go, go,” he humorously added.
Women, for the life of me, during peak hours, could you pleeeeeease sit at the women's coach first especially since when it's obviously vacant.
— ArosliWealth (@ArosliWealth) January 8, 2025
Why nak sempit2 at the shared coach when it looks so comfortable there.
And us guys masam kot time habis kerja.
Gooo goooo
Women-only coaches were introduced in Malaysia in 2010 on KTM Komuter services as part of efforts to provide a safer environment for female passengers, especially during peak travel hours.
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