THE Transport Ministry will examine all railway tracks to ascertain their level of safety.

Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat said he would propose that this be done by an independent body and hoped it could be done soon.

"I am concerned about the condition of our railway tracks. It is time we have a comprehensive audit of them," he said at a press conference at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

The move comes in the wake of the May 3 Ekspress Rakyat train derailment in Seremban, which killed the engine driver and injured 12 of the 210 Singapore-bound passengers.

The locomotive and three of the 12 coaches plunged into a ravine. Six coaches went off the tracks.

Ong said an interim report of the accident had been filed.

Nevertheless, a committee headed by his ministry's secretary-general, Datuk Zakaria Bahari, had been set up to investigate the cause of the derailment and "the committee will present its findings as soon as possible".

He said the Ipoh-Rawang double-tracking railway line would be operational once Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad had taken delivery of additional electric multiple unit (EMU) coaches by 2010.

He said the company would get 13 new EMUs by 2010.

The company has 80 EMUs, 30 of which are being used for its KTM Komuter service. The rest are in the workshop.

On complaints that the Komuter service was plagued by delays, Ong said this was caused by a shortage of coaches and spare parts for them.

He said KTMB had been directed to make contingency plans to address the situation.

On the Ipoh-Padang Besar electrified double-tracking project, Ong said the cost increase of RM4.49 billion was due to the higher prices of construction materials as well as rising labour costs.

The project, which was awarded to MMC-Gamuda-JV, was put on hold in 2003 for economic reasons.

In 2003, the construction cost was to have been RM8 billion, but when the government revived the project in December last year, it had ballooned to RM12.485 billion.

This spike in the cost brought a howl of protests from opposition leaders who demanded to know the reason.