Evaluating Users’ Satisfaction on Urban Railway Based on Service Quality Model: The Study on KLIA Express in Malaysia

There are many countries around the world facing an increasing number of transportation challenges due to rapid urbanization. Urban railways are an important part of transportation systems. Their optimization can be an effective solution to urban problems, contributing to the improvement of urban livability and environmental sustainability. With the development of urban railways in Malaysia, the changing market environment has prompted the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Express to look for opportunities to optimize its services and increase users’ satisfaction. Previous studies mainly investigated the influential factors on trains based on several common models, such as the satisfaction-loyalty model. The quality of urban railway services can be reflected by the service quality (SERVQUAL) model by measuring customers’ perceived satisfaction. In this research, the SERVQUAL model was applied to the KLIA Express. Firstly, six dimensions, including tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and pandemic, were developed as indicators for the assessment. Secondly, it introduced users’ purchase intention as the dependent variable and the six dimensions as independent variables to verify their relationship based on the linear regression method. The findings concluded that reliability and pandemic significantly affected visitors’ purchase intentions for the Express. Finally, the results can be referenced to provide suggestions for further actions to optimize the railway service.