KUANTAN, Dec 11 — The overall rate of progress of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project has reached over 56 per cent as of November, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
Its progress aligns with the project’s completion schedule from Kota Bharu, Kelantan, to the Gombak Integrated Terminal in December 2026. The ECRL is scheduled to be operational in January 2027.
“This year is also the peak year for the construction of this project. The ECRL project entered a new phase of construction early this year, involving the installation of flyover beams and constructing the train stations and depots.
“Soon, the ECRL project will involve the construction of the electrification, signalling, and telecommunications systems to operate the passenger and cargo trains,” he said at the ceremony to install the first ECRL track at the Section 10 ECRL Station Site in Gebeng today.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, accompanied by Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, officiated the ceremony to instal the first ECRL track.
Once the project is completed, Loke said East Coast residents will enjoy a new chapter in Malaysia’s transportation system, which, among others, will enable Kuantan residents to arrive in Kuala Lumpur in just one and a half hours compared to three hours by road.
In addition, 23,000 workers are involved in carrying out work at 1,900 construction sites thus far along the alignment, while 26 tunnels have been excavated using the drill and blast methods.
“The excavation of the Genting twin tunnel measuring 16.39 km, with a combination of drilling and blasting as the tunnel boring machine has reached a depth of nearly six kilometres for both sides of the tunnel, and is expected to be fully excavated in the second quarter of 2025,” he said.
As for work on the ECRL flyover, which covers a length of 145km, so far the installation of flyover beams has reached over 60km.
The ECRL track from Kota Bharu, Kelantan, to Port Klang, Selangor, involves the construction of 20 stations, covering ten passenger and ten combined passenger and cargo stations, with seven stations in Pahang, six in Terengganu, two in Kelantan, and five in Selangor.
“The Transport Ministry is optimistic the KPC, Cherating, KotaSAS, and Paya Besar stations will further boost the administration of the Kuantan district, which has over 600,000 residents,” Loke said.
— Bernama
