ECRL reaches progress rate of more than 60%, says MRL CEO

KOTA BARU: The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and Selangor has reached an overall progress rate of 62.40% as of February.

Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) chief executive office Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak (pic) said to date, the construction work on the ECRL in Kelantan was 75.8% complete.

"The ECRL project in Kelantan covering 43km involves the construction of two stations, namely a passenger station in Kota Baru and a passenger and cargo station in Pasir Puteh.

"The ECRL line from Kota Baru to the Integrated Transport Terminal (ITT) in Gombak is expected to be completed according to schedule in December 2026 and will commence operations in January 2027, while the ECRL line from Gombak to Port Klang is expected to be completed by December 2027," he said after attending an iftar event here last night.

Darwis added that the construction of the elevated structure bridges had progressed well in Kelantan.

"Recently, we have achieved three tunnel breakthroughs, bringing the total number of tunnel breakthroughs to 30 out of 41.

"I believe that the construction of the ECRL is on the right track to be completed fully by December 2026 for the Kota Baru to Gombak line," he said.

He said the track laying construction from Kuantan to Dungun along a stretch of 92.2km had been fully completed.

The 665km ECRL is expected to link Kota Baru to ITT Gombak in four hours compared to seven hours by road or some 12 hours or more during festive seasons. - Bernama