MARAN: The first 11 days of October have proven to be disastrous for the progress of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) as the project saw its 32nd case of theft or vandalism along its alignment that stretches from Kota Baru to Port Klang.
The last two incidents took place just within 24 hours in this Pahang district that is about 100km from Kuantan.
In the Oct 10 incident, thieves cut off a 30m stretch of "contact" wire that is part of the overhead line equipment (OHLE).
This required a replacement cable that is nearly a mile long.
In the Oct 11 incident, a signalling cable in a trench was cut but was not removed.
However, the replacement was understood to be several hundred metres long.
In a media briefing at the site of the latest two incidents, a spokesman of the project's contractor, CCC-ECRL, said the first incident of theft took place in May.
"However, nine cases were seen in the first few days of Oct alone, which is rather concerning," said Shi Liang Hui, CCC-ECRL's director of safety for its Section 13.
The number of theft and vandalism cases for ECRL for May, June, August, Sept and Oct are six, seven, one, nine and nine, respectively, with no incidents in July.
Pahang leads with 24 cases, followed by Terengganu (seven) and Kelantan (one), with cumulative losses amounting to around RM3mil.
At the moment, all losses from theft are being borne by the contractor.
However, when the trains start running, all losses will be split equally with Malaysia.
Nearly all rail operators in Malaysia have suffered from cable theft, including KTM Bhd and Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (operator of the airport rail Link).
ECRL is expected to begin commercial services in early 2027.
