THE East Coast Rail Link has been one of Malaysia's most anticipated infrastructure projects for years, and with its January 2027 launch inching closer, public curiosity about what it will cost to ride has been growing.
Posters purporting to show official ECRL fares from Gombak to destinations across Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan have been circulating on Facebook and Instagram, putting some very specific numbers into the public conversation.
Has the ECRL really announced its official ticket prices ahead of its January 2027 launch?
Verdict:
FALSE
The fares shown in the viral posters are not official, according to a fact-check published by MyCheck.my.
Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL), the company behind the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), confirmed that the ticket prices circulating on social media are speculation and do not represent the actual fares that will be charged when the service begins operating in January 2027.
MRL said fares are still being finalised with stakeholders and have not been officially announced.
The viral posters, which showed fares ranging from RM35 to RM110 from Gombak station to six destinations, also contain multiple errors that cast doubt on their authenticity.
Two of the six destinations listed, Kemaman and Besut in Terengganu, are not among the 20 official ECRL stations across Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Selangor shown on the ECRL's official website.
A separate version of the poster circulating on Facebook listed Jerantut and Besut as destinations, neither of which is part of the ECRL network, and misspelled both Temerloh and Kuala Terengganu, rendering them as "Termeloh" and "Kuala Terenganu."
Perhaps the most telling detail of all: one of the viral posters carries the logo of a cafe serving arabica coffee, printed on the right side of the image. The cafe has no connection to MRL or any related government ministry.
A QR code and website address on the poster were both inaccessible when checked by MyCheck.my.
MRL has advised the public not to make any assumptions or draw conclusions based on unverified information.
Official fares will only be announced by the Transport Ministry once the evaluation and approval process has been completed.
The ECRL spans 665 kilometres across Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang before connecting to Selangor on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
When operational, it is expected to cut travel time between Kota Bharu and Gombak to four hours, compared with around seven hours by road.
Sources:
3. https://www.ecrlmalaysia.com/
4. https://www.ecrlmalaysia.com/
5. https://www.instagram.com/p/
https://www.instagram.com/p/
