ECRL hits the tracks: Malaysia’s new rail system stages preview run, 2027 launch on track

KUANTAN – Malaysia’s East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) staged a preview run of its long-awaited service on Feb 11, using trains recently delivered from China, as the project owners reaffirmed that the line remains on track for a 2027 launch.

Stretching 665km, the rail line linking Kuala Lumpur to the east coast towns of Kuantan, Kuala Terengganu and Kota Bharu is nearly 92 per cent complete, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke. It is set to provide a modern connection between the two halves of Peninsular Malaysia.

“In about 11 months, we will see the first train running from Gombak to Kota Bharu,” Mr Loke said, referring to the two terminal stations of the ECRL’s passenger service. “This is an important milestone in the transportation system of our country.”

Mr Loke, alongside Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil and Chinese ambassador Ouyang Yuying, was in Kuantan, the capital of Pahang state, to take part in the preview run between the stations in KotaSAS, or Kota Sultan Ahmad Shah, and Kuantan Port City – a round trip of about 20km.

The preview also marked the introduction in Malaysia of the Chinese-made CR200J trainset, alongside electric locomotives that will be used for the ECRL’s cargo services.

The ECRL is owned by Malaysia Rail Link (MRL), a subsidiary of the Minister of Finance (Incorporated), and is expected to cost RM50.27 billion (S$16.2 billion). Started in 2017 as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the project is being built by China Communications Construction Company, with loans extended by the Export-Import Bank of China.

The Malaysian government has said the project is expected to boost the economy by 3.8 per cent over 20 years, due to the more efficient transport of cargo and people, and related spillover on industry.

Aside from being Malaysia’s first major new railway line since independence in 1957, the ECRL also breaks with the narrow 1,000mm gauge used by national rail operator Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM), which limits the size of coaches on existing tracks.

The ECRL runs on the 1,435mm standard gauge, allowing coaches to be about 30cm wider, with five seats per row instead of four on KTM’s Electric Train Service (ETS).

Datuk Fahmi, who took part in a walkthrough of the train, noted the increased size and height of the coaches.

“It is very nice and spacious, less claustrophobic,” he told The Straits Times.

Like the ETS trains on the west coast, each seat offers ample legroom and a full-sized power socket for device use. The trainset also includes a dining car, which was not yet operational during the preview run.

The trainset is the first of 11 that will serve the passenger service, while cargo operations will use 12 electric locomotives.

For Malaysians in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, the ECRL is expected to significantly cut travelling time. According to operator MRL, the journey from Gombak to Kota Bharu can be completed in four hours and 45 minutes.

By road, the same trip typically takes around six hours and can stretch to more than 12 hours during festive periods and long weekends.

“On top of that, you have to be driving the entire time, alert,” said Mr Muaz Hussin, a marketing executive in Kuala Lumpur who is from Pasir Mas, Kelantan. “On trains, I can sleep, watch movies and walk around.”

The only rail service currently serving Kuala Lumpur and the east coast runs along KTM’s century-old eastern railway line, which requires passengers to travel south to Gemas, Negeri Sembilan, before switching to a service heading north-east into Kuala Lumpur.

Dubbed the “jungle train” among enthusiasts for its forested route, the line runs closer to the spine of the peninsula, leaving coastal cities such as Kuantan, Kemaman and Kuala Terengganu without direct rail access.

For Kuantan restaurant owner Hazri Mokhtar, seeing ECRL trains on test runs along elevated tracks cutting across the Pahang landscape has been encouraging, marking clear progress in the project.

“At first there were so many uncertainties about the project. To see the rails being constructed is one thing, but to see the trains running has been exciting for me,” Mr Hazri said.

The project experienced several false starts after becoming entangled in a change of government in 2018, which triggered a

review of its cost and alignment

. The cost was finalised in 2021 at 50.27 billion ringgit.

According to Transport Minister Loke, the ECRL will serve as a land bridge between Kuantan Port on the South China Sea and Port Klang on the Strait of Malacca. There is also a plan to link the ECRL in Kelantan to the Trans-Asian Railway network via Thailand.

“ECRL has the potential to strengthen Malaysia’s position as a regional logistics hub,” he said.