ECRL Phase 1 on track to open during December school holidays

KUALA LUMPUR: The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) Phase 1, spanning from Kota Baru to Gombak, is 97 percent complete and poised to commence operations during the upcoming December school holidays, according to Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL). MRL's chief executive officer, Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak, announced that the 665km electrified railway, spanning across Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and Selangor, has achieved 95.41 percent overall progress as of the previous month.

Phase One, connecting Kota Baru to Gombak, is 97.66 percent complete and is scheduled for completion by mid-December, pending safety requirements. Safety tests have been successfully completed, while system integration testing is nearing completion. Initially slated for January next year, the government has requested the opening of ECRL to the public during the December school holidays.

As of now, testing and commissioning results have been positive, and Darwis expressed hope that Phase 1 will be made available to the public by December 2026. The ECRL project, a nation's mega-rail initiative, traverses through Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and Selangor, connecting Kota Baru to the Gombak Integrated Transport Terminal.

Phase One, covering a length of 520km, links Kota Baru to Gombak, while Phase Two, extending from Gombak to Port Klang, is set for completion by December 2027, with operations commencing in January 2028. Darwis shared his personal experience of traveling on the ECRL from Gombak to Kota Baru on September 25, marking the first time he traversed the entire 520km length of the main line.

The journey, conducted at a test speed of 160 kilometers per hour, took approximately three hours and 19 minutes, indicating that the Gombak to Kota Baru trip could be completed within four hours. He emphasized that every successful test run is the result of collective efforts from numerous individuals and systems.