East Coast Rail Link (ECRL)

Project Summary

The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) is a proposed railway infrastructure project spanning 640km that would connect the East Coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang to Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Federal Territory of Putrajaya. The expected costs of the project are estimated at RM44 billion, reduced from the original project cost of RM65.5 billion.1 The railway would serve to improve connectivity between the Eastern Coast of Peninsular Malaysia to its West Coast states, which are currently not connected via rail lines. The railway will be used for both passenger and freight transportation, cutting passenger travel time from Kota Bharu to Putrajaya by approximately 4-5 hours and providing transport connection between the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia to its West Coast. The overall alignment of the ECRL rail network aims to provide both improved connectivity as well as to spur growth and development of the industrial, commercial and tourism sectors along the ECRL corridor. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in August 9, 2017 to mark the start of the ECRL construction, and the project is expected for completion by the end of 2026.

Figure 1. Overview of the East Coast Rail Link line
Source: MRL 2020

1 Malaysia Rail Link. “ECRL Key Facts.” Accessed through http://www.mrl.com.my/en/ecrl/overview/.

Project Background

The ECRL line will be a standard gauge double-track that covers a distance of 640km. The total length of the ECRL was reduced from the originally planned 688km to 640km following renegotiation efforts in 2019, along with changed rail alignments to the Section C portion.2 Designed to carry both passenger and freight volumes, the project was designed to establish a rail connection between the more developed western states of Peninsular Malaysia to its relatively less developed east coast, while simultaneously spurring economic growth along the route through its construction activities. The ECRL aims to reduce travel time from the west coast to the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia by about 4-5 hours. Aside from improving domestic connectivity, the line will also provide a land bridge between the South China Sea Port of Kuantan and the Klang Port in the Straits of Malacca, thus eliminating the need for vessels to traverse through the busy Straits of Singapore. The scope of the project includes 20 stations with standard gauge and double tracked railways, 30-40 tunnels that will be built for the project together with viaducts in Terengganu, and a 6-car train set for the electrified modified units (EMU’s). The speed of passenger trains will be 160km/h and freight trains will be 80 km/h.
Before the construction of the ECRL project had started, the Land Public Transport Agency (SPAD) and the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) conducted market interest for a proposed East Coast Rail Link rail network on March 15, 2016.3 The “Request for Information” (RFI) was initiated to gain insight on the views and ideas for the proposed ECRL project, however it remains undisclosed as to who the ECERDC and SPAD consulted during this market insight process nor have the results of the survey been made public.

On October 21, 2016, the Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak announced the approval of the project during his parliamentary speech on the proposed 2017 budget. On November 1, 2016, the Malaysian government signed a “framework finance deal and construction agreement” valued at USD13.1 billion (estimated RM55 billion) with China Construction Communications Company (CCCC) as the “builder” for Phase 1 of the ECRL construction. The construction agreement was later identified as an Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (EPCC) contract. Phase 1 of the ECRL stretches from Wakaf Baru in the state of Kelantan to the integrated transportation terminal in Gombak.

In March 2017, SPAD granted the conditional approval for the preferred route alignment of the ECRL and displayed the proposed plan for the ECRL for public inspection for 3 months as required under Section 84 (2) of the Land Public Transport Act 2010. The specific records and documents during this public display have not been archived or made available after the end of the three months, however references to the conduct of the public display exercises are available.

2 Malaysia Rail Link. “ECRL Key Facts.” Accessed through http://www.mrl.com.my/en/ecrl/overview/.

3 Land Public Transport Commission, 2016. “SPAD AND ECERDC CONDUCT JOINT MARKET SENSING EXERCISE FOR EAST COAST RAIL LINE (ECRL) PROJECT.” Available through: https://www.apad.gov.my/sites/default/files/media_release_-_spad_and_ecerdc_conduct_joint_market_sensing_exercise_for_east_coast_rail_line_ecrl_project1.pdf.