ECRL project progress in four states at 65 pct — Minister

ECRL project progress in four states at 65 pct — Minister

04 May 2024

The construction of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project in Selangor, Pahang, Kelantan, and Terengganu has reached an average of 65 per cent as of April, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

Particularly for Selangor, the project has progressed by over 26 per cent as of last month, which is in line with the schedule for preparing the ECRL line from Gombak to Port Klang in December 2027. Operations are set to begin in January 2028.

“Today, over 100km (of track) has been laid. I was told that each day, over one km of the railway track could be laid. The ECRL project is highly efficient.

“Each day, there is progress… by the day not by month, so that is why the project is running very smoothly.

“For your information, the ECRL network in Selangor, which is nearly 120km, will have five stations, namely the Gombak, Kapar, and Jalan Kastam Integrated Terminals for passengers only.

“The Bandar Serendah and Puncak Alam stations are connecting stations for passengers and cargo,” he said at the launch of the ECRL Career Carnival in Serendah today.

Loke added that the Serendah area will become the main station connecting the Port Klang and East Coast routes, making it an important logistics hub.

“The ECRL line, which crosses Selangor, can spur the tourism, hospitality, and business sector in Batang Kali, which also has the potential to become a railway transport centre to drive the industry.

“This can be achieved with the construction of ‘Pintasan Serendah’ to Port Klang which includes standard gauge tracks for ECRL and meter gauge tracks for KTMB, thus strengthening the competitiveness of rail freight transport, as well as the logistics sector and local cargo handling,” he said.

Land acquisition for the construction of the train infrastructure on the East Coast has been completed, while developers in Selangor have been given another year to resolve the matter.

Commenting on the Career Carnival, the minister said it is part of the Mesra ECRL Programme, which includes an open interview for the East Coast Rail Link Industrial Skills Training Programme (PLKI-ECRL) to offer training and job opportunities to locals.

The PLKI-ECRL initiative is expected to train 1,800 locals to participate in the construction phase of the project and 3,200 local trainees for the operation and maintenance phase in the future.

Source: Bernama