KUANTAN: The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) has achieved a commendable progress rate of 88 per cent this month, keeping firmly on track to meet the 90 per cent completion target by Dec 31.
Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak said the project, which spanned across Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Selangor, was on schedule and the target was well within reach before full completion by December next year.
“The overall progress stands at 88.08 per cent, while works in Pahang have reached 90 per cent. If we can maintain our productivity within one per cent, it will be good enough to achieve the 90 per cent target by year-end.
“We are on the right track to fully complete the project by December next year and begin operations on Jan 1, 2027,” he told reporters after witnessing the ECRL Bumiputera subcontractor work packages G1 and G2 balloting ceremony for Pahang at KotaSAS here today.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail conducted the balloting to allocate minor packages for seven ECRL stations in Pahang.
Meanwhile, Darwis said the first two sets of six-car electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains and two electric locomotive (E-Loco) freight units will arrive from manufacturers in Dalian, China, by the end of this year.
“Both the EMU and E-Loco units are scheduled to leave Dalian on Nov 18 and expected to arrive in Malaysia by sea about a month later, around the end of December.
“The remaining nine sets of six-car EMU passenger trains and 10 E-Loco freight units will be delivered in stages until May next year,” he said.
The EMU trains, capable of travelling at 160kph and the E-Loco units, which operate at 80kph, will arrive ahead of the testing and commissioning phase beginning in June next year.
Darwis said that construction of all 15 ECRL stations on the east coast – seven in Pahang, six in Terengganu and two in Kelantan – was expected to be completed by March next year.
“The installation of the communication, information and signalling (CIS) system is ongoing at all stations and will be completed in the first quarter of next year,” he said.
The KotaSAS station was the first to be completed for the CIS installation, which Darwis described as the “brain and nervous system” of the rail line.
The ECRL project is one of Malaysia’s largest transport infrastructure initiatives to connect the east and west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
