This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on May 12, 2025 - May 18, 2025
THE government is going ahead with plans to extend the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) to connect directly to Westports and Northport in Port Klang. The tender for the extension is currently underway, sources say.
Also known as the spur line, the extension to connect the ECRL’s Jalan Kastam station to Northport and Westports is estimated to be 25km long.
“The project is estimated to cost about RM2 billion, which includes land acquisitions. The alignment is quite complicated and it will include bridges and rail-mounted gantries, which are heavy-duty cranes used to lift and move containers,” a source tells The Edge.
Another source says the construction of the spur line is likely to be awarded by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), the main contractor for the entire ECRL project.
“There is also a guideline that says priority will be given to qualified bumiputera contractors with experience in the rail industry. But that doesn’t mean non-bumiputera construction contractors can’t tender for the project,” the source says.
It is understood that YTL Construction Sdn Bhd is interested in bidding for the project. YTL Construction and SIPP Rail Sdn Bhd are constructing the 192km electrified double track project from Gemas to Johor Bahru.
“[The spur line] is mainly for [direct] freight movement from ECRL to the ports, another source says, pointing out that at present, the only connection from the Jalan Kastam station to Port Klang is via the existing Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) line and land road.
On Feb 17, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the cabinet has approved Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd’s proposal to modify the scope of the ECRL project from a single-track dual gauge system to a double-track configuration for the Port Klang segment. This involves the ECRL’s section D alignment, spanning 25km, from Jalan Kastam in Port Klang to Northport and Westports. Loke also said the extension, which will enhance rail cargo capacity and transport efficiency, will not require additional government funding or increase the overall development cost of the ECRL project from what was agreed in 2017.
Rail or track gauge refers to the distance between the inner sides of two rails on a railway track. The switch to a double-track system for that 25km stretch means KTMB and ECRL will have separate tracks.
“The change in scope to a double-track alignment is expected to have a significant impact by allowing KTMB and ECRL services to operate independently … This will increase the overall cargo rail service capacity to Northport and Westports, as well as enhance the efficiency of the country’s import-export trade industry once the project is fully completed,” Loke said in a Feb 17 statement.
The 665km ECRL project crosses the East Coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang before connecting to Selangor on the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
The ECRL from Kota Bharu to the Gombak Integrated Terminal is expected to be completed on schedule in December 2026, while the spur line is estimated to be completed in December 2027.
On May 6, Loke said the ECRL project was 82.45% completed as at April, some 2½ months ahead of schedule, with the completion of 400km of track along the main alignment from Maran, Pahang, to Kota Bharu in Kelantan. The next phase of track installation, a 100km stretch from Maran to Bentong, is expected to be completed by end-June.
He also said electrification works commenced in May 2024, and will be followed by the installation of signalling, telecommunications and information systems in preparation for the ECRL operational phase.
There have been other planned alignment changes to the ECRL project in the past. The first proposal came in 2020, after the 14th general election, when Pakatan Harapan proposed to reduce the number of stations to 20 from 24, and sought to reduce costs by avoiding a tunnel through the Titiwangsa mountain range by realigning the railway track via Seremban, before heading to Putrajaya and Port Klang. The original alignment proposed by the Barisan Nasional government would have cost at least RM20 billion more as it involved more tunnelling works — including the construction of a tunnel from Genting Sempah in Bentong, Pahang, to Selangor.
However, in 2021, the then transport minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong proposed to restore the ECRL to its old alignment to have the railway track go through Bentong — dubbed the ECRL 3.0 version. With the changes, the alignment from Kota Bharu to Port Klang will now have a total distance of 665km from 690km. Despite the 16.39km Genting twin tunnel, Wee had reportedly said the ECRL would only cost RM50.27 billion, less than RM85.97 billion when the project was approved in 2016. In December 2022, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the ECRL project’s overall cost was RM74.96 billion.
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