KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 19): One-way fares for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) between Gombak and Kota Bharu will start at RM125 for Transit services and RM147 for Express services when commercial operations begin in mid-December.
However, passengers could pay more depending on when they book their tickets, with the mid-range Transit fare at RM156 under the railway's dynamic pricing mechanism.
Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak said ticket prices could exceed RM156 depending on booking time and seasonal demand.
"Our mid-range for a Transit train from Kota Bharu to Gombak, or Gombak to Kota Bharu, is RM156," he told reporters at a press conference on Monday.
The government approved the proposed fare structure on Oct 16, allowing ECRL to implement flexible ticket pricing aimed at balancing affordability with the long-term sustainability of its operations.
For journeys between Gombak and Kuala Terengganu, fares will start at RM95 for Transit and RM110 for Express, while tickets between Gombak and KotaSAS in Pahang will begin at RM60 for Transit and RM68 for Express.
The same starting fares will apply to journeys in the opposite direction.
The Transit service will stop at all scheduled stations, while the Express service will serve four major stations — Gombak, KotaSAS, Kuala Terengganu and Kota Bharu.
The Express journey between Gombak and Kota Bharu is expected to take about four hours, compared with up to five hours for the Transit service.
Meanwhile, the government has approved fare discounts of 50% for children aged two to 12, Malaysian senior citizens aged 60 and above, persons with disabilities and government pensioners. Students aged 13 to 24 will receive a 40% discount.
Darwis said ECRL is targeting about 1.4 million passengers in 2027, against approximately 2.2 million seats planned to be made available during the year.
He said the railway's operating projections were based on a load factor of around 60%, although MRL hopes to achieve higher occupancy as passenger demand grows.
On whether the railway would be profitable, Darwis said the project's financial viability should not be assessed solely on passenger ticket revenue, given its broader role in supporting economic development along the East Coast.
He noted that the project involved an investment of about RM52.3 billion, while revenue would also be generated from freight services.
Ticket sales are scheduled to begin in mid-November, ahead of the targeted commencement of commercial passenger services between Gombak and Kota Bharu in mid-December, subject to safety requirements and regulatory approvals.
ECRL will initially operate 10 electric multiple unit train sets, with 12 daily services from Mondays to Thursdays, increasing to 16 daily services from Fridays to Sundays.
Darwis said about 764 personnel had joined the railway's operations and maintenance team, while emergency response procedures would be tested throughout November ahead of commercial operations.