KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 7): The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) has commenced its trial operations, marking the final phase of operational readiness for commercial passenger services, which are targeted to begin on Dec 12, 2026.

The programme will be conducted by ECRL Operation Sdn Bhd, a 50:50 joint venture entity between Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) and China Communications Construction Sdn Bhd, which is responsible for operating and maintaining the ECRL rail network.

“The trial operations programme will assess operational readiness, service efficiency, station management and the passenger experience in a real operating environment. Running from Nov 7 to Dec 2, it will cover journeys from Gombak to Kota Bharu and vice versa, providing both express service and transit services,” MRL said in a statement on Saturday.

The ECRL electrified multiple unit trains will operate according to the planned commercial passenger timetable during the trial operations programme, which will include the issuance of boarding passes and the provision of cabin crew services.

The first journey under the trial operations programme departed from the Terminal Bersepadu Gombak Station on Saturday at 7am sharp and arrived at the KotaSAS station in Kuantan, Pahang, at 8.28am, completing the trip in just 88 minutes with 170 passengers on board and reaching speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour.

This latest milestone follows the completion of key testing and commissioning stages for the ECRL project, including the system integration test, and the successful completion of the fault-free run on Oct 29, 2026.

As of October 2026, construction of Phase 1 of the ECRL, covering the Kota Bharu-Gombak alignment, had reached 98.47% completion.

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