523-kilometer Section of the East Coast Rail Link Phase 1 Built by China Communications Construction Company Completed and Handed Over

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 6, the completion and handover ceremony for the Kota Bharu–Gombak section of Phase 1 of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project, built by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), was held at Gombak Station. The CCCC ECRL project team handed over the railway works and related systems to the project owner, Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL). On November 7, MRL further confirmed that Phase 1 had been officially handed over and launched trial operations, with commercial passenger services scheduled to begin on December 12.

Phase 1 connects Kota Bharu in Kelantan to Gombak in Selangor. The officially handed-over line is 523 kilometers long and has 16 stations, including passenger stations and combined passenger-freight stations. The scope of the handover covers not only civil works such as the line and stations, but also trains, signaling, power supply, and operating systems. The project had previously completed system integration testing and, on October 29, completed fault-free operation testing; the relevant inspection reports were handed over to the owner at the handover ceremony.

The line includes 41 tunnels and 218 viaducts, with tunnels and viaducts totaling approximately 154 kilometers in length. Among them, the Genting Tunnel features a twin-bore design and is 16.39 kilometers long, making it the longest railway tunnel in Malaysia.

After the handover, ECRL Operations Sdn Bhd (EOSB), established by Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd and China Communications Construction Company with each holding a 50% stake, is responsible for subsequent trial operations and operation and maintenance work. Trial operations run from November 7 to December 2, mainly to test train operations, station management, service efficiency, and passenger service procedures, covering the bidirectional route between Gombak and Kota Bharu, with both express trains and regular stopping trains scheduled to operate.

On November 7, the first trial operation train departed from Gombak Integrated Transport Terminal at 7:00 local time and arrived at KotaSAS Station in Kuantan, Pahang, at 8:28, completing the journey in 88 minutes with 170 passengers and a maximum operating speed of 160 km/h. During the trial operation period, trains will run according to the planned commercial passenger timetable and simulate ticket inspection and onboard service procedures as in formal operations.

With the completion of the Phase 1 handover, the CCCC ECRL project team will shift its focus to Phase 2, which extends westward from Gombak to Port Klang in Selangor. The East Coast Rail Link is planned to be approximately 665 kilometers long in total. Once completed, it will connect Kuantan Port on the east coast with Port Klang on the west coast, forming a rail transport corridor across Peninsular Malaysia.