ECRL Could Extend to Sungai Golok After KTMB Revival – MRL CEO

MRL is not discontinuing the proposal to extend the ECRL line from its current final station in Kota Bharu to Sungai Golok.

Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) has not discounted the proposal to extend the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) from its current final station up north in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, into Sungai Golok, Thailand.

Speaking to The Edge, MRL CEO Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak said the proposal remains on the cards as both the Thai and Malaysian governments previously agreed to revive the existing KTMB rail line from Pasir Mas, Kelantan, to Sungai Golok via Rantau Panjang.

As announced by Transport Minister (MOT) Anthony Loke last month, this revival plan will reconnect the rail network between the two countries, which continues all the way to Thailand’s capital, Bangkok.

The KTMB Pasir Mas-Sungai Golok line, which was damaged by floods back in 2006, presents a right-of-way that could allow ECRL to build a line parallel to it, which is the same thing being done from Serendah to Jalan Kastam in Port Klang, Darwis said.

“Instead of going to Pengkalan Kubor, ECRL can go to Rantau Panjang. That is the proposal that we are looking at now.

“Hopefully, it is part of the Pan Asian Railway (from Kunming, China, to Singapore). Eventually, if we can cross over there, then all the way to Laos, Kunming, and all that. That is the hope,” Darwis told The Edge.

Prior to this, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah said in Parliament last November that the ECRL extension from Kota Bharu to Rantau Panjang would cost around RM2 billion. This 32 km-long extension will include a 14 km railway from the current ECRL Kota Bharu station in Bandar Baru Tunjong to Pasir Mas and another 18 km to Rantau Panjang.

The current 665-km ECRL line that spans from Jalan Kastam in Port Klang to Kota Bharu, Kelantan, is touted as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), seeking to connect the country with the surrounding economies through transportation and logistics infrastructure.

According to those involved with the project, the cross-border connectivity with Thailand is regarded as the key component in BRI, allowing the infrastructure to fulfill its true potential as part of the Pan Asian Railway.

Source: The Edge