First ECRL Track To Be Constructed Along Gebeng-Dungun Route Starting End 2023

The construction of the first East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) track, which will run from Gebeng, Pahang, to Dungun, Terengganu, is set to begin at the end of this year. Khairi Khalid Abdul Rahman, regional construction manager (Pahang) for Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL), stated that this involves a 90km route and will take three to four months before installation work begins from Gebeng to Maran. "We intend to lay 1.5 kilometres of track per day for the Gebeng-Dungun route." The installation work begins in Gebeng because the necessary equipment, including track-laying machines from China, arrives in accordance with the project schedule.

"All equipment will arrive at Kuantan Port between October or November for track installation to begin in Pahang," he said. Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail was also present, and he gave duit raya to 30 orphans from Permata Al Kauthar Muqarrabin. According to Khairi Khalid, 231 kilometres of the total 665 kilometres of ECRL alignment are located in Pahang, with approximately 152 kilometres of level track and the remainder over bridges and through tunnels.

In terms of bridge construction, Khairi Khalid stated that the installation of viaduct beams is progressing well, with approximately 5km of the Pahang bridge route completed so far. "There are two beam installation machines known as beam launchers, one in Kuantan for Sungai Kuantan and one in Temerloh for Sungai Pahang work." "We expect to finish the bridge by the end of this year or early in 2024," he said. Khairi Khalid stated that the tunnel excavation that crosses the Titiwangsa Range has reached more than 2.5 km for each tunnel, making the Genting Twin Tunnel the longest rail tunnel in Southeast Asia when completed. The tunnel excavation began in June of last year and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2025, using a tunnel boring machine (TBM) rather than drilling and blasting methods. Source: Bernama