KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 – Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) expects the official fare structure for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) to be announced this month, with ticket sales targeted to launch in November ahead of commercial operations in mid-December 2026.

Speaking at a media briefing on the megaproject’s operational readiness on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, MRL Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak stated that the Ministry of Transport is expected to make the official fare announcement.

“We expect dynamic and affordable fares that will be lower than airfares and slightly higher than bus fares,” Darwis said.

Operational Timetable and Phase One Progress

Phase One of the ECRL project—connecting Kota Bharu to Gombak—reached 98.16 per cent completion as of September 2026, keeping the project firmly on track for its scheduled mid-December launch.

Key operational metrics and progress updates include:

Daily Trip Frequency: Initial Phase One operations will feature 12 return trips daily from Monday to Thursday, increasing to 14 return trips daily from Friday to Sunday.
Inspection Milestones: The ECRL Comprehensive Inspection Train (CIT) recently completed a non-stop 519-kilometre test run from Gombak to Kota Bharu in three hours and 19 minutes, reaching maximum operational speeds of 160 km/h.
Express Connectivity: The test run confirmed the ECRL’s capability to run express services along the Gombak-KotaSAS-Kuala Terengganu-Kota Bharu alignment in under four hours.

Regional Impact and Travel Time Reductions

Spanning 665 kilometres, the ECRL traverses the East Coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang before connecting to Selangor on the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Once fully operational, passenger services are expected to reduce transit times between Kota Bharu and Gombak to approximately four hours, down from the seven-hour road journey required via existing highway routes.

–NMT

Tags: ECRL