ECRL to unveil proposed Kota Baru-Dungun realignment on Monday

KUALA LUMPUR: The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project will unveil its proposed realignment from Kota Baru to Dungun during its public inspection exercise on Monday, said Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) yesterday.

It said the public would be able to give feedback and suggestions during the three-month ECRL Public Inspection for the Kota Baru-Dungun stretch (also known as Section A), comprising a 210.4km mainline, a proposed 14.4km future spurline, and sixpassenger/freight stations.

The ECRL realignment for Section A had proposed two stations for Kelantan, namely Kota Baru and Pasir Puteh, while Terengganu will have four stations in Jerteh, Bandar Permaisuri, Kuala Terengganu and Dungun.

The 14.4km proposed future spurline is expected to link the ECRL mainline in Kelantan with the port of Tok Bali.

The proposed 210.4km Kota Baru-Dungun stretch or Section A mainline will consist of 43.9km rail alignment in Kelantan and the remaining 166.5km alignment in Terengganu.

MRL chief executive officer Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak said the proposed realignment for Section A was in line with the comprehensive value engineering exercise that resulted in costsavings for the improved ECRL project.

The 210.4km stretch, he said, would be positioned inland instead of in the coastal areas of Kelantan and Terengganu.

MRL, Darwis said, had received conditional approval for its ECRL Railway Scheme for Section A from the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) on Nov 4, paving the way for the public inspection exercise to ensure the project’s rail alignment met the interests and expectations of the local populace.

The public inspection information booth for Section A will be operating on weekdays at the APAD headquarters in Kuala Lumpur from Monday to Feb 24.

“We have initiated the environmental impact assessment, social impact assessment and heritage impact assessment for Section A to the authorities as these reports are prerequisites for APAD granting final approval to our Railway Scheme,” Darwis said.

“The public may visit MRL’s website www.mrl.com.my or access the ECRL project’s social media platform for updates and details of the public inspection exercise.”

On ECRL’s progress, he said the project’s overall completion rate stood at 12.86 per cent compared with 10.18 per cent in June.

He said construction work involving tunnels and viaducts along the 223km Dungun-Mentakab stretch (also known as Section B) was progressing according to plan.