ECRL Is Underway; More Than 30% Completed – Dr Wee Ka Siong

Once the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) is finished, it will only take four hours to travel from Kelantan to Kuala Lumpur, according to Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

The trip presently takes seven to eight hours and, as of June, the ECRL stands 31.48% finished.

The initial proposal for the High Speed Rail (HSR) connection between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore was abandoned in January 2021, according to the Transport Minister.

"After a meeting between the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of Thailand, there was a proposal to link the HSR from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok," said Dr Wee on his Facebook page.

On Tuesday, July 19, Pontian MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan questioned the condition of the ECRL, HSR, Pan Borneo, MRT, and new highways to ease traffic congestion in Parliament.

According to Dr. Wee, it was decided in May to form a special committee between the transport ministries of Malaysia and Thailand, which would be presided over by both secretaries general, to talk about the project's planning, alignment, and technical issues.

"As a mega project, the Transport Ministry has to look at the development of the project on a bigger scale, which is a link to the mainland of Asean," he said.

Dr. Wee stated that the project on MRT2, which started in October 2015, will be finished in January. According to him, the MRT2 project was 98.4 percent finished as of June.

He also added that on June 16, operations on the 17.5 kilometre Phase 1 Putrajaya link between Kampung Batu and Damansara Power Station got underway.

"This phase, which has 12 stations, is providing service to high-density areas such as Sungai Buloh, Damansara Damai and Sri Damansara in Petaling Jaya, Kepong, Jinjang and Kampung Batu in Kuala Lumpur," he said.

On the Pan Borneo Highway, Dr Wee said the toll reduction was under the jurisdiction of the Works Ministry.

"The project will not only improve the road connectivity of Sabah and Sarawak, but also to Brunei.

"The Works Ministry is presently carrying out discussions on restructuring with the concessionaires to find a solution on the toll rates," added Dr Wee.