How the East Coast Rail Link could boost Malaysia’s economy & connectivity

The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) is an RM50 billion (US$11.2 billion) megaproject linking the Klang Valley in Selangor to the east coast states of Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan.

Set to start operations in January 2027, the 665km-ECRL aims to cut the journey from Gombak, Selangor to Kota Bharu, Kelantan from at least seven hours by car to around four hours by train.

With speeds of up to 160kmh, the ECRL travels through the Titiwangsa mountains dividing peninsular Malaysia before snaking its way across the vast east coast, carrying both goods and passengers.

It is also expected to create an economic spillover effect for local residents as investors set up industries along the line.

“By connecting smaller towns to larger cities, the ECRL can stimulate local economies. Increased accessibility may attract businesses, tourism and investment, leading to job creation and improved living standards,” said Nor Aziati Abdul Hamid, a senior researcher at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn's Industry Centre of Excellence for Railway.

From tourism and connectivity, to reviving once-bustling cities, CNA tracks the development of the ECRL to see how it might impact lives - and how it has already made its presence felt, for better or for worse.

With the ECRL running from coast to coast, observers believe the network will be the catalyst for a much-needed makeover in the sleepy port towns of Port Klang and Kuantan Port.

Andansura Rabu, Pahang state assemblyman for Beserah, feels the ECRL will revive areas around Kuantan Port, such as Balok.

Currently, numerous homestays have sprouted to cater to industrial workers who live far away and need long-term rentals near the industrial areas their companies take them to, but the hope is that more visitors will also be drawn to the beachfront area.

In 2019, Kuantan Port completed the first phase of the expansion of its deepwater wharf, making its berths longer and deeper to allow larger container ships to call.

The port is currently undergoing the second phase of its development, and expects to see the addition of a 1km-long deep-water terminal with a handling capacity of 20,000 million tonnes by 2039 when it is better served by the ECRL.

Longtime Balok resident Nor Ibrahim, 63, sat at one of the small-town eateries where men in thick coveralls go for their lunch.

He said he hopes the ECRL will encourage more development in his backyard, in the form of industrial projects that will allow local youths to get jobs closer to home.

As the ECRL nears its western terminus in Port Klang, Selangor, the landscape turns even more industrial: Run-down shophouses that almost kiss the sides of elevated highways, narrow two-lane roads pockmarked by potholes and long container-laden trailers rumbling by.

Analysts think the ECRL will be the final piece in the jigsaw to breathe new life and development into the city of Port Klang.

Foo Gee Jen, an adviser at real estate agency CBRE WTW, believes the ECRL will revive the area by making it a more attractive sea entry point for tourists, with connections to other attractions across the country.

“It will be beneficial to bring these people, who are coming by cruises, inland via the ECRL rail,” he added, noting that other projects in Port Klang, like the redevelopment of an old ferry terminal into a lifestyle destination, will give it a classy facelift.

“You look at some port cities in Europe and other places like Nagoya (in Japan) - they’re very organised. Certainly, I think that Port Klang eventually will be like that.”

The ECRL is also expected to ease the perennial congestion in Port Klang, giving a faster and greener option of transporting goods by rail instead of lorries.

During the festive seasons, many Malaysians in the Klang valley return to their hometowns, resulting in traffic snarls.

Residents on the east coast say the ECRL will help them skip severe congestion on the roads.

Undergraduate Wan Hakim Wan Zuhairi, 21, travels from Gombak to Kota Bharu about four times a year.

“The ECRL is something that I’ve been waiting for for a long time.”

Gan Chin Teng, 60, who runs a wholesale shop selling household items in Kota Bharu, visits the capital Kuala Lumpur a few times a year during festivities to see her children.

Compared to flying or driving, ECRL will give her a safer and more comfortable transport option to Kuala Lumpur.

Over in Terengganu, vendors in bustling public markets selling everything from food to household wares feel the railway will give their business a leg up.

“We want more people to come and visit Terengganu, especially here at Pasar Payang,” said Nor Alina Abdul Rahim, 36, standing behind assorted packets of fish crackers she sells at her stall in Kuala Terengganu.

Fatah Salleh, who sells traditional snacks in another market in Chukai, Terengganu, hopes the station there will encourage more domestic tourists to stop by the town.

The 68-year-old said he wants to be one of the first to ride the ECRL, and is counting down the days to 2027 when services start.

Beyond connectivity, small businesses on the east coast hope the ECRL boosts tourism and draws more visitors to their towns.

Besides Balok, there are other coastal towns waiting to see what the train could bring.

In the quaint beachside resort of Cherating, Pahang, where the waves are just large enough to be suitable for learning surfing, business owners yearn for the ECRL to revive the town’s popularity among foreigners.

“Of course the ECRL is going to drive up the crowd. Because transportation has been a big issue here since the last 10 years when I first started this business,” said a Cherating cafe owner Mohd Fairus Ahmad, 40.

Away from the coast, Muhd Qaiyum Ismail, 38, said the ECRL will make it easier for domestic tourists to drop by Temerloh, Pahang, in the middle of peninsular Malaysia.

“There are currently no rail services here, so the ECRL will make it easier for people from the east coast as well as Kuala Lumpur and Selangor to come here,” said the drinks seller at a makeshift night market by the sleepy riverside waterfront.

Andansura, the Pahang state assemblyman, whose constituency includes Cherating and Kuantan Port, said the ECRL will be a catalyst for other downstream economic activities in the area, including in the hotel and tourism industry.

But building such a large infrastructure project rarely comes without controversy.

Perhaps the starkest images have been of floods residents say only came about after ECRL construction started.

Near the northern end of the ECRL network, some residents in a village in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, have had to find ways to stem the flow of water through their homes and places of business.

Kasiah Mat Isa, who runs a small convenience store in Kampung Permatang Sungkai just next to the ECRL tracks, said her village was flooded twice in July 2024 during heavy rain.

The 43-year-old feels the construction of the tracks, which are on a raised platform, created a physical barrier that stops rainwater from flowing smoothly through her village, causing it to pool there.

As the monsoon season landed, some residents in Kampung Permatang Sungkai showed how the floods had damaged their furniture and appliances, complaining they had yet to get any of the compensation they were promised.

At the other end of the network, in Port Klang, some residents were forced to give up their homes to make way for the ECRL.

Zuriana Zulkifli, 44, is among the Selangor residents who have had to relocate. She lives with her husband - a port worker - and five children for eight years near Port Klang in Taman Sungai Sireh, where 89 homes will be demolished for ECRL tracks.

“But if I refuse to move, I will be prosecuted,” she added, standing in front of her gate with a sign that said “no to ECRL”.

As a whole, the ECRL has also raised the larger question of whether it will deliver on the promise of spurring investment in the less-developed regions it runs through, especially given the development cost.

The project, largely funded by a Chinese bank, has even raised concerns in some corners about a Chinese debt trap.

And with the ECRL expected to be used more for transporting goods than people, experts have questioned whether it will be profitable enough to let Malaysia repay the hefty Chinese loan that funded 85 per cent of the estimated construction cost.

Those involved in the feasibility studies for the ECRL remain confident.

Ragu Sampasivam, chief operating officer of the East Coast Economic Region Development Council, a government agency, said he is certain investors will find the ECRL attractive in helping them shuffle goods along new bases and ports on the west and east coasts in a faster and greener way.

He added that the government aims to make tickets affordable to boost usage among Malaysians.

“Once you start filling up the train, more people use it, then let's talk about profit later.”

The ECRL is 78.5 per cent complete as of January 2025, according to reports.

But with the launch date of the ECRL slightly less than two years away, there is still scope for things to evolve.

In February 2025, ECRL owner Malaysia Rail Link received approval to modify the section from Jalan Kastam to the two ports in Port Klang, from a single-track dual-gauge system to a double-track configuration.

This allows the ECRL and existing KTMB railway lines to operate independently of each other, and increase cargo capacity to both ports, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

This change in the system would not require additional funding nor increase the overall development costs of the ECRL project, he added.

Even with these changes, Loke reassured people that the ECRL is set to open in January 2027. And for residents and companies hoping to take advantage of this new railway, having it on track shows there is light at the end of the tunnel.