ECRL fares expected to be announced this month, ticket sales in November

Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak (left) during a media briefing on the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL)’s latest operational readiness in Kuala Lumpur, October 6, 2026. Also present was ECRL Operation Sdn Bhd (EOSB) CEO Mohd Zaidi Sharif. — Bernama pic

First Published: Tuesday, 06 Oct 2026 1:15 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) expects East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) fares to be announced this month, with ticket sales targeted to begin in November ahead of commercial operations in mid-December.

MRL chief executive officer Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak said the Transport Ministry was expected to announce the fares.

“We expect dynamic and affordable fares that will be lower than airfares and slightly higher than bus fares,” he said at an ECRL operational readiness briefing for media editors today.

Darwis said for the first phase, the ECRL trains would operate 12 return trips daily from Monday to Thursday and 14 from Friday to Sunday.

He said MRL was satisfied with the progress of Phase One of the project, covering Kota Bharu to Gombak, which reached 98.16 per cent completion as of September, and was confident of meeting the mid-December 2026 target for commercial operations.

Darwis also highlighted the performance of the ECRL Comprehensive Inspection Train (CIT), which recently completed a non-stop 519km journey from Gombak to Kota Bharu in three hours and 19 minutes, reaching speeds of up to 160kph.

He said the run demonstrated the ECRL’s ability to provide an express service on the Gombak-KotaSAS-Kuala Terengganu-Kota Bharu route in under four hours.

The 665km ECRL will traverse Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang before connecting with Selangor on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Once operational, the ECRL is expected to cut travel time between Kota Bharu and Gombak to about four hours, from around seven hours by road. — Bernama